-- As I mentioned earlier, Kevin McCullar, Jr., is dealing with back spasms and didn't do much today. My guess is he's good to go on Thursday and I'd be quite surprised if he doesn't play. However, we'll know more for sure before tip tomorrow.
-- I don't think this means anything at all, but Self had to ride a few of his guys near the end of practice on Wednesday. Again, I truthfully don't think it means anything, but I just thought the guys would be more dialed in than they appeared to be earlier today. At one point, Self got on Gradey a couple of times and reminded him that he's a starter. I'll be interested to see how Gradey comes out tomorrow afternoon.
-- The one thing that Dajuan Harris talked about outside of KU's locker room was making sure to play with energy. If you look at KU's last two losses, at Iowa State and at Texas, Bill Self's squad played with very little energy, got down big in both games, and failed to recover. Kansas, having already won the Big 12 regular season championship, has a chance to make a big statement this week/weekend in Kansas City, but that won't happen if they don't play with energy and come out flat.
-- I wasn't sure about the timeframe, but I asked Kevin McCullar, Jr. if he was around when Texas Tech played in the National Title game a few years ago because for some reason I remember him being on the team, and he told me told that he redshirted that season. I asked him if he could take anything from that run with Texas Tech and apply it to this run, and he said the older guys on that team treated him just like he was one of the guys and he learned a lot from watching that team and how those guys handled themselves. Having been a member of that team, McCullar, Jr., believes that he'll be able to take everything he experienced from that run and be prepared for what's about to happen with this Kansas team.
-- As we approach the first game of the Big 12 Tournament, the big thing for me is how does Kansas come out of the gate tomorrow? They played, well, not very well against Texas and it showed early and often. The Jayhawks got down by double-digits and simply couldn't recover in Austin. If the Jayhawks want the oppotunity to play in Kansas City the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, they'll need to put on a good show during the Big 12 Tournament. The Jayhawks will face the winner of the first-rround game between No. 8 West Virginia and No. 9 Texas Tech in the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 9, at 2 p.m. (Central). The fact of the matter is, this is a Kansas team that can win the Big 12 Tournament and this is a Kansas team that could lose early on as well.
While addressing the media on Thursday, Self said his team last year, the team that won the National Championship, didn't start playing well until they arrived in KC for the Big 12 Tournament. Will that be the case again this week/weekend? Only time will tell.
-- Another thing I'll be looking for this week/weekend is how Gradey Dick performs inside the T-Mobile Center. I was talking to a friend in the media today and he told me, and I hadn't really look at this stat, but he made me aware that Dick has taken just 12 shots the past two games. Whether scoring from behind the arc, attacking the basket, or pulling up for the baseline jumper, Dick absolutely has to be a factor on the offensive end of the court. He's simply too good of a player to not impact the game, especially on the offensive end of the court.
-- Obviously, this isn't breaking news, but moving forward, it can't simply be the "Jalen Wilson" show. If Kansas struggles as a team and Jalen Wilson is the only guy involved on the offensive end of the court, it's going to be a very short March Madness for Kansas. All five guys have to be engaged and involved and play a role. Dajuan needs to play the way Dajuan is capable of playing. Kevin needs to make plays on both ends of the court and bring that intensity on the defensive end of the court. Dick needs to be the sharpshooter he has the ability to be. KJ Adams, Jr., needs to provide some type of presence in the paint for Kansas. Whether he's cutting to the basket, scoring on in-bounds plays, or hitting that little free-throw line floater.
-- At this point in the season, whatever Kansas gets off the bench, the best way I can put it, is icing on the cake. Bobby Pettiford, Joseph Yesufu, MJ Rice, Zach Clemence, Ernest Udeh, Jr., and Zuby Ejiofor have all had opportunities to shine this season, and they've done so on a number of occasions. However, Self simply hasn't been able to get any consistency from his bench.
-- I don't think this means anything at all, but Self had to ride a few of his guys near the end of practice on Wednesday. Again, I truthfully don't think it means anything, but I just thought the guys would be more dialed in than they appeared to be earlier today. At one point, Self got on Gradey a couple of times and reminded him that he's a starter. I'll be interested to see how Gradey comes out tomorrow afternoon.
-- The one thing that Dajuan Harris talked about outside of KU's locker room was making sure to play with energy. If you look at KU's last two losses, at Iowa State and at Texas, Bill Self's squad played with very little energy, got down big in both games, and failed to recover. Kansas, having already won the Big 12 regular season championship, has a chance to make a big statement this week/weekend in Kansas City, but that won't happen if they don't play with energy and come out flat.
-- I wasn't sure about the timeframe, but I asked Kevin McCullar, Jr. if he was around when Texas Tech played in the National Title game a few years ago because for some reason I remember him being on the team, and he told me told that he redshirted that season. I asked him if he could take anything from that run with Texas Tech and apply it to this run, and he said the older guys on that team treated him just like he was one of the guys and he learned a lot from watching that team and how those guys handled themselves. Having been a member of that team, McCullar, Jr., believes that he'll be able to take everything he experienced from that run and be prepared for what's about to happen with this Kansas team.
-- As we approach the first game of the Big 12 Tournament, the big thing for me is how does Kansas come out of the gate tomorrow? They played, well, not very well against Texas and it showed early and often. The Jayhawks got down by double-digits and simply couldn't recover in Austin. If the Jayhawks want the oppotunity to play in Kansas City the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, they'll need to put on a good show during the Big 12 Tournament. The Jayhawks will face the winner of the first-rround game between No. 8 West Virginia and No. 9 Texas Tech in the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 9, at 2 p.m. (Central). The fact of the matter is, this is a Kansas team that can win the Big 12 Tournament and this is a Kansas team that could lose early on as well.
While addressing the media on Thursday, Self said his team last year, the team that won the National Championship, didn't start playing well until they arrived in KC for the Big 12 Tournament. Will that be the case again this week/weekend? Only time will tell.
-- Another thing I'll be looking for this week/weekend is how Gradey Dick performs inside the T-Mobile Center. I was talking to a friend in the media today and he told me, and I hadn't really look at this stat, but he made me aware that Dick has taken just 12 shots the past two games. Whether scoring from behind the arc, attacking the basket, or pulling up for the baseline jumper, Dick absolutely has to be a factor on the offensive end of the court. He's simply too good of a player to not impact the game, especially on the offensive end of the court.
-- Obviously, this isn't breaking news, but moving forward, it can't simply be the "Jalen Wilson" show. If Kansas struggles as a team and Jalen Wilson is the only guy involved on the offensive end of the court, it's going to be a very short March Madness for Kansas. All five guys have to be engaged and involved and play a role. Dajuan needs to play the way Dajuan is capable of playing. Kevin needs to make plays on both ends of the court and bring that intensity on the defensive end of the court. Dick needs to be the sharpshooter he has the ability to be. KJ Adams, Jr., needs to provide some type of presence in the paint for Kansas. Whether he's cutting to the basket, scoring on in-bounds plays, or hitting that little free-throw line floater.
-- At this point in the season, whatever Kansas gets off the bench, the best way I can put it, is icing on the cake. Bobby Pettiford, Joseph Yesufu, MJ Rice, Zach Clemence, Ernest Udeh, Jr., and Zuby Ejiofor have all had opportunities to shine this season, and they've done so on a number of occasions. However, Self simply hasn't been able to get any consistency from his bench.
