KU basketball gets started by dressing for success

Bill Self strutted onto the floor with a microphone and a grin. And as the cheers rained down upon him Friday for the Jayhawks’ 30th annual Late Night in the Phog, Kansas’ coach had to know his outfit was every bit as funny as it was unusual.

Self wore black slacks hat cut off above the ankles — a nod to Steve Urkel — and black loafers. He also wore a white shirt with a black bow-tie and a black-and-gray suit jacket similar to the $10,000 one Andrew Wiggins sported on draft day.

It was, to be sure, a subtle reminder of the biggest star lost from last year’s star-studded team, a group that lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament but still managed to corral the Jayhawks’ 10th consecutive Big 12 regular-season title.

But before thoughts of replacing Wiggins, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, and center Joel Embiid, the No. 3 pick, could linger for too long in heads of the announced crowd of 14,000 fans who packed Allen Fieldhouse, Self — as he is wont to do — had the right words to wash away any concerns.

“We’re going to miss those guys, you guys are going to miss those guys,” Self said. “But we’ve also got four incoming freshmen that are studs, we’ve got returning players that are studs, and I guarantee, you’re going to like the way they play.

“Let’s rock the house tonight.”

And they proceeded to do just that, thanks to an assortment of prepackaged entertainment and an informal 20-minute scrimmage that ended in a 37-37 tie and gave fans their first glimpse of those “stud” freshmen Self mentioned — power forward Cliff Alexander, wing Kelly Oubre Jr., point guard Devonte’ Graham and guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk.

Appropriately, it was Alexander — the Jayhawks’ top prospect, ranked No. 4 prospect in his class — who stood out the most among the freshmen. The 6-foot-8, 240-pounder from Chicago showed off his athleticism, strength and touch around the rim, finishing with a team-high 12 points for the Crimson squad to go along with four rebounds.

Two of Alexander’s baskets came via a nice turnaround hook shot, which Self has encouraged him to use.

“When he got here, he realized it’s hard to score over length so you need to come up with something to score over length,” Self said. “He’s going to be a good offensive player. He’s not quite there yet, but he’s got a naturally soft touch and he goes after the ball.”

Alexander wasn’t the only freshman who had some nice moments. Oubre, the country’s No. 6 prospect, who finished with five points — including a corner three — a block and three rebounds for the Crimson. Oubre also recorded a steal but missed the impending dunk, despite galloping toward the rim all alone.

“The first two possessions, Kelly made three plays that got us possessions and that’s what he does,” Self said.

Self also praised Graham (three points) and Mykailuik, who finished with three points on one-for-eight shooting.

“I thought Svi looked great — all he did was just miss shots, but he was aggressive and he hasn’t been that aggressive in practice,” Self said.

But Self has been doing this long enough to know that when March rolls around, it’s rare for freshmen to carry the mail on the teams that make deep runs.

That said, there were some positives to take from the performance of the returning players. Arkansas transfer Hunter Mickelson had eight points and a team-high six rebounds for the Blue, while sophomore guard Wayne Selden, Jr., — a 32 percent three-point shooter a year ago — finished with a game-high 17 points and went 3-of-5 from downtown for the Blue.

“It’s been falling a lot lately,” Selden said of his three-point jumper.

But for all the positives Self noted after the scrimmage, he was quick to add that it “wasn’t real ball.” That won’t come until Nov. 3, when the Jayhawks open their exhibition slate with a 7 p.m. home game against Washburn.

In that way, Friday’s event was simply a small taste of what’s to come, a chance to have a little fun and officially put last season in the rearview mirror, though Self’s outfit — a clear nod to Wiggins — certainly made for an amusing transition.

“That was probably one of the dumbest things I’ve ever done, (but) they though it was funny.” Self said of the outfit afterward. “It was a pretty identical outfit, (but) he looked a little better in his than I did.”

This story was originally published October 10, 2014 at 10:49 PM with the headline "KU basketball gets started by dressing for success."