KU backup point guard Pettiford says ‘team talk’ after Tennessee loss helped Jayhawks
Kansas men’s basketball has clobbered Texas Southern by 32 points, Seton Hall by 26 points, Missouri by 28 points and Indiana by 22 points since the Jayhawks’ ugly 64-50 loss to Tennessee on Nov. 25 in the Battle 4 Atlantis title game in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
What’s a main reason for the bounce-back blowouts?
“After the loss to Tennessee we all had a team talk just trying to figure some things out,” KU sophomore and backup point guard Bobby Pettiford said Tuesday at a news conference scheduled in advance of Thursday’s game against Harvard (6 p.m., Allen Fieldhouse).
“Since that loss we’ve been going up from there. We are starting to finally jell and kind of find that chemistry.”
Specifically …
“Kev is starting to find himself,” Pettiford said of senior Kevin McCullar, who had 11 points, 11 rebounds and five steals while playing 32 minutes in KU’s 84-62 win over Indiana.
“Gradey’s playing great,” Pettiford added of freshman Gradey Dick, who had 20 points, six rebounds and five steals against IU.
“J-Will is J-Will,” he noted of junior Jalen Wilson, KU’s leading scorer and rebounder at 21.1 ppg and 9.3 rpg.
“And myself starting with the Indiana game, starting to take pressure off J-Will so he doesn’t have to do everything for us,” Pettiford finished.
Pettiford, a 6-1, 190-pound backup point guard from Durham, North Carolina, scored 10 points with four assists in 22 minutes versus the Hoosiers.
Pettiford gave some details about the players’ meeting after the loss to the Volunteers.
“J-Will said something right in the locker room. He said everybody has got to step up, that we need some more from the bench,” Pettiford said. “Juan (Dajuan Harris) and Kev followed along.”
It appears Wilson, Harris and McCullar are definitely three of the main leaders on KU’s team.
“When I had a few injuries I would text or call J-Will,” said Pettiford. “I talked to Kev. Kev has been through the whole injury thing for years (at Texas Tech prior to KU). I called him a few times, talked to them and Juan. Having those guys in my corner helping me and walking me through. This is a ‘step-up’ year for me. It’s good to have them helping me.”
Pettiford suffered a hamstring injury in the first half of KU’s loss to Tennessee and missed the rest of that game, plus the next two. It was a setback for a player who had hamstring problems last season and in the 2022-23 preseason.
“Mentally it got me down a little bit, especially seeing Dajuan in foul trouble,” Pettiford said of getting injured in the opening minutes versus Tennessee. Harris had foul problems that game and had just two points, two assists and four turnovers in 18 minutes vs. the Vols.
“It kind of put pressure on me. Also Kevin was out as well,” Pettiford said of McCullar not being 100% the entire Tennessee game, then missing the following game against Texas Southern because of a groin injury.
“Seeing our team was kind of shorthanded I felt it’s kind of my fault. Staying in rehab and staying healthy is the best I can do. I feel great. I get treatment every day.”
Pettiford hopes to build on his strong outing against Indiana.
“Just reps in practice, kind of studying Dajuan’s game, how he plays with certain guys,” Pettiford said. “I’m a downhill guard, can guard 94 feet, get my teammates involved, knock down open shots, do what coach wants me to do.”
Pettiford is hoping the Jayhawks can upend Harvard of the Ivy League Thursday, then enjoy a few days off for the Christmas holiday and return to KU on the 26th refreshed and ready to start preparing for Oklahoma State (Jan. 31 at Allen) with an 11-1 record.
“We don’t like to lose. Losing is something Kansas doesn’t allow. Our fans are like that. We’re playing for the fans,” Pettiford said. “We work hard every day. We go two hours, three hours every day. When you are working that hard and you lose, it messed up the whole Bahamas trip (one in which KU went 2-1, beating Wisconsin and North Carolina State). You don’t want to end on a bad note.”
