Bill Self chided his team at halftime. Then KU made the same mistake late vs. Texas
Bill Self was angry at halftime. Dedric Lawson can attest to that.
The intermission was right after a defensive meltdown, with Kansas’ players failing to get back following a Lagerald Vick three-pointer with 6 seconds left in the first half. Texas’ Jase Febres beat everyone down the floor, raced past the Jayhawks’ final defender, then missed an uncontested dunk.
Self started his blowup on the court. He flung his fists twice in the air, screaming in the direction of point guard Devon Dotson.
The message continued in KU’s locker room.
“He was pretty upset by not getting back,” Lawson said. “That two points could’ve been maybe the difference in the outcome of the game.”
It was a bad sequence in the moment, but became worse later for KU in an 80-78 victory over Texas on Monday.
That’s because — deep in the second half — the Jayhawks failed to learn from their earlier mistake.
“Almost cost us the game,” Self said afterward.
There was no reason for Texas to have a decent shot at the buzzer to win it — not with KU leading by four and 15 seconds left. Self even called timeout before a Lawson second free throw attempt to make sure his team was organized.
In short, it didn’t work.
For late-game situations, Self likes to keep two players in the lane for free throws. His shooters are used to that setup, while rebounders seem more comfortable with the routine as well.
The rule, though, is to not even go for the ball. Just run to get back defensively.
That isn’t what happened. Both Marcus Garrett and Ochai Agbaji tried to work around their men for the carom, leaving KU short-handed when Texas’ Dylan Osetkowski pulled down the rebound.
Remember, KU didn’t have to do much here with the clock at 14 seconds and counting. Even bad defense might force a few passes, resulting in most of the time running off the clock.
Instead, confusion. Osetkowski fired to Matt Coleman, who took one dribble before tossing to Courtney Ramey on the right wing.
Dotson thought someone else had the shooter. Lawson was late getting out, thinking his job was to protect the lane.
The three-pointer went through ... with the entire sequence taking just 6.2 seconds.
“A total lack of focus, IQ, whatever you want to call it,” Self said.
And it had to be especially frustrating given recent events.
Just two days ago, KU was terrible down the stretch, letting a 23-point second-half lead slip to four in a five-point victory over Baylor.
Monday’s final moments were just as clumsy.
“You can’t allow that to happen. Certainly we did,” Self said. “That’s something we’ve got to correct and be a lot more organized.”
It didn’t cost KU this time. Febres missed a three at the buzzer. KU survived at home.
Still, the Jayhawks had every opportunity to seal it earlier. Handle one situation better, and there’s no sweating the end. Execute what was talked about, and the result isn’t determined by a heave that was inches from going in.
Self took his share of the blame. KU’s gaffe came after a timeout, so obviously, he said, his guys weren’t prepared as well as they should’ve been.
“I don’t have any idea what we were thinking there in that possession,” he said.
A fired-up halftime talk also ended up doing no good.
Self is all about controlling the controllables. Shots may or may not go through certain nights, but two things that should be consistent are both execution and effort.
“He pays attention a lot to small details,” Dedric said of his coach.
KU’s players — sooner rather than later — would be wise to do the same.
This story was originally published January 15, 2019 at 1:13 AM.
