KU’s Self says return of students a ‘big positive’ as Jayhawks face K-State at home
Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self noticed a big difference while heading to the office from his west Lawrence home bright and early Monday.
“I think one thing that’s happened that is a very big positive is classes started on KU’s campus today. I drove to work and actually saw about 15 kids walking to class,” Self said in a Zoom call with media members before practice at Allen Fieldhouse.
“That’s pretty remarkable considering the wind chill at that particular time,” he added, smiling. “I thought that was a bonus. Having the students back — even though it’s a reduced amount — any type of energy level like that is positive.”
He is hoping the return of students for second-semester classes — they’ve been out of town since the day before Thanksgiving — and the possible return of more students to the fieldhouse stands for home games — will be something his players will embrace as they open their February schedule of games.
Indeed, Self is hoping the presence of the players’ peers amid the ongoing pandemic will bring more “smiles,” more “joy” and more “energy” starting Tuesday when the slumping, No. 23-ranked Jayhawks (11-6, 5-4) play host to Kansas State (5-13, 1-8). Tipoff is 7 p.m. with a live stream available on ESPN+.
“We can’t get a string (of wins) together unless we get one,” said Self. The Jayhawks have dropped four of their last five games and finished January 3-5. K-State, meanwhile has lost eight in a row.
“It is a new month. We were not very good in November (1-1). We were terrific in December (7-0). We weren’t any good in January (3-5). February would be a great time to play our best ball moving forward. The fact is K-State is a home game. I do think that brings a little extra charge to it as well,” Self added.
Self looked at the bright side during Monday’s Zoom call with reporters.
“We make it sound like its doom and gloom,” Self said of the current attitude surrounding the program. “One thing I can tell by the tone of the questions (Monday) is the fact not very many of us in recent years have experienced being 5-4 in a league. My second team at Illinois that ended up losing to Kansas in the Sweet 16 ... we weren’t 5-4 in the league, we were 4-5 and had to run the table to win the league.
“This is more unknown to you (media) in recent years than it probably is to me,” he added. “The next nine games are vital as far as setting the tone for what type of season we are going to have and the momentum we’d have going into the postseason.”
Self noted that KU’s losses this season have been to teams ranked No. 1 (Gonzaga), 2 (Baylor), 6 (Texas), 9 (Oklahoma), 11 (Tennessee) and 26 (Oklahoma State). He pointed out the fact KU has beaten No. 9 (OU), 13 (Texas Tech), 15 (Creighton) and 17 (West Virginia) and also downed unranked blueblood Kentucky.
“Of those losses all of them are away from home except one (Texas). Those are hard games for anybody to win. We are 4-6 in Tier One games,” Self said, quickly adding, “I will be the first to admit I accept responsibility and know we have not played to the level we are capable of. (But) it is not as dire as what I think some people have pointed it out to be. We are not used to being in this spot. I’m not used to it either in recent memory but trust me I’ve been in it.”
KU senior forward Mitch Lightfoot says he and senior point guard Marcus Garrett have spoken to some of the younger players about the team playing with maximum energy in coming games.
“I think this team has the capability of being as good as ever. I think we need to lock in and need to understand, hey we’ve had a little bit of a mishap here over the month of January. The focus is to take it game by game in February. We need to understand we have the talent to do it. We just have to come together as a unit,” Lightfoot said.
Lightfoot added in Monday’s Zoom call … “You know I take pride in Kansas. Marcus does. Guys who have been here know what this means to so many people. Obviously coach does as well. We know that it’s up to us to change it. We need to do this for each other. We need to do this for the coaches. We need to do this for our fans too.”
Tuesday’s foe, Kansas State, has received a boost the last two games following the return of freshman point guard Nijel Pack from COVID-19 protocols. He leads KSU in scoring at 11.8 points per game. He hit eight three pointers and scored 26 points in Saturday’s 68-61 home loss to Texas A&M in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
KU has won 14 straight games versus KSU in Allen Fieldhouse and has an all-time record of 199-94 record versus the Wildcats.
“They are a good team. Their record might be a little bit on the shaky side,” Lightfoot said. “They have great players. Mike McGuirl … I got to know him working summer camps in Kansas. He’s a great player, great leader, does a great job with the team. Coach (Bruce) Weber is obviously a good coach. We must understand this is a good team.”
Self said he was not prepared to reveal a starting lineup for the game because he might change his mind at some point before the game. He’s gone with the lineup of Garrett, Ochai Agbaji, Christian Braun, Jalen Wilson and David McCormack in all but three games. In KU’s 80-61 loss to Tennessee on Saturday he went with Dajuan Harris over Wilson, who became sixth man.
This story was originally published February 1, 2021 at 5:02 PM with the headline "KU’s Self says return of students a ‘big positive’ as Jayhawks face K-State at home."
