Jalen Wilson’s rebounding has helped Kansas Jayhawks basketball storm to 12-1 record
Kansas’ Jalen Wilson has 32 rebounds in the last three games — quite a bounty on the boards for the 6-foot-8, 225-pound redshirt sophomore men’s basketball forward from Denton, Texas.
“Him getting 10 in a game shouldn’t surprise us. If Jalen played 25 minutes a game, he’d lead this team in rebounding,” KU coach Bill Self said of Wilson, who takes a team-leading 6.8 rebounds a game average into Saturday’s 3 p.m. Big 12 Conference game against Texas Tech at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas.
Wilson — he missed the first three games of the season while serving a suspension — tied a career high by grabbing 15 rebounds in a season-high-tying 26 minutes in the Jayhawks’ 74-63 victory over Oklahoma State on Tuesday in Stillwater, Oklahoma. For the year, he’s averaged 20.1 minutes per game for No. 6-ranked KU (12-1, 1-0).
“I am pretty confident C.B. might give him a run for his money,” Self said of 6-7 junior guard Christian Braun, who pulls down 6.2 boards per contest, good for second on the team rebounding charts. Senior David McCormack averages 6.1 boards a game.
“But Jalen is a terrific defensive rebounder,” Self added. “The biggest reason is he wants to dribble it. He knows if he gets the rebound he doesn’t have to pass in transition: ‘If I get it, I get to bring it.’ Other people’s mindset is not quite like that,” Self stated while pointing out, “he was our best rebounder last year.”
In fact Wilson’s 7.9 rebound average in 2020-21 was the second-best average by a KU freshman in the 19-year Self era, trailing Joel Embiid’s 8.1 boards per game in 2014.
“I like rebounding of course because it helps our team, especially on the offensive end,” Wilson said, echoing Self’s comments. “Me being a guy that can get the rebound … usually if Dave (McCormack, who also had 15 boards versus OSU) gets it, we’ve got to wait so he can pass to somebody. If me, C.B. (Braun) or Ochai (Agbaji, 4.5 rebounds per game) get a board we can run our offense. Our offense is so much faster when we crash like that.”
Wilson has been chasing rebounds a long time. He averaged 7.5 rebounds per game in 2018-19 at Guyer High in Texas after corralling 6.2 boards per game as a high school junior.
“I kind of got into that my senior year. I found my way in to rebound the ball. (It led to) pushing and starting the break, being an extra guard with my size,” said Wilson.
“Playing in transition, playing fast is something I like to do. I kind of picked up on it again (in college),” he added.
On Tuesday, McCormack and Wilson became the first KU duo with 10-plus rebounds off the bench in a single game since Markieff Morris and Thomas Robinson both had 10 rebounds at Cal on Dec. 22, 2010. KU’s 50 boards (to OSU’s 36) were the most by a KU team in a conference game on the road since Jan. 13, 2014 at No. 8 Iowa State when KU grabbed 53 rebounds.
“He is getting back in his rhythm,” Braun said of Wilson. “He had 10 rebounds in 20 minutes (against Nevada on Dec. 29). He’s getting back to who he is. Once he gets all that stuff back, he’ll be the old Jalen Wilson we are used to seeing. Last year he had some games he was by far our best player. If we get him back in rhythm, back to normal, which I know we will and he knows he will, we’ll be tough to beat.”
Wilson — he’s started just one game this season after starting 26 of 29 games as a freshman — scored two points on 1-of-6 shooting versus Oklahoma State. For the year, he averages 5.5 points a game on 36.5% shooting, He’s made 2 of 23 threes (.087) and 7 of 18 free throws (38.9%) after making 33.3% of his threes and 63% of his free throws a year ago. As a frosh he averaged 11.8 points a game on 41.4% shooting.
“I would say he just needs to be himself,” Braun said. “He can really do anything ,You’ve seen him play the middle of the zone. He can do a little bit of everything,”
Wilson has yet to regain his starting job after losing it to start the season because of the suspension he incurred as punishment for his arrest on suspicion of DUI. Wilson started the George Mason game on Jan, 1 in response to Remy Martin being out because of a knee injury. Wilson returned to a reserve role with Martin back for the Oklahoma State game.
“Of everybody on the team, Jalen has been the most positive teammate we have,” Braun said. “He has been super positive the whole time, been a great teammate. We expected that from him. We know that’s the kind of person he is. We knew he’s stick through it.”
Of his role, Wilson, who started 26 of 29 games a year ago compared to his one start in 2021-22, said: “I feel I have been able to adjust well. Obviously it’s been different for me, As of the last couple games, I try to find different ways to help my team, do everything I can to do that.”
No. 25-ranked Texas Tech will enter Saturday’s game against No. 6 KU with a 10-3 record. The Red Raiders, who are led by first-year coach Mark Adams, lost to No. 11-ranked Iowa State, 51-47, on Wednesday night in Ames, Iowa, in their conference opener. Tech had just seven available players because of COVID issues and injuries in the Red Raider program.
Players available for the ISU game were forwards Kevin Obanor, Bryson Williams, Marcus Santos-Silva and KJ Allen along with guards Davion Warren, Clarence Nadolny and Adonis Arms. Kevin McCullar and Mylik Wilson were with the team in Iowa, but were unavailable to play due to injury, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
Terrence Shannon, Daniel Batcho, Sardaar Calhoun, Chibuzo Agbo and Austin Timperman, who have all played this season, were not in Ames, the Avalanche-Journal reported. There has been no announcement on Red Raider player availability for the KU game.
KU will meet Iowa State at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Allen Fieldhouse.
This story was originally published January 7, 2022 at 8:54 AM with the headline "Jalen Wilson’s rebounding has helped Kansas Jayhawks basketball storm to 12-1 record."
