Bill Self says KU basketball searching for identity after reality-check loss at Mizzou
Speaking softly while seated in front of two dozen reporters in a jam-packed Mizzou Arena interview room, Kansas forward KJ Adams offered a simple reason for Sunday’s 76-67 loss to unranked Missouri.
“We played pretty poorly almost all the game. We just played bad,” the senior forward said after a game in which the turnover-prone Jayhawks fell behind by 18 points the first half and 24 points the second stanza before rallying to within two points late.
“They sped us up a little bit,” Adams added, trying to pinpoint specific reasons for the second loss in a week for the country’s No. 1 team — one sure to drop several slots in this week’s AP Top 25. “They pressured us a bit. The fans (15,061 strong) had nothing to do with it. It happens when you play big-time games. They played really well.”
He finished with 11 points on 3-of-7 shooting with three of the Jayhawks’ 22 turnovers.
According to KU coach Bill Self, the Jayhawks (7-2) had very few highlights Sunday against the Tigers (8-1), who turned it over just 11 times.
“We had one good possession the first half and it happened in the first 10 seconds of the game,” Self said of a Zeke Mayo bucket that opened the scoring.
“There weren’t too many positives to take from it. I don’t think we had ‘em ready to play. I think it was probably a combination of them being good and us not being good,” Self continued. “I don’t know if you can give them 100% credit. That’s what happens in sports when the other team is doing things to hurt you — and if you don’t attack it well, they guard you the same way. A lot of times you just throw it to them because of not being as prepared or ready. I think it is a combination of both. I’d err on the side giving them more credit. If I said we just (stunk) that would take credit from them. We did (stink), but it was in large part due to them.”
Self sounded somewhat astounded the Jayhawks, who were down 57-33 with 14:15 left, trailed by just two points, 65-63, with 2:20 left.
“It’s amazing we were still in the game as poorly as we played,” Self said. “We did hang in there the second half and cut it to two. Of course Mark (Mitchell) and (Josh) Gray made two big shots. They were much better than us, more athletic and played with a purpose. I thought they were good today.”
Losing road games to Creighton (76-63 on Wednesday) and at Mizzou in the same week had the Jayhawks doing some soul searching Sunday. Both teams stormed the court on the Jayhawks, though the Tigers took a timeout to help the Jayhawks off the court before doing so.
“There’s nothing I can say at this point to change it,” Adams said. “Everybody including myself needs to look at themselves individually first and either fall behind and lose more games or build each other back and turn the season around. It’s not what Kansas does … lose like this.”
“We’ve got to figure it out as individuals first and as a team,” senior Diggy Coit said after scoring 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting (4-7 from 3). Everybody’s preparation is different. We’ve got to be ready.”
Coit said the problem was not confidence.
“I think we may be too confident at times because we are not coming out ready to play,” Coit said. “We have to do a better job of respecting our opponents, understanding everybody’s going to give us their best game. We should want that. We should invite that. That causes our lackluster starts. Now we’ve got to fight back., At the end of the day it’s not about the results, it’s about how to get the results, the process. I don’t think the loss hurts us. The way we lost is frustrating. How we start the game is important and who we are what’s our identity is important.”
Adams said: “We haven’t figured it out yet,” when asked about the team’s identity.
Self said: “This last week we have not been any good at all the last five days. I don’t know that we are close to finding our identity yet because who are we? If we don’t find it (identity), it won’t be a fun year. We’ll find it. To become a team you have to have an identity,.”
Self summed up his team’s Sunday this way:
“Did we quit? No. Did we keep fighting? Yeah. Were we prideful? Absolutely. Did a couple shots finally go down? Absolutely,” Self said. “But it goes to show you. You play away from home you can’t afford to dig yourself in a hole like that because the comeback almost has to be flawless. If it’s not flawless, two possessions you go from being down two back to seven. It’s why we have to be so much better on the road.”
This story was originally published December 8, 2024 at 4:54 PM with the headline "Bill Self says KU basketball searching for identity after reality-check loss at Mizzou."
