Bill Self discusses candidates for KU’s rotation during weekly Hawk Talk radio show
As the nonconference season winds down, Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self seems comfortable using a starting lineup of Dajuan Harris, Kevin McCullar, Gradey Dick, Jalen Wilson and KJ Adams.
In fact, that’s been the first five in all but one game for the Jayhawks (10-1), who opened the Texas Southern contest on Nov. 28 with junior guard Joseph Yesufu in place of senior McCullar, who was slowed by a groin injury.
As far as key reserves, there’s still some uncertainty entering Game 12 — Thursday’s 6 p.m. home game versus Harvard, a 7-4 team that was to play at UC Irvine on Tuesday night.
“We know Joe is going to play his minutes. Bobby (Pettiford, backup point guard) is going to play his minutes. But having another strong athlete on the perimeter and a big guy that can alter or block (shots) I think is big for us,” Self said Tuesday on his weekly Hawk Talk radio show.
“The key to having our team have a great season in my opinion is MJ (Rice, 6-5 guard) coming through and one of those bigs (besides Adams) coming through,” Self added.
The Jayhawks’ big-man group consists of Adams, a sophomore who has started every game; freshman Zuby Ejiofor, who had eight points, two rebounds and a block in 12 minutes in Saturday’s 84-62 win over Indiana; freshman Ernest Udeh; sophomore Zach Clemence; and senior Cam Martin.
“I love Zuby. I thought he played great. He’ll probably be first big off the bench Thursday against Harvard,” Self said Tuesday. “But the reality is there’s not much separation between any of those guys (bigs).
“I can see myself playing Ernest or Zach or Zuby or Cam. I don’t see much difference. Now they have different skill-sets. I thought in this particular game (IU), matching up athletically against Trayce (Jackson-Davis, 6-9 preseason All-American) was probably as important as anything. Some other games it may be shooting the ball or could be something different.”
Udeh has averaged 8.5 minutes a game in 10 games; Ejiofor 6.4 minutes in 10 games and Clemence 5.9 minutes in eight games. Martin, who missed the first nine games because of a separated shoulder, has been available the past two games and made brief appearances. Starter Adams has averaged 8.5 points and 4.3 boards while logging 25.3 minutes in 11 contests.
“They are all getting better,” Self said of the bigs. “Hopefully I’m getting where I trust more, because to be real candid with you, that’s one of the biggest things with me as a coach.
“All the players who have played here would tell you there’s an element of trust that has to exist before you feel like you can let a guy play through mistakes and things like that. I haven’t gotten there with our young kids, with the exception of Gradey. Gradey has had more opportunities.”
Rice, who like Dick and Udeh were McDonald’s All-Americans, has averaged 10.2 minutes while playing in eight of KU’s 11 games.
“MJ is a good player and MJ and I talked yesterday. He gets it,” Self said on Hawk Talk. “We put in something new then today we are trying to figure out different rotations on traps and different angles — who is trapping and the designated trapper. Some of those young kids were a little confused. You play the guys who are not quite as confused on game days a lot of times.”
Self said, “It’s really important to have guys athletically coming off the bench that make plays you can’t coach. That’s why we throw lobs. That’s why I want guys to dunk it.
“I’ve heard a lot of people say, ‘Just use the glass.’ I say, ‘Using the glass doesn’t exactly turn on Allen Fieldhouse, but an athletic dunk will.’ Those are the type of momentum plays that key runs. We have to have some athletic guys that when they (opposing players) get an uncontested layup, a guy is able to block it.”
Self on Hawk talk noted that “one of the best defensive plays we’ve had this year so far was against Duke (in KU’s 69-64 win over Nov. 15). They got an uncontested layup. Juan (Harris) blocks it. They got another and Zuby wiped out the second one. They were going to get the loose ball. Kevin dives and gets us possession. Those are the type of plays that change games as much as anything else.”
Self said after Thursday’s game the players would scatter to their hometowns, or hometowns of friends, for the holiday break.
They will return to practice on the morning of Dec. 27, “one more day this year than prior years.”
KU will open its Big 12 season against Oklahoma State on New Year’s Eve at Allen Fieldhouse. One nonconference game will remain after the Harvard game. That’s at Kentucky on Jan. 28 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
