Kansas is set to close out the regular season at home against Yale on Friday night and, on December 30, the Jayhawks square off against Wichita State at T-Mobile Center. After an extremely challenging non-conference schedule, No. 2 Kansas will open up Big 12 play at home against TCU on January 6.
With Big 12 play looming, here are just some of my thoughts on the No. 2 ranked Kansas Jayhawks.
-- To me, Hunter Dickinson has been as good as advertised. Currently, he’s averaging 19.2 points and 12.7 rebounds per game. On the offensive end of the court, Dickinson is shooting 61.7 percent from the field, 55.0 percent from behind the arc, and 72.2 percent from the free-throw line.
Dickinson, without question, brings a fire, energy, and passion to the court that I haven’t seen in a period of time. He didn’t have his best performance against Indiana, but he made some big plays in the second half and has been big for Kansas all season.
If Kansas is going to reach its full potential, Dickinson must continue to put up big numbers for Kansas. I expect him to do just that moving forward.
-- To me, and I might not be the only one here, but the biggest surprise this season has been the play of Kevin McCullar, Jr. Like Dickinson, McCullar, Jr., is averaging 19.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. He’s shooting 49.3 percent from the field, 38.1 percent from behind the arc, and 81.4 percent from the free-throw line.
Again, against Indiana, he struggled to shoot the ball in Bloomington, but made some absolutely huge plays down the stretch. His deep three from near the top of the key was one of the biggest shots of the game and he made a few key plays on the defensive end of the court.
The thing about McCullar, Jr., is, and I’ve gone back and looked and some box scores from this season, even when he struggles to shoot the ball, he still finds a way to impact the game on the offensive end of the court. Whether that be hitting some threes late or converting double-digit free throws.
Kevin McCullar, Jr., without question, is having a monster season.
-- With everything that KJ Adams, Jr., has been through this season, he continues to have the best season of his career. Having started 10-of-11 games, Adams, Jr., is averaging 13 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.
Adams, Jr., offensively, is shooting 65.6 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from the free-throw line. He’s 0-of-1 from behind the arc and I’m not sure he’s ever going to be the type of guy that stretches the floor, but what he does for Kansas as a player continues to work and be successful, and at a very high level.
We all know that Adams, Jr., is great at catching lobs and hitting floaters in the lane, but the energy and passion he’s playing with this season, at least to me, has been a huge key in his success on the court.
Adams, Jr., has been extremely focused, even with everything going on, this season and hasn’t tried to do too much and hasn’t been sped up at all. There have been games, and Bill Self has made this clear, when Adams, Jr., has been the best player on the court.
--I think a big key for the rest of the season will be how Dajuan Harris, Jr., and Elmarko Jackson continue to develop moving forward. We all know what Harris, Jr., is capable of in terms of distributing the basketball and getting after it on the defensive end of the court.
Here’s a postgame note from the Indiana game and something to think about the rest of the season: Harris knocked down two three-pointers, and Kansas improved to 27-1 when Harris scores in double figures.
Harris, without question, has to be more aggressive on the offensive end of the court this season. It’s going to be a big key to KU’s success this season.
As far as Jackson goes, he just needs to keep taking steps forward and improve each game. He’s more than capable of being a double-digit scorer for Kansas, but he’s simply got to slow down and let the game come to him.
This is just my observation, but Jackson, at times, appears to think too much instead of simply playing the game and letting his natural instincts take over. It also needs to be said that Jackson is preparing to play in just his 12th college basketball game.
Slow down, less thinking about more playing, and Jackson will be fine.
-- I still think Kansas will need guys like Johnny Furphy, Nicolas Timberlake, Jamari McDowell, and Parker Braun to play a role off the bench. Some of the starters are simply playing too many minutes. We all know what Furphy, Timberlake, McDowell, and Braun are capable of, but can those guys perform consistently when called upon?
For me, the two biggest keys off the bench are Furphy and Timberlake. Furphy will miss the Yale game, so I’m guessing Timberlake will see extended minutes. The question isn’t whether or not Timberlake can have a solid outing against Yale, but rather, can he have a solid outing and then build on that and carry it over to the WSU game and beyond?
With Big 12 play looming, here are just some of my thoughts on the No. 2 ranked Kansas Jayhawks.
-- To me, Hunter Dickinson has been as good as advertised. Currently, he’s averaging 19.2 points and 12.7 rebounds per game. On the offensive end of the court, Dickinson is shooting 61.7 percent from the field, 55.0 percent from behind the arc, and 72.2 percent from the free-throw line.
Dickinson, without question, brings a fire, energy, and passion to the court that I haven’t seen in a period of time. He didn’t have his best performance against Indiana, but he made some big plays in the second half and has been big for Kansas all season.
If Kansas is going to reach its full potential, Dickinson must continue to put up big numbers for Kansas. I expect him to do just that moving forward.
-- To me, and I might not be the only one here, but the biggest surprise this season has been the play of Kevin McCullar, Jr. Like Dickinson, McCullar, Jr., is averaging 19.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. He’s shooting 49.3 percent from the field, 38.1 percent from behind the arc, and 81.4 percent from the free-throw line.
Again, against Indiana, he struggled to shoot the ball in Bloomington, but made some absolutely huge plays down the stretch. His deep three from near the top of the key was one of the biggest shots of the game and he made a few key plays on the defensive end of the court.
The thing about McCullar, Jr., is, and I’ve gone back and looked and some box scores from this season, even when he struggles to shoot the ball, he still finds a way to impact the game on the offensive end of the court. Whether that be hitting some threes late or converting double-digit free throws.
Kevin McCullar, Jr., without question, is having a monster season.
-- With everything that KJ Adams, Jr., has been through this season, he continues to have the best season of his career. Having started 10-of-11 games, Adams, Jr., is averaging 13 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.
Adams, Jr., offensively, is shooting 65.6 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from the free-throw line. He’s 0-of-1 from behind the arc and I’m not sure he’s ever going to be the type of guy that stretches the floor, but what he does for Kansas as a player continues to work and be successful, and at a very high level.
We all know that Adams, Jr., is great at catching lobs and hitting floaters in the lane, but the energy and passion he’s playing with this season, at least to me, has been a huge key in his success on the court.
Adams, Jr., has been extremely focused, even with everything going on, this season and hasn’t tried to do too much and hasn’t been sped up at all. There have been games, and Bill Self has made this clear, when Adams, Jr., has been the best player on the court.
--I think a big key for the rest of the season will be how Dajuan Harris, Jr., and Elmarko Jackson continue to develop moving forward. We all know what Harris, Jr., is capable of in terms of distributing the basketball and getting after it on the defensive end of the court.
Here’s a postgame note from the Indiana game and something to think about the rest of the season: Harris knocked down two three-pointers, and Kansas improved to 27-1 when Harris scores in double figures.
Harris, without question, has to be more aggressive on the offensive end of the court this season. It’s going to be a big key to KU’s success this season.
As far as Jackson goes, he just needs to keep taking steps forward and improve each game. He’s more than capable of being a double-digit scorer for Kansas, but he’s simply got to slow down and let the game come to him.
This is just my observation, but Jackson, at times, appears to think too much instead of simply playing the game and letting his natural instincts take over. It also needs to be said that Jackson is preparing to play in just his 12th college basketball game.
Slow down, less thinking about more playing, and Jackson will be fine.
-- I still think Kansas will need guys like Johnny Furphy, Nicolas Timberlake, Jamari McDowell, and Parker Braun to play a role off the bench. Some of the starters are simply playing too many minutes. We all know what Furphy, Timberlake, McDowell, and Braun are capable of, but can those guys perform consistently when called upon?
For me, the two biggest keys off the bench are Furphy and Timberlake. Furphy will miss the Yale game, so I’m guessing Timberlake will see extended minutes. The question isn’t whether or not Timberlake can have a solid outing against Yale, but rather, can he have a solid outing and then build on that and carry it over to the WSU game and beyond?
