Elijah Johnson: So this is what other teams feel like all the time.

It's hard to watch someone trying so hard to do their best and knowing that their best isn't good enough. It's even harder if you're emotionally invested in the outcome of their work. You want them to be great - hell, you need them to be great. For you. For them. For everything. And when their best is just mediocre, your skin feels like it's shrinking over your frame.

At present, Kansas Basketball is in the midst of a rather unusual funk. They've lost three straight games. And though a loss or two isn't uncommon for Kansas, three in a row is practically unheard of. The television found it so unusual that they put up a stat showing just how rare it was. The losses are especially rare when you consider who they're losing these games to: Oklahoma State - a team Bill Self, the Kansas coach, used to play for in college and during his time as the Kansas coach he rarely seems to beat; TCU - the worst team in college basketball; and Oklahoma - a team slightly better than TCU. These three teams are traditionally easy wins, so the losses to them sting. It's like losing to a girl's high school junior varsity team and then to the back-up squad who is sitting behind them on the bench. It's hard to watch Kansas lose these games. Everyone keeps saying these losses will make the team stronger, but what does it do for the fans?

Now, when a good team starts to stumble people are going to start asking questions. What's to blame? What's going wrong? Who or what do we point the finger at? After the first loss people started saying that Kansas was just too overrated and not as good as everyone said they were. That it was only a matter of time before they were exposed. Then the second loss game along and it just felt like a kick in the balls. The worst team in the nation beat us and beat us bad. After that loss, the tone went from disappointed to absolutely stunned. Now, with the third loss the dialogue seems centered around, When will it all end?

I have added my own opinions to the dialogue and they center around the team's starting point guard, Elijah Johnson. In my opinion, he's lost it. Whatever talent he used to have, whatever gifts he had which got him on the team, they're gone. And with Bill Self unwilling to bench him, the team just seems destined to sink with him, as long as he is on the floor. I won't go into the numbers but they're on my side and they prove my point.

Bill Self gave the team a "talking to" after the Oklahoma State loss and he was pissed. Then he held a press conference and called the team, "weak", "boys playing against men", "not ready" and "bad." He called out the team in public in the hopes that the team would rise up to the challenge and play harder. It had the opposite effect. The team came out and lost what should have been the easiest game on their schedule. They broke records for the worst performance by a Kansas team in history during that game. After that loss, Bill didn't say a word. No team chat. I guess his hubris sank in and he didn't know what to do. So he let the team get together on their own time and let them talk it out on their terms. They held their private meeting and started pushing themselves. They looked for a way to win. They all talked about what was working and what was lost. Then they promptly lost again. There's no one left to talk to this time. Unless you want to let the fans have their say. I'm sure there are enough emotionally super-charged fans who would love to say a thing or two. Though it would probably only make things worse.

It's not easy to be Kansas. Each game you play, you know the other team is gunning for you. They have everything to gain from the win and nothing to lose from the loss. On the other hand, if you win, well, that's what is expected of you, but if you lose, you've lost everything. Records are kept about Kansas. They are one of four benchmark teams in the nation that people look at when they think of basketball excellence; Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky and Kansas. When a team beats Kansas their fans traditionally rush the floor and tear done the nets. When Kansas wins, there is no celebration. No rushing of the floor. No nets get cut down. Kansas doesn't have a giant for them to beat. I think Kansas needs to find their way back to that feeling. A way to play for the win because it means something. Win because it's an achievement, and not just something that maintains the status quo. Play to win the game, instead of playing not to lose.

Rumors are floating around in the wind that the team is trying to lose games to humiliate Bill Self because they are tired of his criticisms. Other rumors say the team is just trying to throw games on purpose for more sinister reasons. My favorite rumor, and the one which is probably true, says that the team is just weak of heart. They're too nice and they don't have the mean streak that it takes to be a winner. The first thing they do to train a boxer is hit him in the face. If he cries, he doesn't have the heart to fight. If he gets mad, he has the heart of a fighter. Kansas needs a punch in the face to see what they will do.

My theory is Elijah.

He has a vital position on the team and his inability to perform in that role is costly. True, he is being asked to play a position he doesn't normally play, but his normal role isn't that much different than the one he's in now. But I don't want to beat him down. I know he's chasing a dream and I am one of those people that loves supporting people who chase their dreams. However, at what point do you say, "I just don't think this dream is going to work out for you." I think it's time for someone to tell Elijah that it's over. He gave it a try but the longer he plays, the less likely it is that he will ever play in the NBA. He went from a potential back-up player on an NBA team, to having no chance in hell of ever getting hired by anyone. And with each sad performance he turns in, the more his chances for ever being picked for a casual game at a local gym, wane. Again, I want to support him because I know he wants to be a great player but it's just not in him.

So what would you do if you were the coach? Would you sit him? Would you continue to let him play? If you do it's a roll of the dice; he might get better, but if he doesn't and nothing says he will, then he is only ruining his future and the future of the team. Would you do that to him and the rest of the team?

I'm not a basketball coach and I'm too emotional to make this decision so I am reaching out to the non-basketball world to let me know what they think of this situation.

 And, no - If the team lost every game, I would still love Kansas Basketball.