Kansas vs Iowa State: Player Ratings to the Theme of Statues
The charge calls didn't lose Kansas this game, let's make that clear. But there's nothing that annoys me more than basing your entire defensive strategy around standing. This isn't exactly the way that Iowa State goes about things on the defensive end, I understand that, but I need a theme so here we go. So, in honor of the charge and standing as stiff as a statue, today’s player ratings post is going to take us around the world.
Every city has their fair share of statues, but whose are the very best and whose, just don’t stand up to the test, or well, just plain suck? Let’s rate the players, and just a fair warning that you probably were already prepared for, there aren't many high scores. But first, the “rules”:
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 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. Could also be that the player played, did their job, but didn't do much spectacularly.
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.
Chris Teahan Memorial No Star: Named after the former KU walk-on 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.
5 Stars: Statue of Liberty
The most famous statue in the world is the obvious number one.
In the TCU debacle, I decided not to rate Jalen Wilson because he has the only Jayhawk that did anything useful. I guess I'll give Jalen Wilson the nod here. He finished with 26 of the team's 53 points. He also grabbed nine of the team's 33 boards. Give this man some help.
4.5 Stars: Michaelangelo’s David
To see David in person in Florence is the only way to truly understand what a masterpiece this particular work of art is. It’s overwhelmingly beautiful.
No one else was good, so there is no 4.5 today.
4 Stars: The Sphinx
Wouldn’t it be cool if this bad boy was actually completely intact and able to be enjoyed in full? Well, it’s not, but that doesn’t take away from its grandeur.
There's also not a four to be seen from that "game."
3.5 Stars: Giant Buddhas
There are so many of these around Asia that it was hard to pick just one when I was “researching” for this article. The Leschan Giant Buddha probably takes the cake as it is carved out of the side of a mountain face in Sichuan, China.
Nope, you guessed it, no three and a half stars either.
3 Stars: Christ the Redeemer, Rio
Perhaps the most massive of any on this list. This statue is no doubt impressive, and the construction of it must’ve been a huge undertaking, but would it be as impressive if it were say, oh I don’t know, not on the top of a giant mountain overlooking an amazing vista of Rio de Janeiro? Probably not.
Kevin McCullar needs to stop shooting from the corner. He's great everywhere else on the court. Didn't show it today, scoring only two, but did grab 11 rebounds.
Joe Yesufu made a few threes, but man, the misses are adding up and he's not proving to be a reliable source of offense.
KJ Adams finished with seven points.
MJ Rice, Ernest Udeh, and Zach Clemence didn't play enough to be rated higher, but they certainly didn't play worse than the regulars.
2 Stars: Cristiano Ronaldo
Soccer legend, soon to be billionaire, and overall whiner Cristiano Ronaldo has a less than flattering statue in Madeira, Portugal. It doesn’t even look like him! And to make it even funnier, apparently his crotch has been made shiny due to tourists constantly rubbing it for good luck.
I'm going to be a little harsh on Dajuan Harris here as the whole team minus Wilson stunk. But two points and three assists isn't enough.
Bobby Pettiford didn't exactly pick up Dajuan's slack.
Gradey Dick scored seven and grabbed two rebounds. Not good enough from the Wichita freshman.
1 Star: Vlad Lenin, Josef Stalin, Confederate generals, et al
The city of Budapest did the only sensible thing when communism fell and Hungarians again experienced freedom- they got rid of all the communist propaganda in town and created a museum style park way off in the suburbs where you can go and see the wreckage of their former Soviet overlords. We shouldn’t destroy history completely, but the ugliness doesn’t have to be in our faces. Museums are places of learning and should house the now shameful relics to teach future generations about the past.
I'm not putting anyone that played a bad basketball game in this category and lump them in with former dictators.
Chris Teahan Memorial No Star:
Last time Michael Jankovich came into a game this bad, he made a three and got a higher star than anyone else. He was scoreless today.
Join the discussion! Come talk about this or any of our articles on the Blue Wing Rising Discord Server.
Follow Blue Wings Rising on Twitter.
Listen to the official podcast of Blue Wings Rising: The Rock Chalk Podcast
