Why Udoka Azubuike is likely to get a longer leash than past KU freshmen big men

Earlier this week, Bill Self talked about how much he missed Jamari Traylor. And KU fans who follow Self shouldn’t be surprised.

The coach loves Traylor’s story of toughness, going from homeless Chicago kid to KU signee to college graduate in less than a decade. Self rarely becomes emotional at Senior Night events, yet he cried while Traylor was giving his speech — an even greater indicator of their relationship.

And yet, for all the emotions Self feels for Traylor, he probably most wishes he was around for a different reason.

For the first time in three seasons, the coach doesn’t have a post player on the bench who understands exactly what he wants.

That was most evident during a three-minute stretch late in the first half of KU’s 104-62 exhibition victory over Emporia State on Sunday night.

It started with transfer Dwight Coleby, who failed to block out following an Emporia State free throw (Incidentally, KU women’s coach Brandon Schneider lists this as his biggest coaching pet peeve).

Self wasn’t going to let it slide. He sent Landen Lucas to check in.

Freshman Mitch Lightfoot showed his own inexperience a minute later, as he didn’t step up to challenge a drive from 5-foot-11 guard Brandon Hall, instead electing to back off while perhaps trying to take a charge.

Self’s teams don’t do this. A defense built on toughness doesn’t thrive by playing the role of victim.

“Mitch!” Self screamed, with assistant coach Norm Roberts grabbing Lightfoot to explain at the next media timeout.

Then there was freshman Udoka Azubuike, a 7-footer who a few possessions later jumped into a driving Emporia State player. The force of the 280-pounder knocked Jawan Emery back a few feet, resulting in an easy foul call.

After frequently playing four-guard “small ball” lineups against Washburn, Self went back to old reliable Sunday, keeping two bigs on the floor at almost all times.

The question, if this continues, is this: Which forwards can he trust on the bench?

“You take that for granted,” Self said. “We’ve always been blessed to be a program that could run four bigs out there and foul trouble wasn’t an issue, that kind of stuff. That’s not going to be the case this year.”

Azubuike is the most talented, but he’s also still behind with his offensive knowledge.

During a two-possession stretch in the second half, he failed to execute two Self bread-and-butter sets: On “Two game,” he posted on the wrong side to throw off the play (guard Devonté Graham tried to unsuccessfully motion him to the right spot), while on “Fist,” he was slow to set a ball screen, forcing Self to yell, “Go get him, ’Doke!” from a few feet away.

“I’m a freshman, so stuff like that happens,” Azubuike said. “Josh (Jackson) did the same thing. We are just making little mistakes right now. It’s just correcting it.

“Like coach always says, ‘It’s the next play, the next play.’ So I just try to focus on the next play.”

The other two options besides Azubuike aren’t as appealing, at least as this point.

Coleby has been with the program two years but seems behind following knee surgery. And Lightfoot has shown the most energy, though sometimes he’s been too jittery, with Self at one point calling him over after a rushed ball screen to offer two words of advice: “Slow down.”

“Mitch isn’t quite ready yet. Dwight’s not healthy yet and not explosive,” Self said. “There’s three guys ... we’re going to have throw ‘Doke into the fire.”

There are no other options. Playing one scholarship down and with two non-eligible transfers, Self’s only reserve frontcourt options are those three, meaning the Indiana and Duke games to start the year should be fascinating.

The coach will have to increase his tolerance for either big-man mistakes or play four guards a majority of the time — something he hasn’t done much at KU. With this roster construction, there doesn’t appear to be another choice.

In other words, Azubuike’s timing at KU is much better than both Cliff Alexander and Cheick Diallo. If those two didn’t play to Self’s liking, there was always a spot on the bench for poor on-ball defense or a lack of execution on a play.

The leash will have to be longer for KU’s inexperienced big men this year. Ready or not, it’s time for Azubuike to show what he can do.

For the first time in a long time, Self can’t go to his security blanket in Traylor. For the Jayhawks, that means the other guys will just have to figure it out quickly.

This story was originally published November 6, 2016 at 11:31 PM with the headline "Why Udoka Azubuike is likely to get a longer leash than past KU freshmen big men."