KU coach Bill Self unhappy with Jayhawks’ play against Div. II Fort Hays State
An 18-point victory over NCAA Div. II Fort Hays State — one in which the Kansas Jayhawks misfired on 22 of 28 3-point shots — did not satisfy 21st-year KU coach Bill Self on Wednesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
“What did I like? The game started on time. That was a positive. The new lighting in the building looks fantastic. I liked all that,” Self cracked after the Jayhawks’ 73-55 exhibition victory over the Tigers.
“There wasn’t much to like tonight. Fort Hays comes in here and we force (just) 13 turnovers at home. We didn’t guard. Obviously we didn’t shoot it. If you are not going to shoot it great, make sure the guy you are guarding doesn’t shoot it (great). Make sure the guy you are guarding doesn’t score if you don’t score. To me it’s a pride thing and we didn’t do that well.”
Self’s Jayhawks hit 3 of 12 3s in Sunday’s 82-75 loss to Illinois. That means in two exhibition games over the last four days KU buried just 9 3s in 40 attempts for 22.5%.
“I would think we are better than that, but I don’t think anybody’s thinking we’ve got Svi (Mykhailiuk), Gradey (Dick) and Malik (Newman) all out there at the same time,” Self said. “You can still have a terrific team and not make a lot of shots. We can play inside-out, do some different things. But you have to guard your man if you are not producing in some way, shape or form.”.
He further discussed KU’s misery from 3 on Wednesday.
“We ran a play for Nick (Timberlake, 1-of-5 from 3 for three points) with two minutes left to shoot a 3. (He made it) so that knocks it down to five (3s in the flow of the game),” Self said.
“Parker (Braun, 1-2 from 3 for five points) banked one in, that knocks it down to four. Kevin (McCullar, still slowed by whiplash suffered in Sunday’s Illinois game) almost didn’t play and he makes four. That’s 0-for-18 for everybody else.”
McCullar — he played 11 minutes the second half after getting his neck hit in the first half — was 4-of-8 from 3 for 21 points.
Elmarko Jackson (no points, three assists), Johnny Furphy (two points, three rebounds, 14 minutes) and Zach Clemence (two points, three rebounds) were each 0-for-2 from 3. Hunter Dickinson (17 points, 11 rebounds), Dajuan Harris (seven points eight assists), Jamari McDowell (no points, two rebounds) and Wilder Evers were each 0-for-1 from 3. Michael Jankovich was 0-for-3 from beyond the arc.
The Jayhawk players are not panicking about their shots not falling.
“Shots will come when we play better defense,” said junior forward KJ Adams. He scored 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting with four rebounds. He didn’t attempt a 3.
“We talk about it every day. Coach is on us about shooting the ball. We just have to come in and be ready to work,” said Harris. He was 3-of-3 on 2-point shot attempts.
“It starts on the defensive end,” Harris added. If we don’t make shots we’ve got to make sure we do it on the defensive end.”
Fort Hays State, which hit 7 of 20 3s, outscored KU 32-30 the final half.
“Our defense is terrible right now,” Harris said. “We’ve got to have energy on defense and offense.”
Guard Elijah Nnanabu scored 14 points to lead the Tigers.
“Nobody guards yet,” Self said. “I would say Johnny looked OK considering he has practiced one time in three weeks (because of shin splints). He’ll get better. He’s very smart from an IQ standpoint. He’ll pick up stuff quickly.”
Self said at this point McCullar “will have to play point guard when Dajuan is not on the floor.”
That’s because “Elmarko (no turnovers, three assists, no points) is thinking so much he can’t play (effectively). He’s paralyzed he’s thinking so much. Kevin can handle it.”
KU will meet North Carolina Central in the regular-season opener at 7 p.m. Monday at Allen Fieldhouse.
“No, we are not ready,” Self said of the opener.
This story was originally published November 1, 2023 at 11:12 PM with the headline "KU coach Bill Self unhappy with Jayhawks’ play against Div. II Fort Hays State."
