Hey all,
As most of you know, Bill Self conducted his weekly press conference in Lawrence earlier today. During his time with the media, Self touched on a number of topics, including the possibility of playing red-shirt freshman Ochai Agbaji this season.
I was in Lawrence for the press conference and started out by asking Self about who he expects to step up in Udoka Azubuike’s absence? For me, I get the feeling that David McCormack will benefit the most from Azubuike being sidelined the rest of the season.
Obviously, the hasn’t played much this season, but moving forward, I expect that to change. I don’t think he will be the only guy to benefit, as Mitch Lightfoot and K.J. Lawson should see an increase in minutes as well.
But in terms of the future and preparing for life without Azubuike, I really believe that McCormack will step up and make the most out of this opportunity. He’s clearly got all of the tools, but it’s just a matter of getting the opportunity and allowing the game to come to him.
HEAD COACH BILL SELF
On who he expects to step up in Udoka Azubuike's absence:
"It will need to be collectively. We played without Doke (Azubuike) for four games and actually did a pretty decent job during those particular games, but not great. We labored against New Mexico State but played pretty good against Villanova. The lineup certainly didn't cost us the game against Arizona State, even though we lost. Dedric (Lawson) is not a five (center) and we're going to have to play him at the five. He's much better when he can face (the basket) and drive a guy, or whatever. We'll tweak some things on what we need to do. We don't have much time to do it. It will be a collective effort by everybody."
On McCormack and whether more minutes with Azubuike out will help him develop:
"Yeah, I think so, no question. No question he can do that. David has a different skill set than Silvio has, but I think that he can certainly do some things to stabilize. You know you are not going to throw it to him and score as many points, but he can certainly do some things to stabilize the interior, which he is more than capable of doing."
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Self was also asked about how Kansas will change, from a scheme approach, now that Azubuike is out for the season. It sounded like he and his staff met and have some decisions to make when looking to the rest of the season.
Offensively, things just don’t look like much of anything is on track and, as most of you saw in Ames, when Iowa State made a run in the second half, Kansas, at least to me, just didn’t know how to respond and didn’t appear to be a tight group on the court. If I’m wrong with what I saw, feel free to let me know.
To me, it sounds like Self and his staff are going to simplify things and see if they can get some constancy on the offensive end of the court. Obviously, it’s not going to happen overnight, but it does appear that some changes are going to take place.
On changing schemes now without Azubuike:
"We're still trying to figure some stuff out. We do a lot of things that it doesn't appear like we do anything. We're one those, right now, when we get out of kilter, we do a lot of things but don't do anything real well offensively. We need to tighten that ship a little bit and reduce what we are trying to accomplish offensively where the guys maybe can execute a few things differently. We have 70 plays, believe it or not, or 60 plays and we don't run any of them very well. Maybe run five and run those well. I think that will be something, to try to simplify a little bit."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To me, the biggest news of the press conference was when Self said he’s considering playing red-
shirt freshman Ochai Agbaji this season. A week ago, the idea of playing Agbaji didn’t exist, but much has changed in a very short period of time.
Azubuike is out for the season and nobody knows what is going to happen with Silvio De Sousa, or when it’s going to happen, and so Self, Ochai, his mom and dad have been talking about pulling the red-shirt and getting him out on the court.
Obviously, a difficult decision is going to be made and, I’m guessing, everybody will be on the same page, but when a decision is finally made, it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see Agbaji play this season. Truthfully, I’ve got no idea if that will happen or not, but if it does, I won’t be surprised.
Agbaji brings athleticism to the court, can get up and down in transition, can score from downtown and has the potential to be an outstanding defender. The thing is, how long would it take for Agbaji to make an impact this season?
There’s no doubt that Self has a ton of confidence in Agbaji and he wouldn’t make the move unless he played on playing the former Oak Park star. My guess is, and it’s only a guess, but I’m guessing that a decision will be made in the very near future.
On if he would consider removing Ochai Agbaji redshirt:
"We haven't made that decision, but to be real candid with you, Ochai, myself and mom and dad, we've all talked about it. I haven't made a decision to do that whatsoever because if you bring him out, you bring him out to play him. Is he good enough? Absolutely. There's no question. But the reality of it is, it's a different pressure that he hasn't had the chance to experience any of it. The games he played in high school, even though he was a very good player, weren't state championship games. So, your first taste is not even a Michigan State. Your first taste is going on the road in a hostile place and have him deliver. He's been great in practice and has gotten a lot better but it's a different type of environment that he has never experience before. Are we thinking about it? Absolutely. But have we made a decision yet? We have not."
On what he initially imagined Ochai Abaji's role to be right away:
"I don't know. I think he's going to be a really good player. I'm not saying we're going to bring him out; I didn't say that at all. But going back to June and watching him, I thought he had a chance to really good."
On if Agbaji is an effective 3-point shooter:
"He can make shots, yeah."
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I know many of you aren’t going to be happy about this, but there is nothing new to report on Silvio De Sousa. Self was asked about De Sousa on Monday afternoon, and unfortunately for the Jayhawks, nothing has changed in his status.
Now, Self made it clear that the University of Kansas is working hard to get something done, but at this time, everything remains the same.
On if there has been progress on Silvio De Sousa's situation:
"No, there is not at this point in time that I know about. I know the University is working hard trying to bring a resolution to it but that hasn't occurred yet. I'm not privy to all the information on timetable and stuff like that. When I ask my daily deal, it's 'working on it', which is 100 percent accurate and we know that to be the case."
The answer to the next question Self was asked is obvious, but I wanted to get a sense of what he was feeling, along with the sense of what De Sousa was feeling, during this process, so I decided to ask Self how frustrating this process has been for the both of them?
I can’t even begin to imagine, especially after 14 games, De Sousa is feeling right now, and I think Self did a great job of painting the picture on Monday.
On how it is frustrating Silvio De Sousa:
"He is crushed. And he will be more crushed now because his partner (Azubuike) can't play and he knows his role could be bigger. Whether Doke plays or not, that is totally isolated form Silvio, totally different. We would want him to be available and have him the chance to do regardless of Dokes situation. You could think it could be a little more magnified now. In my world and my eyes, it's not. It's still the same situation that we are in. People are trying to move forward with it. It's just not as quickly as we had hoped."
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One player that has been on an uptick lately is freshman guard Quentin Grimes. In his last three games, Grimes has scored 16 points, 14 points and 19 points. This season, Grimes is averaging 9.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. If Kansas is going to have the type of season it hopes to have, especially with Azubuike out of action, Grimes must continue to play at a high level.
He’s a much better shooter from behind that than his numbers suggest, but it’s not just about scoring. He needs to rebound the ball, take care of the ball and make smart decisions on both ends of the court.
The margin for error is much, much smaller than it was a week ago for this Kansas team.
On Quentin Grimes' improved play over the last three games:
"I didn't want to downplay the other day, but it's hard to get excited about someone scoring some points when your team plays bad. Bad teams have leading scorers and we were obviously a bad team on Saturday. But, from a positive standpoint with him, he's seeing the ball go in the hole, he's shooting with more confidence, he finished a couple of tough plays around the basket. I think he is on an uptick, big time. I think he's playing the best ball he's played since he's been here. So, that to me, is very positive. The thing about it is, the other day, he didn't have much help. You take him away and what were we, 3-of-15 from three? I could be off. I think we were 6-of-20, so the last two games combined we are 9-of-41 (from behind the 3-point arc). And that makes it hard on everybody. I watched the Iowa State game, that we played against them here, and I just happened to remember what was on the bottom line: at one point in time in the game, we were 13-of-25 from three. It's not like guys can just step up, space it and made some shots last year. We're never going to shoot that high of a percentage as we did last year from three, but we're certainly going to be a lot more capable of doing what we're doing. And we will, I have no problem stating that. I'm confident we will. But we've still got to manufacture some things so that the things we don't do quite as good, how are we going to make up for that in other areas? How are we going to score in transition? How are we going to get offensive-rebound putbacks? These were things we were obviously laboring with that makes the other things magnified. Because if you did those things, then the other things aren't magnified as much."
As most of you know, Bill Self conducted his weekly press conference in Lawrence earlier today. During his time with the media, Self touched on a number of topics, including the possibility of playing red-shirt freshman Ochai Agbaji this season.
I was in Lawrence for the press conference and started out by asking Self about who he expects to step up in Udoka Azubuike’s absence? For me, I get the feeling that David McCormack will benefit the most from Azubuike being sidelined the rest of the season.
Obviously, the hasn’t played much this season, but moving forward, I expect that to change. I don’t think he will be the only guy to benefit, as Mitch Lightfoot and K.J. Lawson should see an increase in minutes as well.
But in terms of the future and preparing for life without Azubuike, I really believe that McCormack will step up and make the most out of this opportunity. He’s clearly got all of the tools, but it’s just a matter of getting the opportunity and allowing the game to come to him.
HEAD COACH BILL SELF
On who he expects to step up in Udoka Azubuike's absence:
"It will need to be collectively. We played without Doke (Azubuike) for four games and actually did a pretty decent job during those particular games, but not great. We labored against New Mexico State but played pretty good against Villanova. The lineup certainly didn't cost us the game against Arizona State, even though we lost. Dedric (Lawson) is not a five (center) and we're going to have to play him at the five. He's much better when he can face (the basket) and drive a guy, or whatever. We'll tweak some things on what we need to do. We don't have much time to do it. It will be a collective effort by everybody."
On McCormack and whether more minutes with Azubuike out will help him develop:
"Yeah, I think so, no question. No question he can do that. David has a different skill set than Silvio has, but I think that he can certainly do some things to stabilize. You know you are not going to throw it to him and score as many points, but he can certainly do some things to stabilize the interior, which he is more than capable of doing."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Self was also asked about how Kansas will change, from a scheme approach, now that Azubuike is out for the season. It sounded like he and his staff met and have some decisions to make when looking to the rest of the season.
Offensively, things just don’t look like much of anything is on track and, as most of you saw in Ames, when Iowa State made a run in the second half, Kansas, at least to me, just didn’t know how to respond and didn’t appear to be a tight group on the court. If I’m wrong with what I saw, feel free to let me know.
To me, it sounds like Self and his staff are going to simplify things and see if they can get some constancy on the offensive end of the court. Obviously, it’s not going to happen overnight, but it does appear that some changes are going to take place.
On changing schemes now without Azubuike:
"We're still trying to figure some stuff out. We do a lot of things that it doesn't appear like we do anything. We're one those, right now, when we get out of kilter, we do a lot of things but don't do anything real well offensively. We need to tighten that ship a little bit and reduce what we are trying to accomplish offensively where the guys maybe can execute a few things differently. We have 70 plays, believe it or not, or 60 plays and we don't run any of them very well. Maybe run five and run those well. I think that will be something, to try to simplify a little bit."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To me, the biggest news of the press conference was when Self said he’s considering playing red-
shirt freshman Ochai Agbaji this season. A week ago, the idea of playing Agbaji didn’t exist, but much has changed in a very short period of time.
Azubuike is out for the season and nobody knows what is going to happen with Silvio De Sousa, or when it’s going to happen, and so Self, Ochai, his mom and dad have been talking about pulling the red-shirt and getting him out on the court.
Obviously, a difficult decision is going to be made and, I’m guessing, everybody will be on the same page, but when a decision is finally made, it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see Agbaji play this season. Truthfully, I’ve got no idea if that will happen or not, but if it does, I won’t be surprised.
Agbaji brings athleticism to the court, can get up and down in transition, can score from downtown and has the potential to be an outstanding defender. The thing is, how long would it take for Agbaji to make an impact this season?
There’s no doubt that Self has a ton of confidence in Agbaji and he wouldn’t make the move unless he played on playing the former Oak Park star. My guess is, and it’s only a guess, but I’m guessing that a decision will be made in the very near future.
On if he would consider removing Ochai Agbaji redshirt:
"We haven't made that decision, but to be real candid with you, Ochai, myself and mom and dad, we've all talked about it. I haven't made a decision to do that whatsoever because if you bring him out, you bring him out to play him. Is he good enough? Absolutely. There's no question. But the reality of it is, it's a different pressure that he hasn't had the chance to experience any of it. The games he played in high school, even though he was a very good player, weren't state championship games. So, your first taste is not even a Michigan State. Your first taste is going on the road in a hostile place and have him deliver. He's been great in practice and has gotten a lot better but it's a different type of environment that he has never experience before. Are we thinking about it? Absolutely. But have we made a decision yet? We have not."
On what he initially imagined Ochai Abaji's role to be right away:
"I don't know. I think he's going to be a really good player. I'm not saying we're going to bring him out; I didn't say that at all. But going back to June and watching him, I thought he had a chance to really good."
On if Agbaji is an effective 3-point shooter:
"He can make shots, yeah."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I know many of you aren’t going to be happy about this, but there is nothing new to report on Silvio De Sousa. Self was asked about De Sousa on Monday afternoon, and unfortunately for the Jayhawks, nothing has changed in his status.
Now, Self made it clear that the University of Kansas is working hard to get something done, but at this time, everything remains the same.
On if there has been progress on Silvio De Sousa's situation:
"No, there is not at this point in time that I know about. I know the University is working hard trying to bring a resolution to it but that hasn't occurred yet. I'm not privy to all the information on timetable and stuff like that. When I ask my daily deal, it's 'working on it', which is 100 percent accurate and we know that to be the case."
The answer to the next question Self was asked is obvious, but I wanted to get a sense of what he was feeling, along with the sense of what De Sousa was feeling, during this process, so I decided to ask Self how frustrating this process has been for the both of them?
I can’t even begin to imagine, especially after 14 games, De Sousa is feeling right now, and I think Self did a great job of painting the picture on Monday.
On how it is frustrating Silvio De Sousa:
"He is crushed. And he will be more crushed now because his partner (Azubuike) can't play and he knows his role could be bigger. Whether Doke plays or not, that is totally isolated form Silvio, totally different. We would want him to be available and have him the chance to do regardless of Dokes situation. You could think it could be a little more magnified now. In my world and my eyes, it's not. It's still the same situation that we are in. People are trying to move forward with it. It's just not as quickly as we had hoped."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One player that has been on an uptick lately is freshman guard Quentin Grimes. In his last three games, Grimes has scored 16 points, 14 points and 19 points. This season, Grimes is averaging 9.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. If Kansas is going to have the type of season it hopes to have, especially with Azubuike out of action, Grimes must continue to play at a high level.
He’s a much better shooter from behind that than his numbers suggest, but it’s not just about scoring. He needs to rebound the ball, take care of the ball and make smart decisions on both ends of the court.
The margin for error is much, much smaller than it was a week ago for this Kansas team.
On Quentin Grimes' improved play over the last three games:
"I didn't want to downplay the other day, but it's hard to get excited about someone scoring some points when your team plays bad. Bad teams have leading scorers and we were obviously a bad team on Saturday. But, from a positive standpoint with him, he's seeing the ball go in the hole, he's shooting with more confidence, he finished a couple of tough plays around the basket. I think he is on an uptick, big time. I think he's playing the best ball he's played since he's been here. So, that to me, is very positive. The thing about it is, the other day, he didn't have much help. You take him away and what were we, 3-of-15 from three? I could be off. I think we were 6-of-20, so the last two games combined we are 9-of-41 (from behind the 3-point arc). And that makes it hard on everybody. I watched the Iowa State game, that we played against them here, and I just happened to remember what was on the bottom line: at one point in time in the game, we were 13-of-25 from three. It's not like guys can just step up, space it and made some shots last year. We're never going to shoot that high of a percentage as we did last year from three, but we're certainly going to be a lot more capable of doing what we're doing. And we will, I have no problem stating that. I'm confident we will. But we've still got to manufacture some things so that the things we don't do quite as good, how are we going to make up for that in other areas? How are we going to score in transition? How are we going to get offensive-rebound putbacks? These were things we were obviously laboring with that makes the other things magnified. Because if you did those things, then the other things aren't magnified as much."
