Garrett heeds Dotson’s advice, directs KU to 86-56 victory over Fort Hays State
Injured Kansas point guard Devon Dotson offered some advice to guard Marcus Garrett before Thursday night’s exhibition opener against Fort Hays State.
“Devon said, ‘Push the ball.’ That was his biggest key. He told me to push it, keep the tempo up,” Garrett, a 6-foot-5, 195-pound native of Dallas, said after scoring 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting with five assists, three steals, two rebounds and zero turnovers in KU’s 86-56 victory at Allen Fieldhouse.
Garrett was subbing for Dotson, who sprained his ankle at practice on Tuesday and is expected to miss just a handful of days of practice. His absence forced junior guard Garrett into the floor-general role.
Garrett, who did indeed effectively control the tempo on offense during his 32-minute stint (18 minutes the first half; 14 the second), also was disruptive on defense. He had three steals the second half — two during a 17-2 run that stretched a 36-34 lead to 53-36. He also scored the first three points of that game-breaking run.
“He was great, great,” KU coach Bill Self said of Garrett, who hit 4 threes in 7 attempts and was 1 of 2 from the line.
“He’s not going to make four threes every game, but if you’ve got to guard him, it’ll open up a lot of stuff. He’s so good driving downhill,” Self added.
Garrett has made as many as three three-pointers in a game three times in his first two years at KU..
“If he’s a threat to shoot above 30 percent from three, which I think he can be, he will change how people guard us for sure,” Self said of Garrett, who last year made just 24.5 percent of his shots beyond the arc.
Garrett, who said he was most proud of the fact he had zero turnovers — “that was my goal going into the game, not letting them easy layups (off mistakes),” — believes he can be an effective outside shooter the second half of his college career.
“The biggest thing is confidence,” Garrett said. “Before when I missed my first shot I’d get down on myself thinking it was a terrible thing that I started 0 for 1. Now I understand I can make a shot even if I miss the first one.”
He said he put up several hundred shots a day during the summer and tinkered with his form a bit both at KU and on trips back to Dallas while playing pickup ball in open-gym situations.
“When I go home and play I know I’m going to handle the ball. I’ve been handling it a lot,” Garrett said. I know I can take those shots whenever I want in open run. I took those same shots in the game (going 4 of 7 from three).”
Self, who has told Garrett to shoot when open, said, “I do think it (his shot) is much improved, no question. He’s worked on it hard. It looks a little different from a technical standpoint as it did last year.”
Garrett was spelled at the point on Thursday by Christian Braun, the former Blue Valley Northwest standout who scored eight points on 3-of-8 shooting (2 of 5 from three) with three assists and no turnovers in 24 minutes.
“He did well at the point-guard spot,” sophomore guard Ochai Agbaji said of Braun, who mainly played the wing during his college debut game. “We need that coming off the bench. Whatever position he plays at, he’ll do well,” Agbaji added of Braun.
Agbaji scored a game-high 21 points on Thursday. He made 8 of 15 shots and was 3 of 9 from three. He had three steals.
“Marcus deserves credit for those (steals),” Agbaji said. “His defense up top makes it possible for me to go for the ball.”
Freshman Jalen Wilson (six points, 2-of-9 shooting, 1 of 4 from three) started his college debut with Garrett, Silvio De Sousa (11 points, seven rebounds), Udoka Azubuike (five points, eight boards, 1 of 5 from free-throw line) and Agbaji. KU’s other scholarship freshman, Tristan Enaruna had six points on 2-of-9 shooting.
The freshmen will all be coming off the bench once Dotson returns to action. Self said dotson, a sophomore point guard should definitely be back at practice this weekend well in advance of Thursday’s exhibition against Pittsburg State (7 p.m., Allen Fieldhouse).
“None of the freshmen will start as long as we are healthy, at least initially,” Self said. “When we line up to play Duke in the Garden (Nov. 5) none of them will start. I don’t think Isaiah (Moss, senior guard with hamstring injury expected to return to practice this weekend as well) would start either. It’ll be hard to take Marcus off the floor. They’ll all have roles and be part of the rotation. Early on, whoever if performing the best those particular nights will probably get the most minutes,” Self added of the freshmen and senior Moss.
As far as junior guard Garrett … he figures to play mega-minutes at various positions. As Self said, Garrett was known as a “jack of all trades” position-wise in high school.
Garrett had an answer when asked if he’s a point guard or shooting guard.
“I’m our backup point guard,” he said simply, deferring to first-team preseason all-Big 12 pick Dotson.
NOTES: Mitch Lightfoot scored seven points and grabbed three rebounds in 14 minutes. Self said there’s still a good chance he could redshirt this season. KU officials learned Thursday that Lightfoot could play in the exhibition games and still redshirt. ... KU is 12-0 all-time against Fort Hays State, including 9-0 in exhibition contests. … KU, which has won 30 straight exhibition games dating to Oct. 30, 2012, is 89-9 in exhibition history. … KU has won the last 51 exhibition games at Allen Fieldhouse beginning in 1994. … KU has scored 100-plus points in 29 exhibition games, including 13 under Self. … KU is 57-2 in exhibition play in Self’s 16 seasons. … KU went 16-0 in Allen last season. KU has gone undefeated in Allen Fieldhouse 20 times, including seven seasons since 2007-08. … KU beat Emporia State and Washburn in exhibition games last preseason.
This story was originally published October 24, 2019 at 9:26 PM with the headline "Garrett heeds Dotson’s advice, directs KU to 86-56 victory over Fort Hays State."
