Player Ratings to the Theme of Fallen Empires

Kansas hammered former basketball power Indiana. We rate the individual performances for the Jayhawks.

Kansas against Indiana. What a basketball matchup that was…in 1993 (or any time in the 90's). Or 1981. Or 1953. But in 2022? Well, as it turns out, not so much. The name is there but the prestige that was once there isn’t quite where Indiana wants it to be. It’s starting to come back, and they’ve got a strong team this year, so let’s hope they get consistently back up there in the upper echelon of this sport. Today we rate the player performances to empires that have come crashing down. Where does Indiana rate? Have they officially risen? Let’s see. As always, a reminder of how things are done:

Contents

1. 5 Stars: Rome
2. 4.5 Stars: British Empire
3. 4 Stars: Bill Cosby
4. 3 Stars: Indiana Basketball
5. 2 Stars: The Empire in Star Wars
6. 1 Star: Fallen Empires
7. Chris Teahan Memorial No Star:

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.

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.

5 Stars: Rome

This one was obvious. The fall of Rome is well documented and probably doesn’t need to be rehashed on a basketball website.

Dajuan Harris. What more can you say about this guy? He runs the show and on Saturday, he ran the show with flair.  The lobs to Zuby, the behind himself pass to Gradey for the dunk, but the cherry on top, the pièce de résistance was his no look pass to Bobby in the waning minutes to get his tenth assist for his first ever double-double. One team had a point guard, and the other didn't.  One team has the best point guard in the country, too.

Gradey Dick had a wonderful game, nailing four of five from three point land, but he impressed in other ways too. He stole the ball five times in this one, grabbed six rebounds, and as we're finding out, isn't afraid to go to the rack with authority. 

4.5 Stars: British Empire

This one is funny (sad?) because of the apparent delusional beliefs that many Brits recently had concerning their value on the world stage. Guys, this isn't 1722. Europe doesn’t care if you’re in it or not, as it turns out. Brexit continues to be one of the biggest mistakes of recent times.

Kevin McCullar is such an important cog in the Kansas machine that it's hard to believe that he's only played 10 games in his KU career. Eleven points, 11 rebounds, and five steals is a great game and somehow only the third best performance from a Jayhawk.

4 Stars: Bill Cosby

This guy had the world on a string. Man, all that dude had to not do was…well you know.

Is KJ Adams changing right before our eyes?  The undersized big man is really turning it on of late, and because you know you're always going to get maximum effort, I guess we should've expected his new found prowess in front of the basket. But, I sure didn't.  I welcome it, though.  Finished with 11 points. Keep it up KJ. 

Zuby Ejiofor had his best game in a KU uniform and it appears that he has leapfrogged Ernest Udeh and Zach Clemence as the backup big man. Scored eight point on lobs, dunks, and layups. 

Bobby Pettiford had one of his top performances of the season as well. For the first time this year, the transition to Pettiford when Harris took a rest seemed seamless.  Ten points and four assists in 22 minutes.

3 Stars: Indiana Basketball

Once a premier program, they have obviously dropped off significantly. While it’s not nearly as significant as the choices above, this article wouldn’t exist without them. They appear to be back on the rise, but it’s gonna take time.

Jalen Wilson was four of 18 from the field, and he got blocked on too many occasions.  Not his best game of the year, but he still managed 10 points and eight boards and if that's what you get in a rare off night, fine by me.

You know what?  I'm putting Cam Martin here.  He canned a three, he had a nice two minutes, he avoids the no star.

Joseph Yesufu also receives a three for being the guy who played some minutes, assisted one basket, and grabbed a rebound.

2 Stars: The Empire in Star Wars

Why does this only get two stars? Well, it’s simple- they ALWAYS return in some form or another. A new name with eerily similar costumes? Sure, why not?. The arrogance, the similar philosophy- it’s all there. They’re never really extinct and they NEVER learn.

No one was a two star.

1 Star: Fallen Empires

According to the internet, Fallen Empires is the “fifth Magic expansion and was released in November 1994. It is not considered part of any block.” Whatever that means.

No one was a one star in this blow out.

Chris Teahan Memorial No Star:

MJ Rice, Zach Clemence, and Ernest Udeh all played mop up minutes.