Our friends over at Big12-Fans.com have put together a strong preview of the Gridiron Jayhawks that you should definitely check out.

Bearish on Kerry Meier but bullish overall on the ‘Hawks, it’s an evenhanded, if slightly positive analysis of KU:

Last year’s 11th ranked defense will be a disappointment if they’re not as rigid as they were last year. They lost some solid players, mainly linebackers, but the interior line and defensive backs expect to make up for that inexperience. James McClinton and Wayne Wilder look to be mainstays in the middle, with a pair of backups that would start at most other Big 12 schools, Todd Haselhorst and Caleb Blakesly. T

This will likely be the last Jayhawk-free draft for a number of years but anyone interested in the proceedings is free to follow live draft commentary at Hoopinion.

Obligatory Jayhawk content: I strongly believe that Julian Wright, had he entered this year’s draft, would have been picked in the lottery. Luckily for us, he could be good enough that he waits to turn pro until he’s a top five pick.

Based on what I’ve seen of Collins and what I’ve read and heard about his performances at camp games, it will be very hard to keep him off the floor. But then again, the same can be said of both Robinson and Chalmers.

I think that both Chalmers and Robinson will end up losing minutes to Collins, relative to what they were playing at the end of last year. I had some concerns about the effect that might have on chemistry, so I was definitely heartened to read this today:

“I see it as a great thing. I can’t play 40 minutes a game,” Robinson said. “The more help we have, the better we’re going to perform. We’ll definitely push each other in practice and make each other better.”

I think Self and Co. are doing a lot to manage expectations this summer for PT later this year. Doing so will prove a wise use of time. Darrell Arthur, a player whose firght and resolve many folks questioned, has reinforced to the press that being a Jayhawk is about working hard. Robinson appears to be happy about losing minutes.

If Self can keep this mentality up among his players, the much discussed chemistry problems will be minimized.

Even though he didn’t play one second in the Finals, it was still nice to see a Jayhawk actually celebrating a championship. It looks like fun.

After last year’s debacle ridden offseason, this summer feels like a kid does when he finally gets a hold of a machine that can create super desserts, like the one he’s always dreamed of - the Twinkers - which is a Snickers within a Twinkie. It feels good, you see.

Reader Gen reminds of just how Twinkery things are when he points us to the following article, which calls KU one of the top 5 winners of the offseason. The article is written by Luke “I am yohr fatharr” Winn, so being called a winner is an even more ringing endorsement, coming from him. :

They added yet another McDonald’s All-American to their stable (number five in the past two years, if you’re counting), 6-foot-9 forward Darrell “Slim Shady” Arthur. He said he saw himself playing for KU in a dream the night before his decision, and therefore eschewed top choice Baylor to play for Bill Self. KU’s real coup, however, was simply keeping a trio of future first-rounders — freshmen Brandon Rush, Mario Chalmers and Julian Wright — from bailing out of Lawrence too quickly.

Americans have a lot of opinions on the World Cup, and they’re all evidenced here in this fantastic Simpsons’ vid:

Thanks to our friends over at Deadspin for this one.

1. Florida
2. KU
3. UNC

Check it out heah.

His picks call for an exciting game over Thanksgiving.

Daniel Gibson has decided to stay in the draft.

Aaron Gray is returning to Pitt.

Reggie Roby decides to come back to school, and the fourteen Colorado basketball fans breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Nova’s Kyle Lowry is staying in the draft.

So is Jordan Farmar.

Mustapha Shakur has heard the voice of wisdom, and even more, has listened to it. He’ll be back playing for Lute next year.

I’m still on the fence about my own draft decisions. I know that at 28, I still have several years to really develop my game before making the leap to the NBA. And while the NBA offers its millions of dollars and half year off, I enjoy pounding the pavement for the man.

Any advice?

Not Illinois. O-R-U.

Oral Roberts will play road games at Kansas and Arkansas as part of its nonconference schedule next season, coach Scott Sutton said.

Coming off their first NCAA tournament appearance in 22 years, the Golden Eagles will play at Kansas on Nov. 15 and at Arkansas on Dec. 22.

“You always want to play a couple of great teams from the major conferences and we’ve got that with Kansas and Arkansas,” said Sutton, who led Oral Roberts to the Mid-Continent Conference title last season. “They have two of the best atmospheres in the country.”

Sherron Collins didn’t play because he was back in Chi-cago, but Arthur wowed the camp-kids in a scrimmage yesterday:

Arthur, Kansas University’s highly acclaimed freshman forward from Dallas, also swished a 15-foot jump shot from the corner, an 18-footer from the side and a breakaway layup off his own steal, highlighting the Jayhawks’ intrasquad scrimmage Wednesday.

Link to story.

This may not seem like a big deal, but CJ has really suffered for not getting to spend as much time in the gym as he could have because of injury. Big men in particular need time in the gym to polish their games, and CJ, with all of his native tools and athleticism, still lacks polish.

“C.J.’s injury is much like the Wayne’s (Simien) thumb injury against South Carolina his senior season,” Self said. “He will be without contact for six weeks and will be able to do individual workouts starting in two or three weeks. We expect a full recovery.”

A little blip from today’s LJW:

Rush’s shooting form was rated as “expert” Monday by a computer program in the new $5,000 “Noah Select” machine recently purchased by the basketball program. A small camera on the front of the machine took pictures of a series of Rush shots, assessing a score to each shot based on the arc he put on the basketball.

This may not seem like a big deal, but the NOAH is an incredibly cool machine. Basically, it’s a camera/computer mashup that observes players’ freethrows and provides instant force feedback to help train more consistent shooting. The more consistent your arc, the more consistent your shot, and the better you’ll shoot freethrows. Having the instant force feedback lets players know when they have a correct arc and when they don’t. I’m hopeful this can make a difference in our FT shooting. Here’s some actual data from some of NOAH’s testing:

If you have Flash, you can watch a demo here.