Self lauds effort of KU Jayhawks’ Enaruna: ‘I can’t think of anything negative he did’
Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self awarded sophomore reserve guard/forward Tristan Enaruna 20 minutes — his longest stint in a Big 12 game all season — in the Jayhawks’ 74-51 victory over Kansas State on Tuesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
“I actually thought, without watching the tape, Tristan would probably grade out as high as anybody tonight,” Self said, lauding the 6-foot-8, 200-pound Netherlands native for his four-point, four-rebound effort.
“I thought Ochai (Agbaji, 15 points) was solid tonight. Christian (Braun, 18 points) shot well. I would think there were some things they did really well that we can tighten up. Tristan … I can’t think of anything negative he did. He missed a couple shots. His threes were on target. They weren’t early in the clock. They were in rhythm, after giving somebody else an inside touch first. He made a great penetrate-and-pitch to Marcus (Garrett), he (Garrett) just missed it. I thought he (Enaruna) looked athletic as well,” Self added.
Enaruna — his previous high in minutes in a league game was 18 at Baylor (he played 20 in a nonconference game vs. Omaha) was 2-of-5 shooting versus K-State on Tuesday. He didn’t have any assists, but also didn’t have any turnovers on a night he had one steal, one block.
On the year, Enaruna has averaged 3.4 points a game on 43.4% shooting. He’s made 4 of 19 threes for 21.1% and has committed 17 turnovers against six assists.
“His energy was great tonight,” KU sophomore Braun said after KU improved to 12-6 overall and 6-4 in the Big 12. K-State dropped to 5-14, 1-9. “He got a blocked shot at the end of the clock that sparked him early. He was great,” Braun added.
Tuesday’s blocked shot was Enaruna’s fourth of the year.
“Another thing we’ve seen in practice, Tristan cares,” Braun said. “We’re starting to see it more and more as of late. Tonight he played really hard, especially defensively (with one steal and the block). He’s somebody we really need to get deflections, his hands on balls. He’s good at getting downhill. He is somebody we need. His performance tonight will help get him there.”
Self didn’t name any names Tuesday night, but did discuss the energy level of some of his players in general terms. KU has fizzed early in several games of late, but not Tuesday when the Jayhawks raced to leads of 9-0 and 16-6. KU led 33-25 at halftime.
“I thought we did start the game pretty turned up,” Self said. “We are a little bit too emotional. I think guys get hung up sometimes whenever individually things don’t go well or they get subbed for and it deflates them which is a sign of immaturity, softness. I think that’s still occurring too much.
“I do believe it was better (Tuesday). The best way to get turned up, to have some fun, is throw some lobs, catch lobs, dunk in transition. We are not creating near enough of those opportunities. We got a couple nice ones tonight, not like we should,” Self added,
Power forward David McCormack said getting off to a good start against the Wildcats was a nice change of pace from games during KU’s recent skid. KU lost four of five games entering Tuesday’s contest.
“It felt good. Our team sometimes struggles early,” McCormack said of a team that trailed Tennessee by 16 points in the first half of Saturday’s 80-61 loss to the Vols in Knoxville. “For us to start a game like that (Tuesday) is crucial for us. I think we can definitely continue to do that in future games.”
McCormack, who like Braun scored 18 points, said the key to a good start Tuesday was, “better energy, being back at home playing. It was a game that meant something to all Kansas fans and ourselves. All that contributed to our energy.”
KU will meet West Virginia at 1 p.m. Saturday in Morgantown, West Virginia, then play Oklahoma State at 8 p.m. Monday, at Allen.
This story was originally published February 3, 2021 at 10:28 AM with the headline "Self lauds effort of KU Jayhawks’ Enaruna: ‘I can’t think of anything negative he did’."
