KU Q&A: A lineup prediction, assistants’ gameday duties and Garrett for Big 12 POY?
We’re back for another Kansas Jayhawks Q&A.
Thanks for the Twitter questions, and a reminder that for 8 cents a day, you can avoid the paywall while also helping to support both Gary Bedore and myself here at The Star.
This week’s questions come via our Subtext subscribers:
What are the specific responsibilities of each KU assistant coach during the game? What are they, and how are they different from one another?
This question is best answered by KU coach Bill Self. Here’s what he said when I asked him this week:
“The main responsibility of keeping charting stuff falls with with Q (director of basketball operations Fred Quartlebaum), Brennan (Bechard, director of student-athlete development) and Jeremy (Case, video coordinator). As far as the game, somebody writes the plays down that we run, how many times we run them, if it worked, what did we get off of it, that kind of stuff. So that way we have a little bit of a benchmark on what to move forward (with).
“And then another coach just keeps notes. So we may say, ‘OK. Let’s talk about them hard-hedging next timeout.’ Or, ‘Let’s talk about them trapping the post next timeout, how we want to try to combat that’ or whatnot.”
Self said KU assistant coach Jerrance Howard often compiles the team’s timeout notes. Assistants Norm Roberts and Kurtis Townsend also regularly serve as “voices” for immediate feedback while sitting next to Self on the bench during games.
Does Marcus Garrett win Big 12 POY next year? And if so, how weird is it that KU will eventually have three 0s hanging in the rafters (Robinson, Mason, and Garrett).
You are correct about KU having some amazing success over the past 10 years with the number zero. The Jayhawks’ had two of the top nine zeroes on this ESPN list of the best college basketball players to wear that number, with Mason taking top overall honors. (And Drew Gooden already up there actually would make four.)
Back to your original question, though: I think Garrett is the favorite to win 2021 Big 12 player of the year, if one thing happens: Baylor’s Jared Butler declares for the NBA Draft.
That, at this point, is not a certainty. Though Butler seems to be doing well on NBA mock draft boards, there has been little to no news about him declaring as of now.
If Butler comes back, he’s the pick. If he doesn’t, then I think Garrett rises to the top, with other contenders including West Virginia’s Oscar Tshiebwe (if he returns to school) and Oklahoma State freshman Cade Cunningham.
Garrett does have a lot going for him. He already won Naismith defensive player of the year this past season, and with Devon Dotson officially declaring Monday, Garrett should see an uptick in both scoring and assist numbers as KU’s primary point guard next season.
ESPN’s John Gasaway ranked Garrett as college basketball’s fourth-best player heading into next season, saying “you can make a case that Garrett is one of the best collegiate defensive players under 6-6 since Marcus Smart.” Obviously, Garrett’s shooting will determine his ceiling as much as anything, but with even a small uptick there, he’d definitely be in line for a huge season ... and also a bevy of postseason honors.
I would love to know how much input Self and staff have on the offseason regimens of his players. For example, take David McCormack. Does the staff give him incredibly detailed daily workout instructions and skill development plans or just general instructions (e.g., work on your free throw shooting and get in shape). And compare that to Christian Braun. How detailed are the plans. And I mean just generally. Not in response to the virus. Thanks. -TR
Another question best answered by Self. He made it clear to me this week that while the program puts an emphasis on offseason improvement, he also makes an effort in the summers to not be with his guys every day. That serves two purposes: It allows his assistants to develop some “head coaching”-type instruction with players, while also giving those athletes the opportunity to not have to hear from their coach every day of the year.
As far as offseason regimens go ... KU does put some planning into what takes place, based on each player’s abilities. Self says what his program does individually is “not high-tech by any stretch, but we do talk about that.”
“We’ll sit down Ramsey (Nijem, KU strength coach) and say, ‘OK, David McCormick. What does he need to improve on, physically, activity, weight, explosiveness ... all this stuff?’” Self said. “We’ll do the same thing with all our players, and then he’ll develop something that he thinks will best suit those needs.”
Self says after a script is established for a player, that is shared with the individual, with Self and Ramsey explaining how they believe the program will help them improve for the next season.
“You teach them how to get in better shape. You teach them balance. You teach them to changing direction. You teach them second-jump explosiveness, those sorts of things,” Self said. “You try to implement drills to go along with that, and then with with shooting, you teach them the shot you want.
“Like David, to me, his best shot is catching the ball stepping off the block. So, what’s your footwork for doing that? That kind of stuff. So we say, ‘Work on your shooting,’ but hopefully, when they’re working on the shooting, they’re doing it in ways that we want them to do it that best suits their game and best suits us, based on what we run too.”
I’d really like to hear your guess on next years starting 5 and next 3/4 off the bench. -Joel
Self definitely has options here. I’d say three spots are about as close to locks as you can get: Garrett at point guard, Ochai Agbaji on the wing and McCormack at center.
With the final two, though, Self could go a lot of different directions. My official bold prediction will be that two newcomers, Bryce Thompson and Tyon Grant-Foster, take the final two spots. Self has sometimes been hesitant in the past when it comes to new guys earning those roles, but Thompson appears to be a ready-now player, while the staff remains super-high on Grant-Foster’s potential, even as a juco transfer.
As far as the top bench guys go: Christian Braun, who started some in 2019-20, and redshirt senior Mitch Lightfoot seem certain to get minutes. Meanwhile, Jalen Wilson — if fully healthy — should also crack the rotation, along with Tristan Enaruna, who has NBA potential but needs to add strength.
This is where it gets tricky. Self said this about Dajuan Harris in February: “If he was eligible he’d be playing a lot and helping us.” That sure seems like someone who will at least be able to spell Garrett at point guard for a handful of minutes per game.
That already would be 10-man rotation, which is 1-2 more than Self typically prefers. With that, I haven’t even mentioned Silvio De Sousa, who will get a fresh start after a disastrous junior year, or newcomers Gethro Muscadin and Latrell Jossell, who both appear to be longshots for significant playing time based simply on KU’s numbers situation.
Bottom line: If Self ever did want to run a pressure-type defense to get after opponents with a flurry of length and athleticism ... this would be the year to do it. These Jayhawks — almost assuredly — will be deep.
Who has the biggest impact on next year’s team: Jalen Wilson, Dajuan Harris, Tristan Enaruna, Bryce Thompson or Silvio De Sousa? Thanks! -Ross
I think the safe answer here is probably the correct one. I’d be most surprised if Thompson — a top-20 recruit and McDonald’s All-American — does not step into a significant role for the Jayhawks.
You could make a case for Enaruna to make a big jump. There’s also an argument that Wilson is a huge wild card, given he played just two regular season minutes before his season was shut down because of injury.
Overall, though, Thompson appears to be a nice fit as a combo guard next to Garrett and Agbaji. The Jayhawks’ defensive versatility also helps in this regard; even if Thompson faces a learning curve on that end early, KU should have the ability to sacrifice some defense for offense with both Garrett and Agbaji establishing themselves as excellent individual defenders.
Assuming there is never a 2020 tournament, will the NCAA still crown a champion? -Michael H.
Will there be a Special recognition ceremony/award to the nation’s #1 BB Jayhawks 2019-2020 men’s team? -JM Adams
These two questions are similar, so we’ll address both here.
The NCAA will not crown a champion because there was no actual tournament. KU, for a few days, had a possibility to be named the NABC’s national champion, which annually is given to the team that wins the title while also finishing No. 1 in the final coaches’ poll. After a conference call discussing the matter in late March, though, the NABC board of directors decided that its Crystal Ball trophy would not be given to any team this season.
As far as memorializing this year’s squad, which finished No. 1 in nearly every poll, Self has spoken often lately about struggling to figure out a proper way to do that.
It seems unlikely this team will get a banner — other than having the year “2020” associated with the team’s Big 12 championship — but yes, I still would expect some sort of recognition to take place at Allen Fieldhouse next season.
Over the course of four months, KU proved itself — statistically — to be the best team in college basketball.
Though that’s not the same as a national championship, it’s still worthy of being celebrated ... even if that’s in a non-banner way.
This story was originally published April 15, 2020 at 10:36 AM with the headline "KU Q&A: A lineup prediction, assistants’ gameday duties and Garrett for Big 12 POY?."
