Kansas’ David Coit was ‘nervous’ filling in for Dajuan Harris. Here’s what he learned
Kansas reserve point guard David “Diggy” Coit suffered two turnovers in just 74 seconds after subbing for guard Zeke Mayo with 13:28 left in the first half of Kansas’ 91-87 come-from-behind victory over UCF on Tuesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
“I am not going to lie, I was nervous coming in there. With Juan out I knew I had to play a bigger role in a system I’m not quite yet comfortable,” Coit, KU’s senior transfer portal addition from Northern Illinois, said on a night he would be counted on for a season-high 28 minutes.
Coit’s previous high in a Big 12 game was 17. He saw the increased use because of an ankle injury that kept Dajuan Harris from starting his 99th consecutive game at KU.
“Obviously I’ve only been here four months. I’m still learning. I never played this style, never played with this talent. It’s still a learning curve for me,” Coit added, outlining reasons for his nerves.
After two early errant passes, Coit, following some words from coach Bill Self, drilled a 3-pointer at the 11:31 mark.
“I had two live ball turnovers just playing nervous. After that coach yelled at me, got on me, told me just to play free and just keep going like, ‘Forget about it. Man up. You’ll be all right,’” Coit recalled. “And after that, I felt comfortable out there. I think just stepping up, just making sure I had Juan’s back, making sure I had my teammates back, that’s all that was.”
Coit shrugged off the slow start to score 12 points, the same number he’d scored total in his first eight Big 12 games. He was 4-of-8 from 3 after entering the game 2-of-17 from beyond the arc in league contests.
Asked about sticking with the 5-foot-11, 175-pound Coit despite the shaky beginning, Self said: “He was bad early but, but the thing about it is with Diggy, the kid’s got courage. He’s grown up being the smallest guy in every room. He’s had to probably fight a little harder than most do because of that.
“I love the kid. And he’s shot it so poorly by his ability but he can shoot. He’ll win another game or two or three for us this year, because there’s no way we win that game without Diggy tonight,” Self added after the Jayhawks rallied from a 9-point second half deficit to sweep the season series against the Knights.
Harris did his part to encourage Coit to forget about the two turnovers. Coit wound up contributing four rebounds with an assist, a steal and just those two early turnovers.
“Even though Juan was out he kind of talked me through the whole game, which is normal for us,” Coit said. “We talk to each other a lot on the court, off the court. We are good friends, teammates. It’s important he talked me through a lot of that (nerves). I started to feel comfortable, took care of the ball better, made some shots, My teammates made plays. It was good.”
Coit reiterated he was a different player Tuesday after his opening errors.
“I had the ball a lot last year at my school. I was at the top of the scouting report (of opponents) now I’m at the bottom. It’s obviously a little easier,” Coit said. “It was definitely good for me to have this experience. With Juan being out I had to step up.”
Coit was 4-of-8 from 3 and Mayo 6-of-10 en route to 24 points with nine rebounds and five assists. Shakeel Moore, who started his eighth straight game, had one rebound, two assists, one turnover and no shot attempts in 12 minutes.
“We had to make sure to get our shots up,” Coit said. “Coach Self always tells me, ‘If it looks good, shoot it.’ Everybody on the team, Juan, Rakease (Passmore), all the coaches all tell me to shoot the ball.
“It is a big role adjustment. Sometimes you are trying to be a great teammate and you forget who you are in the midst of all that. Today they told me, ‘Show us you can be who we think you can be.’’’
Coit said the win was especially big because the Jayhawks “did it without the head of the snake” — meaning Harris.
“We’re used to having him out there,” Coit said. “He finishes the game. He has the ball in his hands. A lot of times coach doesn’t have to call plays because he takes control. Getting this win without him shows we can step up.
“Having him back now obviously puts less pressure on him and more on us to make sure we are better teammates. We have to play better to help him out. Essentially with Juan being out, I wanted to show I can do more so Juan doesn’t need to play 45 minutes because I can play more.”
For that, Coit referenced the Jayhawks’ loss to Houston, when Harris missed a pair of clutch free throws that could’ve locked up a win in overtime.
“We talk about free throws last game. Understand he played 45 minutes,” Coit said. “We’ve got to be able to get him out (to rest). I feel I showcased that tonight. I hope I did to help him out in the future.”
KU (15-5, 6-3) will next meet Baylor (13-7, 5-4) at 3 p.m. Saturday in Waco, Texas.
This story was originally published January 29, 2025 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Kansas’ David Coit was ‘nervous’ filling in for Dajuan Harris. Here’s what he learned."
