Player Ratings to the Theme of Child Actors in 1980s Sitcoms

Rating the performance of Kansas Jayhawk players after the win over Iowa State.

Kansas went to Ames, Iowa and beat the Iowa State Cyclones without Ochai Agbaji and Remy Martin. I'm guessing that not many Kansas fans would've predicted that.  Anyway, we have a new site, but it's the same old, same old from a ratings perspective.  

Just in case you're new to these player ratings (or just need a refresher on how they work), here's how the evaluation process happens. First, I choose a subject and rank things according to my preferences. Your preferences will no doubt vary, but that's part of the fun. Then I assign a player to each star rating based on performance, but please note that not all games and not all ratings are equal. It's not completely stats based, but of course stats play a large role in how a player stacks up to others in a particular game.

5 Stars: Out of this world performance. This is a hard to achieve rating and is only reserved for the most impressive or impressionable performances.

4.5 Stars: Very strong performance, packed the stat sheet, provided undeniable intangibles.

4 Stars: A strong performance that falls just short of the standards above.

3.5 Stars: Above average performance, perhaps stands out in one category or one aspect of the game.

3 Stars: Average performance. Also could be a very strong game in one aspect but a very poor game in another such as 15 points but seven turnovers.

2 Stars: Below average performance, or we simply have higher expectations for the player on this particular night.

1 Star: Rare, but if a player has a stinker in all aspects.

Memorial No Star: Named after a former KU walk-on or obscure player and is awarded to the player(s) who didn't have enough playing time to contribute or whose performance isn't worthy of a rating for another reason.

Let's open up the nostalgia chest, shall we?

Contents

1. 5 Stars: Alyssa Milano aka Sam from Who’s the Boss?
2. 4.5 Stars: Fred Savage aka Kevin from The Wonder Years
3. 4 Stars: Keshia Knight Pulliam aka Rudy from The Cosby Show
4. 3.5 Stars: David Faustino aka Bud from Married…with Children
5. 3 Stars: Tina Yothers aka Jennifer from Family Ties
6. 2 Stars: Jeremy Miller aka Ben from Growing Pains
7. 1 Star: That robot girl from Small Wonder
8. The Malcolm Nash Memorial No-Star:

5 Stars: Alyssa Milano aka Sam from Who’s the Boss?

The undisputed number one. Sam was the object of desire of, oh I don’t know, let’s just say many, many preteens and teenage boys back in my day. Did a solid job and maintained her celebrity long after Who’s the Boss? went off the air. She’s more of an activist now, but still very well known.

As great a game as KU played, I can't give anyone a 5-star rating.  

4.5 Stars: Fred Savage aka Kevin from The Wonder Years

I loved The Wonder Years when I was growing up and I’m glad to see a new, contemporary version of the old show has become a hit. Anyway, I liked Kevin because, despite being from different generations, he had a lot of the same problems and issues that I had.

Dajaun Harris had an excellent game, perhaps his best as a Jayhawk.  He was everywhere defensively, snatching four steals, and offensively, he did everything that you'd want Harris doing. He drove instead of chucking up threes and he passed.  Man, did he pass. He dished out a season high eight assists to go along with his 12 points.

David McCormack is under a lot of pressure from the Jayhawk faithful, but he played an excellent game on Tuesday.  KU's rebounding machine grabbed 14 to go along with his 14 points.  It must be noted that he nailed a perfect seven of seven from the field including many free throw line jumpers.  

In the absence of the stars, players will be asked to step up.  Joseph Yesefu did just that. He scored seven points and dished out five assists and stole the ball three times.  Overall, he was just what KU needed and that extra pass to an open Wilson late in the game for a clutch three?  That probably put a big smile on Bill Self's face.

4 Stars: Keshia Knight Pulliam aka Rudy from The Cosby Show

Who doesn’t like Rudy? That episode where they were lip-synching as they came down the steps…classic.

Jalen Wilson was a tale of two halves guy in this one. All of his 13 points came in the second frame.  As we've probably mentioned before, this KU team could make a deep run if Wilson is on.  

3.5 Stars: David Faustino aka Bud from Married…with Children

Bud was such a sleazeball, but what did you expect growing up in that house?

It was an off night for Christian Braun, but he did make some key plays including a pretty stealthy steal in KU's stellar second half. 

3 Stars: Tina Yothers aka Jennifer from Family Ties

Alex (Michael J. Fox) and Mallory (Justine Bateman) are superior characters, but Jennifer had her moments. Which Jennifer do you like more? The tomboy from the first few seasons or the wannabe valley girl with huge hair in the last few?

I was hoping that Jalen Coleman-Lands would have another break out game, this time against his former team, but alas, it didn't really happen.  Tried a few up and under drives that resulted in circus like comedy, so maybe he should stick to nailing long range threes?

2 Stars: Jeremy Miller aka Ben from Growing Pains

Again, choices needed to be made. I didn’t pick Kirk Cameron (crazy town) and I thought that Tracy Gold was a tad too old for this, so I settled on Ben. Ben was fine as a side character to those two, but a Ben-centric episode? No thanks.

I couldn't really decide where to place the rest of the guys, but Mitch Lightfoot wasn't the answer on Tuesday.  

1 Star: That robot girl from Small Wonder

Holy crap, this show was dumb.

No one was a 1-star.

The Malcolm Nash Memorial No-Star:

Old school fans remember Malcolm.  Anyway, KJ Adams and Bobby Pettiford didn't play enough to garner a rating. 

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