KU’s Bill Self tried to address energy issue before comeback at TCU: ‘It didn’t work’
Bill Self, like most college basketball coaches, leaves it to his full-time assistants and other staff members to watch player warm-ups prior to games.
The longtime Kansas Jayhawks coach was alarmed at an answer he received Wednesday inside the visitor’s locker room at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. The response came when Self asked his staff how preparations were going ahead of a 6 p.m. tipoff against host TCU.
“Not great,” was the message delivered to KU’s 22nd-year coach.
“That told me right then it was not any good,” Self said. “So I talked to the guys (players) before the game and I did such a good job with that we came out and were actually worse after I talked to them.”
Next up for Self and his No. 12-ranked Jayhawks (14-4, 5-2) is a highly anticipated Big 12 home game against the No. 7-ranked Houton Cougars (15-3, 7-0) at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in Allen Fieldhouse. It’ll be shown live on ESPN.
“I said, ‘Hey guys, I’m not going to get on you right now. But you know it and I know it. Let’s not have an issue. Let’s look everybody in the eye and let’s say the way that we’re approaching this (game) isn’t good enough and we have to change it.’ And it didn’t work,” Self said.
TCU raced to an early 24-10 lead in the game on Wednesday. The Jayhawks ultimately were able to erase that 14-point deficit, cutting it to two by halftime en route to a 74-61 victory.
Regarding the issue of being ready to play, which at times has been a concern for KU this season, Self said: “I really believe it’s on the players to walk into the locker room two hours before the game where they are 100% ready to go.
“People won’t understand this,” Self added, “but when you’ve got all these new teams in the league, and you’ve got portal situations and you’ve got 12 new players (as TCU does) on a roster, and that team isn’t on national TV where you’re watching them all the time, it’s not the same as knowing you’re playing Houston when these are their five guys, and you’ve already played them before (last year).
“It’s one of the negatives of the free transfers (switching schools without having to sit a year).”
The Jayhawks do know a lot about coach Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars, who return several players from last year’s team that lost 78-65 to KU on Feb. 3, 2024 in Allen Fieldhouse. The Cougars won the rematch, 76-46, on March 9 in Houston.
“I don’t know that it (having energy) is anything more than preparing to play a day or two before the game actually occurs,” Self said. “I didn’t feel like that was the case the other night, no matter how much you talk about it.”
KU senior point guard Dajuan Harris knows one thing for sure. If energy is a problem entering the game against Houston, it could be a long afternoon/evening for the Jayhawks, who are trying to move within a game of the Cougars in the league standings.
A loss would push KU three games behind Houston after eight conference games.
“It all depends how your pregame routine is,” Harris said “Coach Self talked to us about it yesterday. We need to do a better job with pregame routine, getting ready, just so we don’t have slow starts like at TCU because If we have a slow start against Houston they’ll beat us by 20 or 30 in our building. We’ve got to be ready.”
One of the players who seems to be fired up for every game is senior forward KJ Adams, who has missed the past two games because of a separated shoulder.
Self said Friday that Adams will not play Saturday. Freshman Flory Bidunga is ticketed to start his third straight contest.
“I’m hopeful within a week to two weeks we could have him back out there, but I don’t know the exact date by any stretch,” Self said of Adams’ return.
Of what Adams brings to the team, Self said: “Granted, we don’t always do great with KJ in the game, but, but from an effort standpoint, he gives the team confidence because the other team knows under most circumstances he’s the best athlete in the game . So that’s that’s nice to have on your side..”
Noted Harris: “KJ is the heart and soul of our team. He does a lot of little stuff I don’t think people see. He guards everybody’s best forward. There are a lot of good 4-men out there. We miss his defensive mentality, his rebounding too. Flory backed that up last game (with 10 boards, 10 points vs. TCU) If he keeps doing that we should be in great shape, though.”
The Cougars also have an injured player in guard Emanuel Sharp, who is a 45.9% 3-point shooter while averaging 13.8 points a game. Sharp missed Wednesday’s 70-36 home rout of Utah with a foot injury and is expected to be a game-time decision Saturday.
LJ Cryer and former Oklahoma Sooner Milos Uzan average 13.8 and 9.1 points, respectively. Standout forward J’Wan Roberts averages 10.5 points and 6.5 rebounds.
Houston enters Saturday’s showdown on an 11-game win streak. The Cougars have won their last 16 Big 12 contests. So obviously KU will need to be ready.
“It’s a collective thing,” Harris said of avoiding slow starts. “It’s a team game. You play with five players. They are tough on the defensive end. We have to be aggressive from the start and match their intensity.”
After Saturday’s game against Houston, KU will next play host to UCF at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Allen Fieldhouse.
This story was originally published January 24, 2025 at 4:44 PM with the headline "KU’s Bill Self tried to address energy issue before comeback at TCU: ‘It didn’t work’."
