Stop feeling good about yourself! It’s time for some good old fashion depression, courtesy of Kansas basketball. Recently, a friend of mine and I took a trip down memory lane to examine some of the bittersweet tournament memories for Kansas, i.e. times we were close to a title and came up short. We couldn’t decide which one was the worst, so I’m asking you, the great and majestic people of Rock Chalk Talk, to help me out.

To keep things specific, we are doing Self-coached years only. I will provide a quick blurb on the season, tournament, and how close KU was to winning it all. Refresh your memory on the pain you experienced, and vote at the end. Remember, you are voting for your opinion of the biggest "the title was RIGHT THERE!" moment. Here we go:

2004 NCAA Tournament – Lost in Elite 8 to Georgia Tech

This one gets kind of overlooked by Kansas fans, but it certainly warrants discussion. In Self’s first season, which was largely up-and-down for the Hawks, KU was gift wrapped an easy NCAA field and found itself in the Elite 8 against a strong Georgia Tech team. Kansas took the Jackets into overtime, eventually falling to the eventual tournament runner-up. If Kansas prevails in OT, it makes the Final 4 and who knows what happens, right?

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The Big 12 schedule kicks into gear today with five games featuring ten of the conference teams going head to head.  Kansas and Texas will kick things off a little late, but Texas does play a top 10 Connecticut team in the process.

Here's your landing spot to talk hoops and of course the NFL Playoffs do get going today and the BBVA Compass Bowl with Kentucky against Pitt.  Plenty of good sports on the docket for a cold(maybe) January Saturday.

Big 12 Saturday schedule and TV info after the jump:

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The Big 12 just released the 2010 men's basketball conference schedule with television listings and lo and behold the Jayhawks won't be hard to find.

Our very own six-time defending Big 12 Conference men's basketball champion Kansas will have all 31 of its 2010-11 regular-season games NATIONALLY TELEVISED, according to the schedule released by the conference Tuesday.

Kansas will appear on three CBS, seven ESPN, four ESPN2, four ESPNU and one Fox Sport Network telecast.  ESPN will air two more of KU's conference games on either ESPN or ESPN2; which the network will determine at a later date.

Should make for a great season of open threads here at Rock Chalk Talk. 

After watching a portion of "The Decision" I think it's safe to say the hat presser won't be going anywhere anytime soon.  High Schoolers across the country take their cue from their idols and Lebron James just raised the bar and elevated the term ego to a new level. All in all, I hated the hype surrounding this, but I couldn't turn away.  What I didn't realize until a few moments after this was that it has a major impact on Kansas basketball. 

Mario Chalmers!!!  The hero of the 2008 National Title game, Mr. Clutch, Mario and his miracle, just indirectly inherited the GREATEST job in the NBA.  A Jayhawk, a great Jayhawk, will have the enviable situation and opportunity to play the role of point guard on a team with Dwayne Wade, Lebron James and Chris Bosh.  Are you kidding me?  I could pick up a ball and fulfill that role.

Mario now gets to have every game on TV.  Mario will automatically be made to look like a solid role player at worst.  And if customary protocol holds true, Mario can grab a chunk of that hefty contract from Lebron in order to give up the #6 jersey to the King. 

If the Heat manage to win a few titles, Mario benefits.  He could even snag a bigger contract and a bigger role down the line elsewhere, but at the very least he'd have a ring and a pretty steady gig. 

If the Heat don't win, it's not his fault.  Mario wouldn't have to shoulder one ounce of the blame.  The Heat will be thin.  Chalmers will be looked to for support, but make no mistake this thing is on "Bron Bron", "DeWADE", and Chris Bosh.

Way to go Mario, way to go Miami and major props to Kevin Durant for signing a five year deal with the Thunder this week and celebrating with very little fanfare and taking a moment to thank god, and his family.  Somewhere David Stern is trying plotting and rigging next years playoffs, while Darnell Jackson's agent is calling Pat Riley who's suddenly in need of several role players at the league minimum.  Goodnight Jayhawks.

Today's the day when a few Jayhawks go on to get paid.  Stop in here throughout the day to discuss the potential final landing spots for Xavier Henry, Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins.  Follow the draft tonight and watch Bill Self as he analyzes and breaks down the picks for NBA.com and NBA TV.

Draft Order

	1. Washington Wizards
	2. Philadelphia 76ers
	3. New Jersey Nets
	4. Minnesota Timberwolves
	5. Sacramento Kings
	6. Golden State Warriors
	7. Detroit Pistons
	8. Los Angeles Clippers
	9. Utah Jazz (From New York via Phoenix)
	10. Indiana Pacers
	11. New Orleans Hornets
	12. Memphis Grizzlies
	13. Toronto Raptors
	14. Houston Rockets
	15. Milwaukee Bucks (From Chicago)
	16. Minnesota Timberwolves (From Denver via Charlotte)
	17. Chicago Bulls (From Milwaukee)
	18. Oklahoma City Thunder (From Miami)
	19. Boston Celtics
	20. San Antonio Spurs
	21. Oklahoma City Thunder
	22. Portland Trail Blazers
	23. Minnesota Timberwolves (From Philadelphia via Utah)
	24. Atlanta Hawks
	25. Memphis Grizzlies (From Denver)
	26. Oklahoma City Thunder (From Phoenix)
	27. New Jersey Nets (From Dallas)
	28. Memphis Grizzlies (From L.A. Lakers)
	29. Orlando Magic
	30. Washington Wizards (From Cleveland)

Last Minute Lottery Mock Drafts after the jump...

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On Thursday night, two of Jayhawk fans' all-time favorite boys and a we-barely-knew-thee legacy will make the leap from the college ranks, where they each had successful amateur careers in their time at Kansas, and into the basketball business world that is the NBA. We don't need to go into the specifics of their outstanding careers in Lawrence, as we've done so ad nauseam the last couple years here at Rock Chalk Talk. So, instead we now turn our focus to how their games will transition to the pro league.

The general consensus among NBA Mock Draft sites is that 6'11" center Cole Aldrich will go somewhere between eight and fifteen, the freshman swingman Xavier Henry will fall into line somewhere just a few places below Aldrich and that the all-time winningest player in Kansas basketball history, Sherron Collins, will just be hoping to be taken in the second round.

Sidenote: Isn't it just further proof that the college game is greater than the pro game when an undersized kid like Collins can become such a legacy in college, yet will likely be fighting for an NBA roster spot? No feel-good stories when it comes to money, money, money.

What the "Insiders" are saying...

NBADraft.net - Aldrich: Utah - #9, Henry: Milwaukee - #15, Collins: Oklahoma City - #51

Yahoo! - Aldrich: Utah - #9, Henry: Houston - #14, Collins: second round not listed

DraftExpress.com - Henry: New Orleans - #11, Aldrich: Houston - #14, Collins: Los Angeles Clippers - #54

MyNBADraft.net - Aldrich: Houston - #14, Henry: Milwaukee - #15, Collins: Pheonix - #46

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The roster is set, the schedule is set and now we have a mere 5 months to go.  H/T to Bensa for throwing up the schedule in a fanshot yesterday and after having a day to digest, what does everyone think?

Arizona, UCLA, @Michigan, Memphis and @ Cal.  Not a bad little stretch?  There have been years where this would be an absolutely BRUTAL stretch.  This is Kansas, we have yet to see a serious dip, we do return a solid team and also add the #1 player in the class. 

So prediction time.  Full non-con schedule after the jump.  What's the Jayhawks record after the non-con?  Toughest game?  Potential trap?  Who are you most excited about?  Throw it out there and who knows, maybe next year your predictions will make their way to the RCT time machine.

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As I was browsing online, I came across an interesting post concerning basketball and how coaches deal with foul trouble in games.  This caught my eye for a few reasons, but the main reason is that Kansas will rely heavily on Marcus and Markieff Morris next year.  Those two and foul trouble are like peanut butter and jelly.  Marcus Morris led the Jayhawks in fouls per game this year at 2.6 and Markieff was right behind him with 2.556 fouls per game.  That doesn't sound awful but next year they will be expected to play more minutes, so a quick look shows McMorris averaged a foul about every 9 minutes while MkMorris averaged a foul about every 7 minutes.  

If the Morri continue to foul at that rate next year, it could seriously hamper the team's effectiveness.  In the standard basketball culture, two fouls in the first half and three in the second half is considered "foul trouble".  This is when the majority of coaches will remove the player from the game to play it safe.  As a few commenters here have pointed out multiple times, it is not necessarily a smart thing to sit a player because of a couple of fouls.  Below, I'll try summarize a few things from the post linked above and tie it to Jayhawk basketball.

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