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Twitter snit
Tyshawn Taylor’s Twitter exchange with followers Friday night wasn’t enough for Jayhawk coach Bill Self to impose a social media ban for his players. But he wants his point guard to rise above the criticism.
Taylor, after Kansas' 72-61 victory over Oklahoma on Saturday, said he'll stop responding on Twitter to fans who want to remind him of, among other things, some sloppy ballhandling that's produced 60 turnovers in 15 games.
On Friday night, Taylor tweeted: “If half that talk about ball could actually ball . . . I'd appreciate y'all comments and criticism more but y'all can't do stuck to being a fan.”
And: “Once again I repeat . . . If you can't go out there and lace’em up. I'll accept the constructive criticism . . . but since y'all can't well . . . yeah.”
Taylor said he often reads critical tweets of his performances and Friday decided to fire back.
“This is an every time thing on my Twitter,” Taylor said. “A lot of people just don't like me as a player. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion, and so am I. So, my response to the million people that hated me was, 'I don't respond to criticism that comes from somebody who is not in my position.'
“They don't really know what it takes to be a point guard at this level. . . . I appreciate the fan support, I love our fans. I think we have some of the best fans in the country. I think some fans give them a bad name sometimes.”
Taylor deleted the tweets within about an hour after their posting.
“Twitter is for people who voice their opinions,” Taylor said. “I didn't try to disrespect anybody, like they did me. I didn't use any language. I thought I handled it pretty well. I guess I can handle it better by not responding.”
That’s Self’s preference. He was alerted to the tweets with a text Friday night and sought out Taylor.
“I said, 'You have to let your play do your talking,' ” Self said. “The more you talk, the more you act like you're a little spoiled brat.
“It bothers me that in today's in today's time, in a social media world, we're so concerned with what people are saying about you.”
Self knows Taylor is “probably the most criticized player we've had since I've been here, but he brings a lot of that on himself. I told him that he has to let his play do his talking.”
Worth noting
-- Oklahoma reserve guard James Fraschilla did his job. He drew a foul from Kansas' Jordan Juenemann late in the game. But it was painful. Fraschilla, the son of ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla -- calling the game --drew a bloody nose from an elbow shot and had to leave the game. Juenemann was assessed a flagrant foul.
-- Don't be surprised to see Kurtis Townsend's name eventually associated with the Western Kentucky job. Townsend was a point guard for the Hilltoppers from 1978-80 and helped them win an Ohio Valley Conference championship. Western fired coach Ken McDonald on Thursday after a 5-11 start. Assistant Ray Harper has taken over on an interim basis.
— Blair Kerkhoff
