I actually sorta defended the Henrys as an unfortunate product of the NBA's silly one-and-done rule, but J. Brady McCollough's Kansas City Star article about the Henry family gave a lot of Kansas fans pause. Some say it made Jayhawk recruits Xavier and C.J. look like prima donnas and made their dad look like a demanding control freak. Dad didn't like it either and he also didn't appreciate the insinuation that he would make veiled threats towards Bill Self's program to ensure his sons get preferential treatment—so he responded by making veiled threats towards Bill Self's program.

Late yesterday, Henry hinted that he was so upset about the story—one he fully admitted was factually accurate—that the boys might change their mind about attending Kansas and maybe bolt for Kentucky or somewhere else. He announced that they would have a "family meeting" Tuesday night to decide their fate. Very late in the evening, Xavier finally texted radio host Cory Anderson saying, "I'm goin to Kansas and that's final." Crisis averted! For now.

Now some might say responding to charges of being a prima donna by acting like a prima donna, doesn't make a lot of sense—but that's the way prima donnas work. Illogical overreaction is the whole point. But thank you to Carl Henry for proving all his critics right in one burst of crazy. It's too late for the Henry boys to go anywhere else (even though Dan Shanoff's D-League suggestion makes perfect sense) but at least when things go south for the Jayhawks this season, no one can say they weren't warned.

Xavier Henry says he'll keep his commitment to KU - Kansas City Star
Ballin' is a Habit: BREAKING: Xavier Henry staying at Kansas
Xavier Henry: Why Not Try D-League? [Dan Shanoff]
2009 One-and-Dones: Was It Worth It? [Rush The Court]
"I Hope Bill Self Is Right..." [KU Sports]

Xavier should have been a lottery pick in last Thursday's NBA Draft, but the pesky age limit rule is sending him to Kansas this fall. He will be joined there by his older brother, who rode the bench at Memphis last season and jumped ship when John Calipari went to Kentucky, which didn't have room for either Henry brother because they signed John Wall, who Bill Self nearly snagged for Kansas. Got all that?

However, Xavier—unlike some of his freshman teammates—is not at Kansas yet, because he's still trying to figure out how to get to the NBA while spending as little time as possible inside an actual classroom. ("If he didn't have to go to college, he wouldn't do it," dad says.) He contemplated Europe, but that won't give him enough "exposure" and he's not desperate for the money, because C.J. is still living off a New York Yankee contract he signed four years ago. (That's why he still hasn't played college ball yet.) Plus, unlike those other chumps, he's knows he the real deal.

"If you're ready," Xavier says, "you should be able to go. But most kids that came out of high school, they weren't ready when they were supposed to be. They were just jumping to make money."

As if everyone who shook David Stern's hand last week didn't honestly believe they were the best player in the room. Dad thinks C.J. is NBA-ready too ... and he has a bad foot and hasn't played organized basketball in four years.

"I don't like stepping on people's toes," Carl says, "but I just know what I know. I watch them play, all the Kansas kids. I like all these kids, (Sherron) Collins, (Tyshawn Taylor), they're good kids, man. But they're not better than C.J." ...

"Everybody's gotta be on board," Carl says. "The coach has got to be on board."

Ok, that makes him sound like a real prick, but to be fair to Carl Henry, he is not exactly reaching Marv Marinovich/Damic Dokic territory here. (Even if that is setting the bar ridiculously low.) He knows his sons are valuable—even if he probably has an over-inflated sense of their basketball abilities—and he's going to do what he can to get the most out of the value. Good for him. But what makes people uncomfortable is that parents (or AAU coaches or "representatives") believe that they should be the ones calling the shots for a major basketball program. Even worse, they often get to.

Nothing against these kids, either. They are clearly working hard to make themselves better basketball players, and they've got talent. But they don't belong anywhere near college. They don't want to be there, they'll only stay as long as they have to, and even though Bill Self thinks he's getting a gift, programs would be wise to steer clear of obvious one and done players. (Just ask Thad Matta.) The current rules aren't helping colleges or the pros, but I feel like there will be a lot more stories like this one before they get fixed.

Getting to the pros the Henry family plan [Kansas City Star]
Carl Henry Clears the Air…Part 1 [The Shiver]
OTC: Daddy Henry Responds to Star Story But Shuns C&C [KC Confidential]
Xavier Henry: Why Not Try D-League? [Shanoff]

It's usually because they're just so absurd or really lack even the most tenuous of news angles to give them the go-ahead. Other times it's because they're just absolute horseshit. But every Friday until we get sick of running them, we'll present to you some of these not-so-shiny gems. All items should be treated as [Sic'd]. Enjoy...

This Insult Was Self Inflicted

So there is a story that goes with this photo. I was in Lawrence for my girlfriend's birthday in April (I'm keenly aware it's nearly June but just finally got the picture from her). We went to dinner and then to a new piano bar in Lawrence, the Barrell Roll or something. We went to this bar because A) it was new, and B) all people believe they will have some new sort of experience "this time" at a piano which inevitably does not happen. Anyway we're in there maybe an hour before Bill Self saunters in ostensibly alone. Of course I have to walk over and say hello. So here is a basic breakdown of how this goes down.

I see Bill Self and tell my girlfriend to get the camera ready so I can get a picture with him.

I walk over and say hello and tell him nice season. He is cordial enough and even shakes my and my girlfriends hand and says hello.

She sort of backs off to take the picture.

Me: "how about a picture Bill?" (we at this point are at a first name basis)

Bill Self: "No pictures at the bar." (declarative statement also given with a quick glance around as if he's being ambushed)

I push the issue, "come on a quick one?" (as if he was unaware of how long it takes to snap a picture)

Bill: "Sorry buddy." and he then turns his back on me.

I motion to the girlfriend to snap it anway even if its just me and a profile of the coach.

He catches the red eye flash and turns right into it as if he thought we were joking around and is caught. He manages to smile as well, quick on his feet that Self. He then realizes he's been photographed at a bar on Mass St. (technically on the back side) and is pissed. He shakes my hand again and brings me in close (so I can hear him over the dueling pianos) to say, "you know you're a real asshole." I quickly retort, "well I'm a Mizzou fan, so I don't really give a shit." Bill fires back one final dig, "you would be."

With that I realize I've revealed myself a Mizzou fan to the High Priest behind enemy lines, and am a tad worried Cole Aldrich will surface, like a ridiculously tall ninja, choke slam me and erase the picture. I instead merely return to the group, which was predominately females that attend KU, so the greatness of this moment was completely lost on them.

But there you have it. While Bill was not pulling a Eustachy (or I foiled his plans) he dislikes being photographed at bars and will call you an asshole if you do so, he clearly hates Mizzou fans, and isn't nearly as affable as say Baby Mangino.

Go Cards

"The Silver Sack" Is Actually A Great Nickname For Him

This picture is of the back end of darius miles sick escalade. Hanging from the trailer hitch is this silver sack.

Enjoy and please don't use my name.

Sir, Your Babel Fish Skills Are Other Worldly And Strange

Señor Daulerio,

Muy buenos días; yo soy un lector japonés de tu buenísima 'weblog' deadspin punto com. Me gusta que utilices varias cosas de youtube (si EMI tiene su derecho, su nuevo nombre sería jewtube). Te escribo para preguntar si te gusta el grupo 10cc; su nombre viene del volumen de esperma tipíco que ejacula un hombre normal.

Have a nice day.

-al

No Need For Babel Fish Here!

It'd Be More Plausible If It Were Band Of Horses

Did anyone else catch Will all pleathered up singing back up for Green Day on the Tonight Show Tuesday night?

Screen shots attached.

Do YOU know your enemy??

Sometimes You Have To Call Upon A Higher Comment Complaint Box (With Footnotes)

Sir:

I've been a reader of Gawker and its sister sites for some time. For
the last year or so, I've had commenter privileges which I've used on
a number of sites, though my main read has been Deadspin. Normally I
wouldn't write about an editorial position — it is the editor's
privilege, after all — but the events of the last few days have
prompted me to do so.

As you may be aware, A.J. Daulerio posted a piece on Sunday night
stating that major changes to Deadspin's commenting system were about
to take place and that the readers could expect many commenters to
lose their privileges starting almost immediately[1]. No further
explanation was offered — no reasons as to why this would happen, no
explanation of new commenting rules, nothing — though Daulerio did
claim that it was out of his hands, suggesting that the decision had
come from higher up in Gawker Media. On Monday, all heck broke loose
as many of the most respected (and, dare I say, funniest) commenters
were summarily dispatched. Daulerio did post an article[2] to the
effect that everybody should stop whining about it and consider
themselves lucky to have a site to read, but that was about it. As a
result, most of the banned commenters headed off to a different site,
one started by a bunch of people who met as Deadspin commenters, for
the evening. Many of them haven't come back and, if the comments on
other sites are any indication, won't.

I don't think anyone would argue that the comments section was due for
a clean-up — there were far too many off-topic and unfunny posts, far
too many cheap jokes, and far too much repetition. Daulerio, in an
interview on another site Tuesday[3], admitted that his decision to
direct successive comments ombuds to lighten up the standards for new
commenters was a mistake, and the decision to adopt Facebook Connect,
while understandable from a business standpoint, exacerbated the
problem. That all could have been fixed without playing games with
your readers. As you know, they're not idiots. By and large, they're
adults and rather well-educated. A message explaining why the
comments section needed to improve, and what standards would be
enforced to see that it did improve, might have been met with some
grumbling, but the vast majority of the regular commenters would have
complied. Heck, another blogger did a great job of analyzing possible
reasons for the crackdown based on the available information[4], any
of which would have been accepted by Deadspin's readers and
commenters. Unfortunately, Daulerio chose not to offer any
explanation. He left everyone in the dark while hiding behind Gawker
management — and then, in that same interview on Tuesday, admitted
that the decision had, in fact, been his alone (despite having
implicated Gawker management in his initial announcement) and was
based on the offer of a small group of commenters to form a de facto
lynch mob (what Daulerio calls his "comment ninjas") to clean up the
site as they saw fit. In short, he put his own ego, and that of a few
commenters upset that they weren't getting as much attention as they'd
like, ahead of any sound business decisions. In the process, he
managed to alienate some of your most loyal readers and many of the
few people who actually added value to the site with their comments.

I think everyone is aware of Deadspin's performance relative to the
other Gawker sites. Ultimately it's your site to do with as you see
fit, but I can't see the value in policies designed to drive away your
most loyal readers. Sadly, that's exactly what Daulerio and his team
of anonymous "ninjas" have done.

Sincerely,

Colin Morton,
Vancouver, BC

[1]http://deadspin.com/5273554/a-brief-shady-announcement-about-your-commenting-privileges
[2]http://deadspin.com/5273985/your-profanity+laced-tirades-will-now-be-taken-under-advisement
[3]http://sportingmadness.blogspot.com/2009/06/on-ground-deadspins-aj-daulerio-speaks.html
[4]http://sportingmadness.blogspot.com/2009/06/nick-denton-deadspin-and-commenter.html

A reporter at a high school basketball tournament in Missouri explains how he was waiting by himself outside a locker room where a prized recruit from North Carolina named John Wall was celebrating his team's win.* (The locker room was outside the main arena, so there was no other media around.) Wall had justwould later lead his school to the championship and was the top unsigned prospect at the eight-team tourney. (And maybe in the whole nation.) Naturally, there were coaches at the tourney, but this is an "evaluation" period when college scouts are allowed to look, but not touch.

That's what was so curious when Kansas coach Bill Self came rolling through. ... Of course, Wall is the top uncommitted recruit. Self had to know I was a reporter and even said hello to me. I just thought he'd stand there, maybe even wave to Wall to let him know he was there. Instead, when the Holy Rams poured out of the locker room, Self was excited:

Self: "Johnny, great win man. You really played well."

Wall: "Thanks."

Self: "I'm not supposed to be talking to you, and you know that, but I just wanted to tell you that was a great win."

Then Self vanished.

That my friends, however minor, is a recruiting violation. Is it true? Would Self be that blatant? Wall had 41 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists in the final game, scored or assisted on his team's final 25 points, had two thunderous dunks (he's a generous 6'4") and plays for a school named Word Of God Academy.

So, yes, he would be that blatant.

T of C gone as quickly as it got here [News-Leader]

* The reporter, Allen Vaughn, writes into clarify: The incident happened on Thursday, the first night of the tourney, and not after the championship game, on Saturday. He also adds that even though Kansas had a game in Boulder on Saturday afternoon, Self returned to Springfield, Missouri, to watch Wall play that night. Memphis coach John Calipari was also in attendance, but did not appear to have any contact with players.

** Clarification No. 2: Per the NCAA: "A contact occurs any time a coach has any face-to-face
contact with you or your parents off the college's campus and says more than hello. A contact also occurs if a coach has any contact with you or your parents at your high school or any location where you are competing or practicing." That means, if Self accidentally runs into Wall at the grocery store, they may exchange pleasantries, but I would think tracking him down outside the locker room violates that edict, which is why Self apparently admitted as much.

Last week, we wrote that free throws didn't matter as much in college basketball as fans like to think that they do. We would like to officially withdraw that statement. Heavens.

(Amazing photo via Getty Images)

Self finally got that stuffed rhino off his back with Kansas' stirring win, and, even as bitter Illini fans, we're happy for him. Besides, you know, now Bill James can keep his how-far-ahead-are-we? calculations for one more weekend.

We had forgotten that it had been a while since Kansas had made the Final Four. Kansas fans we're awfully happy about it.

We love the guy at the end. Somebody's got Self's back, that's for sure.

Just to continue our early-morning motif of embarassing photos of coaches and managers, we present this photo of Kansas coach Bill Self, splashing around with his troops in Hawaii before the tournament last week.

Note the hat. In such situations, when you're Bill Self and worried about water-based adhesives, it's probably important to keep the hat on, yes, just in case.

Why, yes, now that you mention it, this was sent to us from a "uiuc.edu" email address. Why do you ask?

Jayhawks In Hawaii [KUSports.com]
Tony LaRussa's Wife Cashes In Some Chips [Deadspin]

The Golden Eagles beat Kansas in Lawrence last night, and in a convincing fashion. Predictably, this has led to even more frustration from the Jayhawks faithful about Self, who has struggled transferring his outstanding recruiting classes into NCAA Tournament success, a similar problem to the one he had at Illinois, where he was nevertheless revered. Kansas has its own problems right now — by the way, don't tell us about the SI jinx; Kansas was on a regional cover, as were Connecticut, Wisconsin and UCLA — but we, as always, must focus on Oral Roberts.

As we've mentioned before, it's difficult not to be bewildered by a Division I basketball team at a school run by a man who once claimed God would kill him if he didn't raise $8 million. (He raised the money and survived. WHEW!) This was in the heyday of televangelists, in 1987, around the time of Jerry Falwell's Jimmy Swaggert's trembling lower lip and Jim Bakker climbing Mt. Hahn. God's intense interest in the matters of Oral and his parishioners, frankly, would make us rather nervous to play for the Golden Eagles; if they don't make the tournament this year, we're scared of what Jehovah is capable of.

Oral Roberts Shocks No. 3 KU [Kansas City Star]
They Must Draw 6,000 Fans, Or God Will Call Them Home [Deadspin]

Backup Jayhawks center C.J. Giles was booted from the team by Self yesterday after he was cited by campus police Monday night. Giles had just returned from a suspension for missing practices and having academic issues last week. How did he celebrate his reinstatement?

Let's quote from the police report: The 20-year-old woman told police Giles became angry with her when she wouldn't leave his apartment and he grabbed her by the ankles, dragged her off his bed and onto the floor. She told police he continued to drag her into the hallway as she tried to get away and then "struck her in the left side of her head by her ear" with his closed fist. She left the apartment and reported the incident to police at 11:30 p.m.

Giles admitted to police that he dragged the woman across the floor, according to the report, but he denied hitting her in the head. He was not taken into custody, but was given a notice to appear in municipal court Dec. 6 for battery.

We're not including there the reason Giles asked the woman to leave his apartment: Because "when he received a phone call from another woman, he told the woman in his apartment to leave, and when she asked why, he told her his girlfriend was on her way to his room."

You know what's terrible? However bad the incident went, we imagine it somehow being worse had the "girlfriend" actually made it up to the room.

Self kicked him off the team yesterday, so Giles should have plenty of time to sort this mess out.

Giles Gets Booted For Good [Lawrence Journal-World]

After Kansas' loss to Nevada last night, Jayhawks assistant coach Jim Dooley clearly told Wolf Pack star Nick Fezekas to do something to himself that involved the word "fuck." No one has discovered whether Fezekas did anything to inspire this anger, but ESPN caught it on camera and now everyone's apologizing.

For the sake of discussion:

Bill Self. Kansas. 2-3. Has his coaches cursing out teams that beat him.
Bruce Weber. Illinois: 6-0. Breaks his ankle working on his own lawn.

Kansas Statement On Incident [KU Athletics]

(Update: Hey, who wants some video?)

That said, there's quite a little battle brewing between Bruce Weber and Illinois and Kansas (and former Illini) coach Bill Self. As documented by the great Illini Wonk, Self swooped up prized recruit Sherrod Collins after almost everyone projected him as going to Illinois, and the move was so sudden and so opposite of what Collins had claimed to want, some people are wondering if there isn't some nefariousness going on. This led to one of our favorite quotes from a high school coach in a long time, from Collins' Chicago high school coach Anthony Longstreet, about Decatur Herald-Review reporter Mark Tupper, one of the first people to float the rumor: "What exactly does Mark Tupper know about relationships? I m telling you, it s like falling in love. Is Mark Tupper an expert on analyzing love and human relationships? If so, tell him I d like to see his credentials." Having once covered Illinois basketball with Tupper in the late '90s, we can tell you: Mark Tupper KNOWS love and human relationships.

Worth noting: We're Illinois alums, so our view on the matter is that, regardless of any "facts," everything Bill Self does is wrong and everything Bruce Weber does is right, because he wears orange sports jackets and talks like a duck.

Blogosphere Heats Up Over Collins [Illini Wonk]

(By the way, one of our favorite tricks to play on our dad during last year's NCAA tournament was to send him to BruceWeber.com, the official site not of the Illinois coach, but of photographer Bruce Weber, "featuring the beauty of youth in male nude photography." Very fun. Dad loved it.)