Jalen Wilson, who scored 23 points versus WVU, hopes KU’s offense keeps clicking at OU
Kansas’ offense clicked for 52 points, the Jayhawks’ second-most productive half of the 2021-22 men’s basketball season, to close out Saturday’s 85-59 victory over West Virginia at Allen Fieldhouse.
The offensive outburst, which rivaled the 53 points scored in the second half of KU’s 102-65 rout of Missouri on Dec. 11, may do wonders for the Jayhawks’ confidence entering this week’s pair of road contests — at Oklahoma on Tuesday and at Kansas State on Saturday.
“Coming off a close win in our last game, I feel like we needed a game like that before we go on the road two games in a row,” KU sophomore forward Jalen Wilson said after scoring a career-high tying 23 points — 16 in the final half — against the Mountaineers.
He was referring to KU’s 62-61 victory over Iowa State on Tuesday at Allen Fieldhouse, a game in which points were hard to come by.
“I felt we needed something to get us some momentum and I feel like it all just clicked,” Wilson said. “Everybody had their night and I think we all just played for each other. The ball didn’t stick anywhere and when we play like that these are the kind of games that can happen.”
Several Jayhawks contributed to the 26-point runaway victory over West Virginia. Ochai Agbaji scored 20 points, while David McCormack had 19 points (and 15 rebounds). Christian Braun filled the stat sheet with eight points, six rebounds, five assists and five blocks.
The potential offensive firepower of the Jayhawks (14-2, 3-1) may present some challenges for the Sooners (12-5, 2-3) in Tuesday’s 6 p.m. Big 12 battle at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma.
“It makes our team more lethal having guys like that,” senior guard Agbaji said of Wilson, who had a slow start to the season before heating up during this early portion of the conference schedule. “They (opponents) have to guard me and C.B. (Braun) on the wing, too. I think that’s tough for defenses to match.”
Wilson, a 6-8 native of Denton, Texas, scored two points and grabbed 15 rebounds in KU’s 74-63 Big 12-opening win over Oklahoma State on Jan. 4 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. He had 20 points in a 75-67 loss at Texas Tech on Jan. 8. Wilson had four points and two rebounds in Tuesday’s one-point home win over ISU and followed with his 23 versus West Virginia.
“Jalen Wilson is a very good basketball player that can score eight points and play great or score 23 points and play great because he can do a little bit of everything — rebound, pass,” KU coach Bill Self said. “Today (Saturday) was one of the first times you saw him in transition where his speed with the ball actually created problems for West Virginia.
“If you look at his stats in league play, they are pretty darn good. Obviously he got off to a rough start (to the season). He’s getting it back. He is back to where he needs to be.”
Wilson has averaged 7.8 points and 6.2 rebounds while playing in 13 of KU’s 16 games. Overall he’s made 45.6% of his shots, including 21.6% of his threes and 48.0% of his free throws. However, in four Big 12 games he’s averaged 12.3 points and 6.8 boards. He’s made 57.6% of his shots, 40% of his threes and 62.5% of his free throws.
Wilson hit 10 of 13 shots (3-of-6 from three-point range) with eight rebounds, five assists and two steals against West Virginia. He had one turnover.
“He was decisive. He was aggressive. Our team was aggressive. That’s what his game was,” Agbaji said. “He was the aggressor looking for his shot. He was shooting it well. He’s been shooting it well in practice, too. Obviously that hasn’t correlated to the game. This was one of those you (media) see the stuff we see in practice. It’s good for him to play like that.”
Senior power forward David McCormack said: “Not only did the lid come off the rim (for Wilson) but he made the right reads as well. It seemed like the game kind of slowed down. He was able to see things before they happened and that’s just a credit to him and his basketball IQ.”
Wilson has started the last three games after coming off the bench in nine of his first 10 games. He missed three games to open the 2021-22 campaign because of suspension.
“It’s whatever now. It’s just basketball. Big 12 basketball is most important leading up to the next season in March,” Wilson said, indicating he’s not concerned with starting or being a reserve. “Right now I have confidence in myself and confidence in my team. After a game like this we’ve got to keep moving forward.”
Wilson does concede he’s had a change in his mindset through the course of this season.
“I’m just trying to bring the game as much energy as I can. I think before I was focused on the wrong things, so now i’m just trying to be the spark that we need, the energy that we need, and just continue to make plays,” Wilson said. “I feel like when we set the tone like that, and we’re all looking for each other and driving downhill, passing like that, (then) plays and opportunities come. Like a lot of fast breaks, a lot of dunks, and just stuff like that.
“After missing a couple games (to start the season),” he noted, “I was focused on letting me do this myself. Now I focus on letting me do this for my team. When I do that I play my best, not for myself but everybody else.”
On Tuesday KU will face an Oklahoma team that has lost two games in a row — at TCU and Texas. The Sooners have also lost at Baylor but are 2-0 in the league at home, with wins over Kansas State and Iowa State.
“(Against) OU we are going to get the chance to guard a guy who gave us 35 in the NCAA Tournament last year,” Self said. “So two hard games (this week on road), but winnable games if we go and play well. We’re going to have to play very well.”
Self was referring to OU forward Tanner Groves, a 6-10, 235-pound senior who scored 35 points on 11-of-18 shooting (5-of-11 from three-point range) in No. 3-seeded KU’s 93-84 first-round NCAA Tournament victory over No. 14-seed Eastern Washington last March in Indianapolis.
His brother Jacob, a 6-9, 210 junior who also transferred to OU from Eastern Washington, had 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting versus the Jayhawks.
Tanner Groves this season is averaging a team-leading 13.1 points (on 57.3% shooting) and 6.0 rebounds. Jacob is averaging 4.2 points and 2.3 rebounds.
KU on Saturday will meet Kansas State at 3 p.m. in Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan.
This story was originally published January 17, 2022 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Jalen Wilson, who scored 23 points versus WVU, hopes KU’s offense keeps clicking at OU."
