Landen Lucas, Carlton Bragg likely starting on KU bench again against Long Beach
Kansas basketball coach Bill Self recently offered some words of wisdom to struggling frontcourt players Landen Lucas and Carlton Bragg.
“It’s matter of fact: ‘You can do this. You have shown you can do this. Now, what do we need to do to get you doing this as opposed to a pep talk about doing it?’ ” Self said. The former starters are likely to come off the bench for a second straight game Tuesday against Long Beach State.
“They know. They’re smart. They know what they need to do,” Self said. “Right now, I think I’ve done plenty of talking. I think it’s time for them … they’ve just got to get through it. They will.”
Self stressed that the 6-foot-10 Lucas and Bragg remain an integral part of the rotation.
Lucas played 12 minutes against UNC Ashveille and 10 against Georgia last week.
“Landen is going to be fine,” Self said. “He just hasn’t played as well as he’s capable of playing yet, but he will. That’s what I told our guys yesterday. When he does, our team is going to get a lot better fast.”
Vick, a 6-foot-5 sophomore, averages 26 minutes in large part because he’s been rebounding like a big man. He had nine boards against Asheville in 30 minutes and for the season averages 5.5 boards.
“We did think (during the recruiting process) he could be a guy who could steal us extra possessions because he’s so quick and he’s so athletic, and if he does go to the glass he’s hard to block out because he’s a moving target all the time and moving targets are harder to hit,” Self said. “He’s been a pleasant surprise but not a shock. We knew he could do these things.”
Vick made three three-pointers in four tries against Asheville after starting the season 1 of 13. He averages 8.7 points.
“He’s really plugged in because he’s done well, but in large part some guys haven’t played very well and I don’t know that that’s our perfect lineup moving forward,” Self said. “It may be, but I don’t know yet. I think he (Vick) is prepared to have a good year and it doesn’t surprise me how well he’s done, but I will say this, and you can even ask him: He’s still inconsistent. But he’s going to be a really good player. When he gets a little bit more comfortable offensively he’s going to be good.”
Long Beach St. at No. 4 Kansas
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence
Records: LBSU 1-7, KU 5-1
Radio: 1240-AM, 97.5-FM
TV: Cox 22
Long Beach St. at No. 4 Kansas
P | LBSU | Ht | Yr | Pts | Reb |
F | Gabe Levin | 6-7 | Jr. | 13.0 | 7.6 |
F | Temidayo Yussuf | 6-7 | Jr. | 6.1 | 3.1 |
G | Noah Blackwell | 6-2 | So. | 5.8 | 2.3 |
G | Jordan Griffin | 6-3 | Fr. | 7.1 | 1.6 |
G | Justin Bibbins | 5-8 | Jr. | 8.3 | 3.8 |
P | Kansas | Ht | Yr | Pts | Reb |
F | Udoka Azubuike | 7-0 | Fr. | 4.5 | 4.7 |
G | Lagerald Vick | 6-5 | So. | 8.7 | 5.5 |
G | Josh Jackson | 6-8 | Fr. | 14.3 | 5.8 |
G | Devonte Graham | 6-2 | Jr. | 13.0 | 3.7 |
G | Frank Mason | 5-11 | Sr. | 21.5 | 4.3 |
Long Beach State (1-7): The 49ers have dropped seven straight games away from home following their 95-59 season-opening win over Cal State Los Angeles. Long Beach State has lost at Wichita State (92-55), North Carolina (93-67), Louisville (88-56), UCLA (114-77) and Washington (94-88). Long Beach State lost to Binghamton (72-64) and Florida Gulf Coast (68-67, OT) in Fort Myers, Fla. During the nonconference season, the 49ers will travel more than 23,000 miles. The 49ers were picked to win the Big West Conference in the preseason media poll. They received 19 of 23 first-place votes.
Kansas (5-1): The Jayhawks are coming off a strong performance against UNC Asheville on Friday in Allen Fieldhouse. KU hit 62.3 percent of its shots and 13 of 21 threes for 61.9 percent. KU had seven blocks to Asheville’s none; 28 assists to Asheville’s 10 and outrebounded Asheville 49-23.… The Jayhawks are 3-1 versus Long Beach State.
This story was originally published November 28, 2016 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Landen Lucas, Carlton Bragg likely starting on KU bench again against Long Beach."