KU’s Silvio De Sousa vying for more minutes: ‘He’s going to be fine,’ Self maintains
A healthy Silvio De Sousa has been awarded double-digit minutes in just three of eight games in this, his junior season at Kansas.
“I think he’s been patient with all the crap he’s had to go through. I don’t think he’s unbelievably patient, just waiting his time,” KU coach Bill Self said of the 6-foot-9, 245-pound Angola native, who after sitting out all last season because of NCAA suspension, has averaged 8.9 minutes per contest heading into Tuesday’s nonconference clash between KU and UW-Milwaukee.
Tipoff is 7 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse.
“He’s not happy where he is right now (minutes-wise). If he was happy we wouldn’t be very happy,” Self added, noting, “I always thought all the best players are always impatient because they want it to happen yesterday let alone tomorrow.”
De Sousa, who played just 15 minutes (four total in the semifinals and finals) in KU’s three recent victories at the Maui Invitational, scored two points with three rebounds and four fouls in 11 minutes in Saturday’s 72-58 home victory by KU (7-1) over Colorado.
“I thought he did fine the other day. He hasn’t had a chance to play enough to really probably gather momentum yet. He’s going to be fine,” Self said.
De Sousa, who played in 20 games his freshman year after arriving at semester break from IMG Academy — and no games last year — is at least used to delayed gratification on the college level.
“I think being patient is one thing I just have natural,” De Sousa said Monday. “I know how to deal with frustration. I know how to control myself now. I’m going through some hard times … I think not being able to play as much as I wanted to play is not affecting the way I should play. Being patient is the key. It is the one thing I can control.”
De Sousa said he had more rust to shake than he envisioned after not being able to play in games last season.
“I feel a lot better. I feel I actually am getting better now. The game is slowing down a lot more than I thought it would when we first started the season,” De Sousa said. “I am controlling what I can control right now, helping the team get going.”
He had three points and four rebounds in eight minutes in the opener against Duke; zero points in six minutes in the second game against UNC Greensboro and a season-high 11 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes versus Monmouth in game 3. For the year, he has averaged 3.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in his 8.9 minutes a game.
“The first three or four games I felt everything was going full speed, 100 miles per hour, and I was just going 40,” he said. “At some point I had to figure it out. Now I’m catching up; I’m about 75, 80 miles an hour.”
De Sousa says he needs to hit the boards during his minutes on the court.
“I feel we are not rebounding the ball as well as we should. It’s a long year. That is one thing we’ll figure out by midseason,” De Sousa said. “Being more active (is important). Just know the perfect time, perfect spot to be on the court. That’s how you rebound. That’s one thing we’ll figure out.”
No. 2-ranked KU has outrebounded opponents an average of 37.8 to 32.2 per game.
“I don’t think we’re a bad rebounding team. I don’t think we attack the ball,” Self said.
On Tuesday, KU meets the Panthers of the Horizon League. Milwaukee, coached by former Leavenworth High and Northwestern standout Pat Baldwin, is 5-4 after dropping consecutive games to George Washington (66-63) and Drake (56-53). UMKC fell to the Panthers 61-52 Nov. 15 in Milwaukee.
Tuesday’s contest is being billed as the last game of the decade in Allen Fieldhouse. KU is 150-7 in the 2010s in Allen and 299-67 overall. Only Gonzaga (304-54) has won 300 games in the decade that’s about to conclude.
“We’ve had a decent run,” Self said. “That’s pretty good. There’s a reason for that — good players and a pretty good atmosphere helps, too.”
De Sousa referred to the atmosphere in closing a Monday news conference. He was asked if he was glad to play a home game Saturday against Colorado after a week in Maui.
“It felt like we had not been in Allen Fieldhouse since 1976,” De Sousa said, smiling. “It felt good to be back home.”
