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As the Oklahoma City Thunder have risen to a powerhouse level NBA contender, it’s hard not to argue that the two guys it has to mean the most to are Kevin Durant and Nick Collison. Collison joined the then Seattle Supersonics in 2004 and remains, alongside Kevin Durant, as the only two guys truly from the old guard. The 2004 season with Rarshard Lewis and Ray Allen made noise, they won the division, but everything following was a team marred by hardships, most notably when a combustible situation between owner and city and arena ended tragically for Seattle fans. The team was sold to Clay Bennett  in 2006; it was moved to Oklahoma City in 2008.

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The Kansas Jayhawks received a verbal committment from 2013 LB Kellen Ash (Parkway South/Ballwin, MO) on Monday. The 6’2″ 200 lbs LB racked up 87 tackles, 19 sacks and 2 INT’s this past season. Ash was also recruited by Illinois, Kansas State and Cincinnati.

Drew Gooden led the Milwaukee Bucks to a huge road win against the Detroit Pistons last night. The Bucks are in a position (a couple games out behind Philadelphia) which they almost need to win the rest of their schedule, and former Jayhawk Drew Gooden seemed to relish in the challenge putting up 26 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assist. Oh wait, he had a steal and a blocked shot also. Talk about playing up. Check out one of his assist.

Check out Drew’s no look beauty to teammate Ersan Ilyasova

Gooden looks more like a Point Guard than a Power Forward on that play. In what clearly has become Gooden’s best offensive season, and really best overall season, of his career, it would be great to see the Bucks make the Playoffs this year so he can keep it all going. He’s currently shooting 30% from behind the arc, making him an all around threat and a very difficult cover. He’s never been this offensively efficient nor aggressive.

A wonderful tenure as one of the classiest Jayhawk players ever, concluded with a season long leadership clinic and National Championship appearance, is concluded today with a predictable decision to enter the NBA draft. Robinson, the 6’10″ Power Forward who impressed the nation this year with his physical domination in one of the toughest conferences in the country, as well, his natural role as a leader, will now take his game to the next level in the NBA where I would expect him to prosper.

Robinson was a first consensus All American and placed second behind Kentucky’s Anthony Davis for the Wooden Award and the AP Player of the Year. According to NBADraft.net, Robinson would fall just behind Davis as the number 2 selection this season. That would place Robinson in Washington where he’d be teamed up with up and coming point guard, John Wall. Of course, draft day is unpredictable, yet one has to believe Robinson is a lock for the top 6 picks. When you account for both physical and mental attributes, Robinson would seem the most ready to transition to the next level with the least amount of effort.

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When a great season comes to an end, it’s never easy, particularly when the evil foe that steals the treasure is Kentucky. And Calipari. When we first see the reality (the travel 3-point shot), it manifest itself as shock. The body sort of shuts down and delays the acceptance of the reality of the situation. But then it moves on to things like anger, mental headline tickers titled “Calipari’s hair is still awful” and “vacated Final Fours” and “is that girl really dipping her burger in ranch dressing?” Sorry for the tangent, I just found that so strange.

Last Monday in Los Angeles was a gorgeous sunny day. This isn’t going to be some anecdote intended to make the Midwestern following feel lousy (heck I think the weather was great there for the most part), its just the way it was. Sunny, clear, a constant summerish breeze, less smog and gun fire. Around 9am I went to my local mailbox store to mail a package. The owner was taping a box together, he took a moment to look up from his tape gunning and said to me, “those Jayhawks going to pull it out for us tonight?” The owner is from Los Angeles and has probably never been to Kansas before. But that didn’t matter, Kansas was soundly America’s team that night, as evidenced at the West Hollywood mailbox store. Us. I got that feeling immediately, the feeling of heavenly manipulation. Divine Intervention. As if God himself was like, “Kentucky is evil. Calipari has stiff weird hair. Let there be Kansas. Let there be only the light of Jayhawks. Let Ashley Judd keep taking on lesser and lesser respectable roles.”

This is a diary of the mental stages I went through on my National Championship journey in West Hollywood, California.

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