When No. 9 Kansas (20-5; 8-4) took the court against Oklahoma today, I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I mean, I had no idea at all. As all of you know, life on the road in the Big 12 is hell, and the last time Kansas played on the road, the outcome wasn’t pretty. Obviously, Iowa State and Oklahoma are two completely different teams, but things happen on the road in Big 12 play. Today, Kansas pounded Oklahoma, 78-55. Bill Self’s squad did exactly what a top-10 team is supposed to do against a team that is just 2-9 in conference play. The Jayhawks got off to a slow start against the Sooners, but eventually started to roll midway through the first half and never, and I mean never, looked back.
Not surprisingly, one of the biggest stars of the game, if not the biggest star, was Jalen Wilson. In 31 minutes of action, Wilson scored a game-high 18 points, pulled down five rebounds, dished out five assists, and was credited with five steals. Offensively, Wilson, against Oklahoma, shot 7-of-17 from the field, 3-of-4 from behind the arc, and was 1-of-2 from the free-throw line. When Wilson is on top of his game and playing with confidence, few players are as good game in and game out. I know he scored just two points against Texas, but if you look at the scoring run before that game, and again today, he’s having a First-Team All-American type of season.
And the thing I love most about Wilson, and I think we can all agree about this, he doesn’t rush anything on the offensive end of the court. He always seems to play within his strengths, doesn’t force anything, and does a great job of getting his teammates involved. What a year he’s having so far for Kansas. Speaking of guys playing at a high level, how about the play of Dajuan Harris today? In 34 minutes of action, Harris scored 16 points, pulled down three rebounds, dished out three assists, committed three turnovers, and was credited with three steals.
In all, Harris was 7-of-11 from the field, 1-of-1 from behind the arc, and 1-of-2 from the free-throw line. Listen, the bottom line is this Kansas team is so dangerous when Harris scores the ball and the other players around him are performing at a high level. Whether he’s scoring from behind the arc or driving to the basket and scoring through contact or throwing up a runner in the lane, Harris needs to become a consistent scorer if Kansas is going to reach its ceiling this season.
Harris had a big outing against Texas (17 points) and Kansas rolled. Harris had another big performance against Oklahoma (16) points and Kansas blew past the Sooners in Norman. Moving forward, Harris absolutely has to be a factor on the offensive end. Speaking of guys that did a lot of everything, Kevin McCullar, J., had himself a game against Oklahoma. In 35 minutes of action, McCullar, Jr., tallied 13 points, pulled down five rebounds, dished out five assists, committed three turnovers, and was credited with three steals.
Overall, he shot 4-of-8 from the field, 0-of-2 from behind the arc, and was 5-of-7 from the free-throw line. Some love him and some don’t love him, but McCullar, Jr., will continue to be an important part of this team moving forward. His shot from behind the arc isn’t falling, and he’s getting some good looks, but he continues to be aggressive on the glass, he continues to steal Kansas extra possessions, and he’s making plays around the basket, both scoring and getting teammates involved.
The thing is, McCullar, Jr., is a guy that is capable of making shots, and we’ve all seen that. His shot isn’t falling now, but at some point this season, maybe against Oklahoma State, he’s going to drill some big shots when Kansas really needs it. He continues to provide leadership, is an excellent defender, and finds a way to impact the game on the offensive end of the court, whether his shot is falling or not. If you look at his last seven games, McCullar, Jr., went for 10 against TCU, 14 at Baylor, 11 at Kentucky, 16 against Kansas State, 2 at Iowa State, 16 against Texas, and 13 at Oklahoma.
I know this might sound crazy, but KJ Adams, Jr., getting two fouls early on might have been a big development for Kansas in terms of its production off the bench moving forward this season. First, in terms of Adams, Jr., he had another impressive outing on Saturday against Oklahoma. 10 points, three rebounds, one assist, and one block on 21 minutes of action. Against the Sooners, Adams, Jr., was 5-of-6 from the field and 0-of-2 from the free-throw line. His final layup of the game, which increased KU’s lead over OU to 12 points, came with 13:24 left in the second half.
On Saturday afternoon, Adams, Jr., attempted a few more jumpers than normal and none of them were successful attempts, but his scoring around the basket continues to be big for Kansas. I firmly believe that Adams, Jr., has cemented himself in the starting rotation for the rest of the season. I think he’s done more than enough to earn his spot with Harris, Dick, McCullar, Jr., and Wilson. However, I think Kansas fans have to be excited about the play of freshman big man Ernest Udeh, Jr. In just 17 minutes of action, he scored eight points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field, pulled down four rebounds (two offensive), blocked two shots and was credited with two steals.
Playing with fresh legs and a free mind, Udeh, Jr., was all over the place today. He was extremely active on the defensive end of the court and, while he was credited with two just blocks, he absolutely altered a number of shots as well. He was active, played with a ton of energy, skied above the rim for a couple of dunks, and the smile he displayed never left his face. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Ernest Udeh, Jr., has the potential, ability, athleticism, and everything in between to be a difference-maker for Kansas this season.
Obviously, after somewhat of a slow start to the season, Udeh, Jr., is finally becoming comfortable on the court and appears to have found a role coming off the bench for Kansas. Right now, the biggest thing he can provide is energy, rebounding the basketball, and protecting the rim for Kansas. Udeh, Jr., is so long and so athletic and, when at his best, simply makes Kansas a different team.
Also, if you look at this game defensively, Kansas limited Oklahoma to just 36% shooting (20-of-56) from the field and 24% shooting (4-of-17) from behind the arc. The Jayhawks forced 24 turnovers, scored 27 points off those turnovers, finished the game with 13 bench points to OU’s 6, had 17 fastbreak points to OU’s 12, blocked four shots to OU’s one, had 16 steals to OU’s 11, and dished out 19 assists to OU’s 5.
Kansas led for 26:20 and its biggest lead of the game was 26 (71-45).
Not surprisingly, one of the biggest stars of the game, if not the biggest star, was Jalen Wilson. In 31 minutes of action, Wilson scored a game-high 18 points, pulled down five rebounds, dished out five assists, and was credited with five steals. Offensively, Wilson, against Oklahoma, shot 7-of-17 from the field, 3-of-4 from behind the arc, and was 1-of-2 from the free-throw line. When Wilson is on top of his game and playing with confidence, few players are as good game in and game out. I know he scored just two points against Texas, but if you look at the scoring run before that game, and again today, he’s having a First-Team All-American type of season.
And the thing I love most about Wilson, and I think we can all agree about this, he doesn’t rush anything on the offensive end of the court. He always seems to play within his strengths, doesn’t force anything, and does a great job of getting his teammates involved. What a year he’s having so far for Kansas. Speaking of guys playing at a high level, how about the play of Dajuan Harris today? In 34 minutes of action, Harris scored 16 points, pulled down three rebounds, dished out three assists, committed three turnovers, and was credited with three steals.
In all, Harris was 7-of-11 from the field, 1-of-1 from behind the arc, and 1-of-2 from the free-throw line. Listen, the bottom line is this Kansas team is so dangerous when Harris scores the ball and the other players around him are performing at a high level. Whether he’s scoring from behind the arc or driving to the basket and scoring through contact or throwing up a runner in the lane, Harris needs to become a consistent scorer if Kansas is going to reach its ceiling this season.
Harris had a big outing against Texas (17 points) and Kansas rolled. Harris had another big performance against Oklahoma (16) points and Kansas blew past the Sooners in Norman. Moving forward, Harris absolutely has to be a factor on the offensive end. Speaking of guys that did a lot of everything, Kevin McCullar, J., had himself a game against Oklahoma. In 35 minutes of action, McCullar, Jr., tallied 13 points, pulled down five rebounds, dished out five assists, committed three turnovers, and was credited with three steals.
Overall, he shot 4-of-8 from the field, 0-of-2 from behind the arc, and was 5-of-7 from the free-throw line. Some love him and some don’t love him, but McCullar, Jr., will continue to be an important part of this team moving forward. His shot from behind the arc isn’t falling, and he’s getting some good looks, but he continues to be aggressive on the glass, he continues to steal Kansas extra possessions, and he’s making plays around the basket, both scoring and getting teammates involved.
The thing is, McCullar, Jr., is a guy that is capable of making shots, and we’ve all seen that. His shot isn’t falling now, but at some point this season, maybe against Oklahoma State, he’s going to drill some big shots when Kansas really needs it. He continues to provide leadership, is an excellent defender, and finds a way to impact the game on the offensive end of the court, whether his shot is falling or not. If you look at his last seven games, McCullar, Jr., went for 10 against TCU, 14 at Baylor, 11 at Kentucky, 16 against Kansas State, 2 at Iowa State, 16 against Texas, and 13 at Oklahoma.
I know this might sound crazy, but KJ Adams, Jr., getting two fouls early on might have been a big development for Kansas in terms of its production off the bench moving forward this season. First, in terms of Adams, Jr., he had another impressive outing on Saturday against Oklahoma. 10 points, three rebounds, one assist, and one block on 21 minutes of action. Against the Sooners, Adams, Jr., was 5-of-6 from the field and 0-of-2 from the free-throw line. His final layup of the game, which increased KU’s lead over OU to 12 points, came with 13:24 left in the second half.
On Saturday afternoon, Adams, Jr., attempted a few more jumpers than normal and none of them were successful attempts, but his scoring around the basket continues to be big for Kansas. I firmly believe that Adams, Jr., has cemented himself in the starting rotation for the rest of the season. I think he’s done more than enough to earn his spot with Harris, Dick, McCullar, Jr., and Wilson. However, I think Kansas fans have to be excited about the play of freshman big man Ernest Udeh, Jr. In just 17 minutes of action, he scored eight points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field, pulled down four rebounds (two offensive), blocked two shots and was credited with two steals.
Playing with fresh legs and a free mind, Udeh, Jr., was all over the place today. He was extremely active on the defensive end of the court and, while he was credited with two just blocks, he absolutely altered a number of shots as well. He was active, played with a ton of energy, skied above the rim for a couple of dunks, and the smile he displayed never left his face. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Ernest Udeh, Jr., has the potential, ability, athleticism, and everything in between to be a difference-maker for Kansas this season.
Obviously, after somewhat of a slow start to the season, Udeh, Jr., is finally becoming comfortable on the court and appears to have found a role coming off the bench for Kansas. Right now, the biggest thing he can provide is energy, rebounding the basketball, and protecting the rim for Kansas. Udeh, Jr., is so long and so athletic and, when at his best, simply makes Kansas a different team.
Also, if you look at this game defensively, Kansas limited Oklahoma to just 36% shooting (20-of-56) from the field and 24% shooting (4-of-17) from behind the arc. The Jayhawks forced 24 turnovers, scored 27 points off those turnovers, finished the game with 13 bench points to OU’s 6, had 17 fastbreak points to OU’s 12, blocked four shots to OU’s one, had 16 steals to OU’s 11, and dished out 19 assists to OU’s 5.
Kansas led for 26:20 and its biggest lead of the game was 26 (71-45).
