Texas limited Gradey Dick’s impact for KU basketball. Here’s how the Longhorns did it
Kansas freshman Gradey Dick did something he doesn’t usually do on Saturday in a 75-59 loss against Texas.
Dick hesitated with the ball in his hands — a rare sight for the freshman star known for his sharpshooting ability and elite basketball IQ.
Dick didn’t score a basket against Texas Tech on Tuesday (four points on 0-for-7 shooting) and wasn’t much better against the Longhorns on Saturday.
The freshman hit his first bucket late in the game when he canned a three-pointer with fewer than eight minutes to play; KU still trailed by eight points, 55-47.
Typically relied on as the second option in the Jayhawks’ offense, the Longhorns completely shut Dick down. He scored six points while shooting 2-for-5 from the floor.
“They face-guarded him and put pressure,” KU coach Bill Self said. “We didn’t handle the pressure really well.”
KU fans will remember Ochai Agbaji, an eventual first-team All-American on KU’s national title team, getting the same treatment by Texas last season.
The Longhorns seemed to view Dick as Kansas’ most dangerous scoring threat, especially after he scored 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting in the Jayhawks’ 88-80 win over Texas in February.
The result? Texas defended Dick arguably better than any KU opponent all season.
Dick didn’t have a clean shooting pocket often because UT defenders closed out on him hard with plenty of defensive intensity.
Minutes into the game, Texas forced Dick into making a wrong decision.
The guard stood on the left side behind the three-point line while Longhorn guard Timmy Allen pressed against him, trying to steal the ball.
Dick forced the pass, which UT’s Marcus Carr picked off, eventually lobbing up an alley-oop to Tyrese Hunter for a dunk at the other end.
Though Dick seemed invisible against Texas, the freshman hasn’t exactly been up to his usual standard on offense lately.
In his last five games, Dick has shot 20-for-58 (34.5%) from the field, including 12-for-37 (32.4%) from beyond the arc.
In the previous 26 games, he shot 46.3% from the field and 42.7% on three-pointers.
Teams seem to understand if they can shut down Dick, the rest of KU’s offense is much easier to stop. His shot-making ability opens up the floor for his team, including star Jalen Wilson.
Wilson scored 23 points against Texas, but he struggled with his efficiency. He shot 7-for-18 (38.9%) from the floor. In his last five games, Wilson has shot 37.7% from the floor, including 15% from beyond the arc.
Earlier in the season, Self called Dick the “best freshman shooter” that he’s had in his 20 years coaching Kansas.
How does Dick get back to that? By relying on his teammates to make things easier for him on the court.
“Its up to us to continue to try to get him screened and get him some good looks,” said KU forward Jalen Wilson. “A team like that understands that if he gets hot, our offense looks a lot better. So, they played him tight and (didn’t) let him come off any ball screens or stuff like that.
“Just got to continue to screen for him and show some different actions to try to throw them off.”
This story was originally published March 4, 2023 at 8:59 PM with the headline "Texas limited Gradey Dick’s impact for KU basketball. Here’s how the Longhorns did it."
