By KEVIN HASKIN
TopSports.news
Kevin Haskin
Musings at the mid-month:
• This is not so much an NCAA Tournament prediction but a general observation:
• Things will be better this week for Kansas.
• The football coach is out, the athletic director is out and the basketball team is back on the biggest stage.
• Really liked how the Jayhawks played down the stretch, which is more than I could say for the overall quality of college basketball this season.
• Listening to announcers who could not rely on fans to provide much-needed harmony really made remote broadcasts painful.
• Especially during the lenghty NBA reports/comparisons that ESPN seemingly demanded.
• One last question for Jeff Long: While at Arkansas, did you ever hear at least a little something about what was happening with Les at LSU?
• It's a neighboring rival in the SEC and conference folks tend to spread conference scuttlebutt.
• Just maybe not to Jeff Long. He may not be altogether conversant based on that last press conference.
• Is KU football truly in better shape, as Miles suggested, after getting trounced by 30 points on average and going winless in 2020?
• Let's really start at square one here and debunk this notion the next AD is being brought in to revive football.
• Sure, it’s the herculean task at hand, but maintaining prominence in basketball is always job one at KU.
• Basketball prominence commands resources.
• Those have diminished of late because of the effects of COVID-19, the failings of football, contractual obligations and Long’s oversight.
• The assumption that cruise control can be engaged to keep basketball winning at a remarkably consistent high level is dangerous.
• With or without an NCAA infractions case dragging on.
• Are K-Staters so delighted by the goings-on at KU to overlook the Wildcats’ struggles in football and basketball?
• Not quite. The mere mention of Bruce Weber typically results in, ahem, animated discussions with various layers.
• Of more significance to Kansas State is football and the five-game losing streak the Cats carry into next season.
• The return of Skylar Thompson does smooth some concerns.
• A Missouri Valley rivalry Wichita State thought it escaped by bolting for the American Conference lives on.
• The Shockers received an NCAA tourney play-in date against Drake.
• The AAC and the Valley look almost like equals based on tourney selections.
• Enjoyed watching Wichita State this season and the work of coach Isaac Brown.
• Gregg who?
• At some point I expect Gregg Marshall to resurface. And succeed.
• Just hope he will have reformed.
• Gets me to thinking about restoration projects and Shawnee County’s Stormont Vail Events Center.
• The state capital should be a site for state high school events. Get on it and do it right.
• Basketball tournaments often generate the unexpected, but Washburn’s season-ending loss in the NCAA Division II regional is one of the stranger endings.
• Clearly, the Ichabods just didn’t have it to get beat by 41 against a team it downed twice earlier.
• Hey, we’ll always have Tyler Geiman’s memorable buzzer beater.
• Geiman's steady growth into a versatile stud makes me believe Brett Ballard will keep WU trending upward.
• The popular pick to rule at the Final Four is Gonzaga.
• After all we’ve been through, it would be cool for an undefeated team to emerge as champ in 2021.
• I favor Michigan or Illinois to win it all after surviving the Big Ten battle royale.
• You're right, that’s not one absolute choice. Hey, I don’t do this for a living anymore.
• But the brackets I fill out are just as terrible.
• The virus remains a potentially disruptive factor.
• With the entire field congregated in Indianapolis, bubble is now a tourney buzzword used after the unveiling of the bracket.
• Biz tip: Anyone see that massive structure going up on U.S.-75 and SE 77th Street?
• It's the new Wal-Mart distribution center next to another major employer, Mars Wrigley.
• Such traffic is great for oh, maybe a fancy convenience store.
• Gasp! Somewhere other than Wanamaker?
• Hint, hint, Quik Trip.
• It could be possible to book appearances from the M&M characters for the grand opening.
• Forever a dreamer when it comes to Topeka.
