This pass ended in a turnover. It’s still an example of what KU needs from its guards
Ochai Agbaji was charged with a turnover ... yet he did everything right on this first-half play against Baylor.
The Kansas guard received the ball at the top of the key, saw Udoka Azubuike pinning his defender, then lofted a pass in the air where Azubuike could get to it.
KU’s big man wasn’t fundamentally sound, though. He tried to catch the ball with one hand — not two — which gave Baylor help defender Mark Vital a chance to poke it away from behind for a steal.
This is where one can empathize with Agbaji. KU coach Bill Self scolded Azubuike a few seconds later for his poor technique, but most observers — and also the box score — are likely to pin the blame on the passer.
All this is said to speak to a universal truth for KU basketball right now: The Jayhawks need more of Agbaji doing this ... and that’s regardless of the risks or potential consequences.
Self has spoken about this for months now: KU is not a great passing team, and that combined with a clever defensive game plan from Baylor resulted in an ugly Jayhawks offensive performance on Saturday.
Here’s the dilemma for Self: You have one of the nation’s elite big men at catching and finishing in Azubuike, yet your roster is not filled with players who naturally see those openings or are comfortable making those passes.
“Usually the best time to throw it to him, in our guys’ mind, is when he’s wide open,” Self said. “And Doke, in my opinion, he’s wide open a lot, because he’s so big. I mean, even if a guy looks like he’s guarding him, he’s still open.”
And this is why Agbaji’s confidence is so critical on the play above. Not only did he see the opening (correctly), he trusted himself and also his teammate to catch it.
That seemed to change after a later example.
Two minutes later, KU ran one of its most common plays to get Azubuike a lob over the top. He was even more open this time, with Self always directing his passers here to aim for the bottom corner of the backboard.
Agbaji seems to be attempting this ... but his pass is way too hard and flat, missing the desired spot by a few feet for a giveaway.
That moment seemed to have a psychological effect. Out of a timeout in the second half, Self called a play designed for a lob, with guard Isaiah Moss setting a backscreen for David McCormack.
Agbaji, though, either doesn’t see the opening to McCormack for an alley-oop or lacks the faith needed to throw the pass. He plays it safe, in other words, and KU’s possession ends soon after on a Moss airball from 18 feet, with CBS microphones picking up Self’s voice on the TV broadcast.
“Och!” he said. “He was wide open.”
Self admitted Monday that passing is oftentimes difficult to improve in-season. A team can work on it in drills, but so much of it is having a combination of feel and fearlessness.
“It always amazed me how (former guard) Brady Morningstar could just catch the ball and throw to the post and we’d make a layup. Just throw it to the open hand,” Self said. “He just was so natural. And then some guys don’t do that very well.”
Basically all of KU’s guards could stand to improve. Devon Dotson has had notable struggles passing, and while Marcus Garrett is decent, he’s still not what you envision when thinking of a prototypical pass-first guard.
Which brings us back to Agbaji. He should be commended in the first half because he was trying. He made two good reads — one with a good pass and one with a bad pass — and all he had was a pair of turnovers to show for it.
The danger for KU’s offense isn’t those plays ... it’s Agbaji’s hesitance later.
Though it was McCormack and not Azubuike in then, Agbaji choosing not throw the lob shows how quickly KU’s inside advantage can be neutralized if the team doesn’t have willing passers.
While Self might believe Azubuike is open on most plays, in the end, that’s not what matters.
KU can only get easy baskets if the team’s players are able see it, willing to execute the assignment needed to put Azubuike in a good spot.
And that’s going to require one characteristic above all others:
Bravery.
