-- On Friday night, No. 3 Kansas lost to No. 22 Tennessee, 64-50 in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis. Jalen Wilson (14) and Joseph Yesufu (14) led the way offensively, while Gradey Dick, KU's second-leading scorer on the season, finished with seven points, as did Kevin McCullar, who happens to be KU's third leading scorer. Heading into tonight's game against Texas Southern, Wilson (22.9), Dick (15.4), and McCullar (9.7) lead Kansas in scoring seven games into the season. A number of things must happen if Kansas hopes to have the type of season it expects, and these guys leading the way offensively is one of them. The way I see things, and I could be wrong, but at this point in the season, if Wilson and Dick struggle to score, this team is gonna struggle to win. That's just the dynamic of the team right now. Now, it might not matter tonight, because Kansas is facing a Texas Southern team that is just 1-6, but it will matter moving forward the rest of the season. Tonight, can Wilson, DIck, and McCullar come out and set the tone for the game, and can that carry over to Seton Hall later on in the week?
-- As I mentioned above, Wilson, Dick, and McCullar will be, most likely, the three biggest keys to KU's success this season, and I mean that on both ends of the floor. However, as I also mentioned, they can't be asked to carry the load alone. As we know, Cam Martin, Kyle Cuffe, Jr., and Bobby Pettiford will be out for an extended period of time, so that leaves Kansas will three fewer options to call on when things get tight or when a change is needed. That means Dajuan Harris, KJ Adams, Joseph Yesufu, MJ Rice, Ernest Udeh, Zuby Ejiofor, and Zach Clemence have the opportunity to step up and provide some consistency for this team tonight and moving forward. When called upon against Tennessee, Yesufu absolutely answered the call in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis. When Pettiford went down, Yesufu stepped in and scored 14 points in 27 minutes of action. Shortly after the game, Yesufu didn't sound very happy with his performance, because in his words, he didn't get any of his teammates involved on the offensive end of the court. He said that he's got the ability to play the point guard spot and take on a role similar to that of Dajuan Harris. Whether it be Yesufu, Udeh, Ejiofor, Rice, Clemence, Adams or someone else, guys are gonna need to step up and become a factor on both ends of the court. It's gonna be a frustrating season if Wilson, Dick, and McCullar are forced to carry the load alone.
-- To me, one of the biggest questions heading into tonight, and the question won't be answered tonight, but I'm interested to see if/when a change is made, and that's what happens with the five-spot moving forward? At the end of last season, I really thought that Zach Clemence would be the guy starting down low for Kansas. Heck, I can even admit that my opinion might have shifted to Ernest Udeh, Jr., right before the season kicked off. In my mind, Clemence and Udeh, Jr., were going to battle it out for the right to start, with the guy that lost the battle coming off the bench to play significant minutes. Well, that clearly hasn't been the case this season. Udeh, Jr., is averaging 10 minutes per game, Clemence just six minutes per game, and Ejiofor just five minutes per game. Obviously, Clemence was out of action for a short period of time after taking a blow to the face against North Dakota State. At the end of the day, Coach Self is gonna do what he feels is best for this team. He's a hall-of-fame coach and the best in the business, so whatever he says, goes. However, I'd be interested to see how Kansas performs, over a period of time, with a guy like Udeh or Clemence getting extended minutes down low for Kansas.
-- I can safely say that Gradey Dick, at least for me, has been so much better than I thought he'd be. And, without question, I thought he'd be damn good. He's been as good as advertised. Hell, he's been better than as good as advertised. Now, I'm ready to see if MJ Rice can take that next step forward in his development. He's had a rough start to the season with COVID-19 and kidney stones, so he's got absolutely no control over those things. If I remember correctly, Kansas plays one road game, at Missouri, for the entire month of December. Self's squad will have an opportunity to practice and play a significant amount inside AFH. From what I know about Rice and what I've been told, he's got a chance to be an absolute difference-maker this season. He's extremely talented, tough, and athletic, and can score the ball in a variety of ways, which is the type of player Kansas needs. If you remember, Rice, in 18 minutes against North Dakota State, scored 10 points, pulled down four rebounds, dished out two assists, and was credited with one block. He's the type of player that can do a lot for this team and when at his best, makes this Kansas team look quite different.
-- As I mentioned above, Wilson, Dick, and McCullar will be, most likely, the three biggest keys to KU's success this season, and I mean that on both ends of the floor. However, as I also mentioned, they can't be asked to carry the load alone. As we know, Cam Martin, Kyle Cuffe, Jr., and Bobby Pettiford will be out for an extended period of time, so that leaves Kansas will three fewer options to call on when things get tight or when a change is needed. That means Dajuan Harris, KJ Adams, Joseph Yesufu, MJ Rice, Ernest Udeh, Zuby Ejiofor, and Zach Clemence have the opportunity to step up and provide some consistency for this team tonight and moving forward. When called upon against Tennessee, Yesufu absolutely answered the call in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis. When Pettiford went down, Yesufu stepped in and scored 14 points in 27 minutes of action. Shortly after the game, Yesufu didn't sound very happy with his performance, because in his words, he didn't get any of his teammates involved on the offensive end of the court. He said that he's got the ability to play the point guard spot and take on a role similar to that of Dajuan Harris. Whether it be Yesufu, Udeh, Ejiofor, Rice, Clemence, Adams or someone else, guys are gonna need to step up and become a factor on both ends of the court. It's gonna be a frustrating season if Wilson, Dick, and McCullar are forced to carry the load alone.
-- To me, one of the biggest questions heading into tonight, and the question won't be answered tonight, but I'm interested to see if/when a change is made, and that's what happens with the five-spot moving forward? At the end of last season, I really thought that Zach Clemence would be the guy starting down low for Kansas. Heck, I can even admit that my opinion might have shifted to Ernest Udeh, Jr., right before the season kicked off. In my mind, Clemence and Udeh, Jr., were going to battle it out for the right to start, with the guy that lost the battle coming off the bench to play significant minutes. Well, that clearly hasn't been the case this season. Udeh, Jr., is averaging 10 minutes per game, Clemence just six minutes per game, and Ejiofor just five minutes per game. Obviously, Clemence was out of action for a short period of time after taking a blow to the face against North Dakota State. At the end of the day, Coach Self is gonna do what he feels is best for this team. He's a hall-of-fame coach and the best in the business, so whatever he says, goes. However, I'd be interested to see how Kansas performs, over a period of time, with a guy like Udeh or Clemence getting extended minutes down low for Kansas.
-- I can safely say that Gradey Dick, at least for me, has been so much better than I thought he'd be. And, without question, I thought he'd be damn good. He's been as good as advertised. Hell, he's been better than as good as advertised. Now, I'm ready to see if MJ Rice can take that next step forward in his development. He's had a rough start to the season with COVID-19 and kidney stones, so he's got absolutely no control over those things. If I remember correctly, Kansas plays one road game, at Missouri, for the entire month of December. Self's squad will have an opportunity to practice and play a significant amount inside AFH. From what I know about Rice and what I've been told, he's got a chance to be an absolute difference-maker this season. He's extremely talented, tough, and athletic, and can score the ball in a variety of ways, which is the type of player Kansas needs. If you remember, Rice, in 18 minutes against North Dakota State, scored 10 points, pulled down four rebounds, dished out two assists, and was credited with one block. He's the type of player that can do a lot for this team and when at his best, makes this Kansas team look quite different.
