Brannen Greene returns from suspension, No. 2 Kansas beats Holy Cross 92-59

Brannen Greene is a stubborn and confident college kid. There is something about this that Kansas coach Bill Self loves, and there is part of this that he loathes, and the status of Greene as a productive member of the KU basketball program depends on the eternal struggle between the conformist coach and the rebellious gunner.

Self says Greene must conform. Greene says he will try. And in the meantime, well, he’ll keep stroking threes.

“There’s no question,” Self said Wednesday, during a quiet moment after Kansas’ 92-59 victory over Holy Cross at Allen Fieldhouse. “I’ve always thought that. He can’t remember his misses. He don’t remember anything.”

For nearly a month, Greene’s mouth and stubborn nature had earned him a seat on the sideline. This was his existence. He missed a trip to the Maui Invitational and the championship that followed. He was suspended for six games, relegated to practice player status as Kansas won five straight games and ascended to No. 2 in the polls.

The official reason for Greene’s suspension, according Self, was “conduct detrimental to the team,” a bit of coded coach speak that revealed a partial truth. The conduct in question included a locker room blowup after the Jayhawks’ loss to Michigan State at the Champions Classic and a host of other minor transgressions that Self has declined to discuss. Self says the locker room incident was blown out of proportion. It also came just three days before he announced the suspension.

What’s not in question: For more than three weeks, Greene had no choice but to sit, his near-perfect three-point stroke holstered for five games. On Wednesday night at Allen Fieldhouse, as the sixth and final game approached, Self decided that Greene had served enough time on the sideline. As Kansas rolled over Holy Cross in an offense-centric shootout, Greene drilled his first two three-pointers and finished with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting.

"Did he miss one?” said teammate Wayne Selden. “I think he shot it OK. He doesn’t really miss.”

Greene’s return came one day after Self pulled him aside at practice and told him he was suiting up against Holy Cross. In the weeks after Greene was suspended, Self and Greene engaged in a series of talks. Self didn’t want to make the conversations into something bigger than they were, but he did describe them as positive.

“Let me make this real clear,” Self said. “We don’t need to get on the same page. He needs to get on our page. And we had several or a few good talks, initially. Really good talks. I thought that was good. And his attitude has been really good.”

Greene’s output was part of a balanced and efficient offensive attack. The Jayhawks drilled 17 of their first 22 shots from the field and eight of their first 10 three-pointers in the first half. They finished 12 of 20 from behind the arc, and Selden led six Jayhawks in double figures with a team-high 15 points.

“We were fine,” Self said. “We made shots.”

On the whole, Self had a reason, perhaps, to feel a little blasé about the performance. The Jayhawks allowed Holy Cross to shoot better than 50 percent from the field for much of the night. Kansas also had nine turnovers while taking a 50-33 lead at halftime. But Kansas, 7-1, buckled down in the latter stretches of the second half, cruising to a sixth straight victory.

The Jayhawks were playing without senior forward Jamari Traylor (ankle) and junior big man Landen Lucas (big toe). Self said that both players were hobbled, but that both could have played, too. The absence of Traylor and Lucas offered a starting opportunity for senior forward Hunter Mickelson, who made the first start of his Kansas career. Mickelson spent most of the night in foul trouble, but freshman big man Cheick Diallo also played extended minutes, finishing with 12 points and four rebounds in 18 minutes.

“It’s a good passing team,” Holy Cross coach Bill Carmody said. “There doesn’t seem to be any greedy guys out there.”

For Kansas, though, the night mostly offered a glimpse at what this offense can look like with Greene operating at full capacity. When Greene is on, when his feet are set and his look is clear, there are few players in college basketball who can match his outside shooting stroke. It is pure. His release is high. As Selden says, it usually goes in. After going 5 for 5 from three in the season opener, Greene hit his first three three-point attempts against Holy Cross.

“I’m always that locked in,” Greene said. “If I don’t go 8 for 8, it doesn’t mean I’m not locked in. I feel like I’m always locked in.

For three seasons, though, Greene has been a perpetual inhabitant of of Self’s dog house, always finding some small reason to antagonize his head coach. This is Greene’s way, stubborn and confident. The same character traits that can infuriate Self are the same ones that make him a cold-hearted assassin from deep.

“He’d be a good cornerback or a good quarterback,” Self said, “because he wouldn’t remember his last pass. Unless, of course, it was a touchdown."

On Wednesday, the Jayhawks received the good version of Greene — he drilled 3 of 4 from deep — and Self had to like what he saw. Here was another weapon in the backcourt. Here was instant offense off the bench. Now the Jayhawks will have two days off before returning to action on Saturday against Oregon State the Sprint Center.

More importantly: They once again have Greene in the fold.

Which leads to another revealing scene from Wednesday. In the moments after the game, Greene sat in the media room inside Allen Fieldhouse, talking about his conversations with Self.

“He said, with me, we could win a national championship,” Greene said. “It was as simple as that. I knew I wasn’t going to leave the school. I knew I was going to stay here. I knew I was going to face a punishment when it happened. But I just had to look at it as a positive.”

Ten minutes later, Self entered the media room and a reporter asked him about that specific conversation. Self had a slightly different memory.

“I haven’t ever said that,” Self said, smiling. “I do think we have a lot of pieces … but no, I never said that. He gets a little bit carried away sometimes when he gets excited — and actually remember or stating fact. But I do think we have a chance to be one of the better teams.”

No. 2 KANSAS 92, HOLY CROSS 59

TableStyle: SP-bkwideplayersCCI Template: SP-bkwideplayers

Percentages: FG .381, FT .826. Three-Point Goals: 8-19, .421 (Husek 2-2, Champion 2-4, Alexander 2-5, Zignorski 1-1, Thompson 1-5, Hamilton 0-1, Charles 0-1). Blocked Shots: 1 (Floyd). Turnovers: 19 (Floyd 4, Charles 3, Hamilton 2, Husek 2, Zignorski 2, Benzan, Alexander, Thompson, Baker, Champion). Steals: 8 (Charles 4, Alexander 2, Zignorski, Husek). Technical Fouls: None.

TableStyle: SP-bkwideplayersCCI Template: SP-bkwideplayers

Percentages: FG .630, FT 1.000. Three-Point Goals: 12-20, .600 (Selden Jr. 3-4, Greene 3-4, Mason III 2-2, Graham 2-3, Manning 1-1, Mykhailiuk 1-3, Vick 0-1, Ellis 0-2). Blocked Shots: 5 (Mickelson 2, Graham, Diallo, Mason III). Turnovers: 15 (Selden Jr. 4, Diallo 4, Mason III 2, Bragg Jr. 2, Mykhailiuk 2, Greene). Steals: 11 (Graham 3, Manning 2, Mickelson 2, Selden Jr. 2, Vick, Ellis). Technical Fouls: None.

Half: Kansas 50-33. Att: 16,300. Officials: Joe DeRosa, Kipp Kissinger, Bret Smith.

AP-WF-12-10-15 0326GMT

This story was originally published December 9, 2015 at 8:02 PM with the headline "Brannen Greene returns from suspension, No. 2 Kansas beats Holy Cross 92-59."