KU’s Self says he’s ‘most excited I’ve been about our team’ after TTU win. Here’s why
The Bill Self fist-pumping yell has been rare in 2021, so it was noteworthy when the Kansas coach went to his patented roar from the sidelines in the final minutes of KU’s 67-61 home win over Texas Tech.
What led to the show of emotion? It’s probably what you’d expect based on the qualities Self values most:
Toughness, grit, unselfishness.
And because of all that, team success.
“Guys are taking pride in what wins games,” Self would later say afterward, “where I’m not sure that was the case in January.”
This one play encapsulated it.
With KU leading by eight with four minutes left, Ochai Agbaji missed a three from the corner. On the opposite side, teammate Christian Braun found himself shielded partially from the rim by two different Texas Tech defenders.
And it didn’t matter.
Braun went over both of them to secure an offensive rebound, making sure to rip it away even when he was — for a moment — surrounded in a triangle of three converging Red Raiders.
After a dribble, he tossed it back out to Agbaji, who swished through his second try at a three from the corner.
Timeout Texas Tech. Eleven-point lead KU.
And a jubilant Self on the sideline, hollering, “That a way!” twice before gathering his team in the huddle.
The Jayhawks were the aggressors on these types of plays all afternoon Saturday. Self loves when his team values 50-50 balls, and the corralling of those against Texas Tech resulted in his team — by my unofficial count — scoring 14 additional points.
Jalen Wilson was the catalyst on a pair of those plays late. It included one offensive rebound he wrangled away after a Braun miss; after starting outside the three-point line on the shot, Wilson retrieved it and put in a stick-back that was crucial for KU late.
The bigger-picture theme of all this, though, was KU’s players competing for each other.
And that fact — more than anything else — led Self to this significant statement after the game: “This is the most excited I’ve been about our team all year.”
A lot of that, we know, is spurred on by KU’s recent defensive activity.
Earlier in the year, it was a mishmash. Everyone understood Marcus Garrett was a dangerous defender, but he wasn’t getting enough help, with teammates seeming more interested in how they were performing on the offensive end.
That’s flipped recently, with — as you’d expect — some help from Self.
The coach spoke a few weeks ago about how his team needed to completely buy into a defensive mindset. The players have come along with him to that way of thinking, grinding out better possessions defensively with improved communication on switches and more urgency on the defensive glass.
There have been philosophical changes too. Once a liability on ball screens, center David McCormack has found his niche playing a softer coverage to help contain drives. Meanwhile, Self changed up how his team rotates on the back end as well, with two guards having to trust each other to get KU back to even strength after each ball screen is set.
The result has been a team that has ascended over the last three weeks, regardless of what one thinks about the competition level. KU has covered the betting line in five straight games — a good indication of showing above-expectation play — while also pushing its defense to top 15 nationally in advanced rating systems.
Self wants to be clear: He’s liked his players from the beginning of this season. So while he believes his guys never had “bad” attitudes ... there were still times they didn’t see eye-to-eye with him about what was important when it came to winning games.
That’s changed over this five-game winning streak. Self believes his team must win with defense first, and his guys are selling out now to back him up as well.
Because of that, poor shooting nights haven’t had the same effect as earlier in the season; in those instances, KU has simply shut down its opponent long enough to buy time for its offense to get going.
Individual pieces seem to be fitting better together too. Wilson senses when McCormack’s about to shoot, eager to grab an offensive rebound to help his teammates. Braun, on Saturday, grabbed a carom and threw it right back to Agbaji in the same spot, believing he was going to hit the next one.
Which he did.
“We haven’t always played well, but we’ve gotten confidence through it,” Self said. “That’s why I’m feeling better, because I still think there’s another step that this team can take.”
That, obviously, remains on the offensive end. KU had just six turnovers against charge-happy Texas Tech on Saturday, which is both encouraging and also mostly controllable if the Jayhawks wish to continue playing a “shoot-it-before-you-turn-it-over” style.
In essence, doing that raises KU’s offensive floor even without getting as many easy baskets as past years, allowing shot volume to do the heavy lifting for a Jayhawks team that’s pretty good on the offensive glass as well.
And if the three-point shots ever do fall — wouldn’t the NCAA Tournament be an ideal time for that? — KU could even reach another level. The Jayhawks posted the fifth-best point-per-possession mark against Texas Tech’s defense Saturday, and that came despite making only 31% of their shots from three. The four Texas Tech opponents who did better than KU all shot better than 40% from three in their matchups against the Red Raiders.
Making perimeter shots obviously won’t always happen game to game ... but in some contests, it will.
Which makes KU’s outlook even a little more encouraging if it can line up its luck in the right spot.
If Self gets the kind of hustle, effort, teamwork and defense he did from his players Saturday, and that’s combined with a good shooting day sometime in March ... the Jayhawks will be a tough out against any program not named Gonzaga or Baylor.
That kind of thought makes a coach encouraged. Even excited.
With the potential for more roars if the season goes as planned.
This story was originally published February 20, 2021 at 7:12 PM with the headline "KU’s Self says he’s ‘most excited I’ve been about our team’ after TTU win. Here’s why."
