KU got lucky on Texas Tech’s last possession. It also got bailed out by one player
Kansas had just messed this up — and coach Bill Self took a timeout to talk about it.
The message in the huddle was repeated over and over again: “Switch five. Switch five.” That meant on real ball screens, fake ball screens, big and little guys alike.
No matter what, switch everything.
And the Jayhawks had just seen what could happen if they didn’t do this properly.
Seconds earlier, David McCormack’s man came up to fake a ball screen, with McCormack calling for a switch. Marcus Garrett didn’t hear him because of the crowd noise, so he stayed with Texas Tech’s Jahmi’us Ramsey ... but bumped into McCormack while doing so, allowing Ramsey a drive to the basket and layup.
This was game point now. After two Ochai Agbaji free throws, KU led by three again with 14 seconds left, with the players only needing to remember a single message.
One that they forgot once again.
Ramsey made his way up the court, with Texas Tech’s T.J. Holyfield coming up this time to slip a ball screen. Garrett anticipated the switch this time ... but Christian Braun stayed attached to Holyfield.
What happened next, after watching the replay, is probably one of KU’s best defensive plays of the year. Garrett, after relaxing on the switch, quickly realizes he has no help coming. He recovers to slide back in front of Ramsey, cuts off his angle a bit, then blocks his shot from behind — all on a player he wasn’t supposed to be guarding.
After the ball went out of bounds, Garrett emphatically threw his hands downward while screaming to Braun, “That’s a switch!”
KU survived against Texas Tech 78-75 — Ramsey would later miss a shot inside with two seconds left — but it’s not surprising that Self wasn’t pleased with his guys following the end-of-game blunders.
“We were fortunate today,” Self said, “based on our execution in the last minute.”
It wasn’t the only time that KU struggled late.
After Holyfield hit an open three with three minutes left in the second half, Self reminded his guards to “stunt” — or fake — at him to give KU’s Udoka Azubuike time to recover defensively.
Ninety seconds later, Braun failed to do this, which allowed Holyfield another clean look as Texas Tech trimmed its deficit to five.
“That’s another thing, like the switching five, that we’ve got to clean up,” Agbaji said of stunting. “We shouldn’t be making those mistakes, at least this late in the season.”
The last possession, honestly, is the most concerning — just because KU has almost been burned by this before and no doubt will face it again.
Go back to last season at Oklahoma State. KU was up three in the final seconds when a fake ball screen caused confusion, leaving one of the Big 12’s best three-point shooters, Lindy Waters, clear for a three.
He missed it.
It’s likely the type of moment that led Self to do some offseason soul-searching about the best way to defend this particular action in the future.
The instructions in that spot Saturday were clear to his guys.
“We didn’t switch a slip (screen),” Self said, “and that’s what we practice on all the time.”
Poor switching nearly cost KU against Dayton earlier this season as well. In that game, Agbaji forgot his assignment, leading to a Flyers three in overtime and a tongue-lashing from Self.
“I know Coach is going to be on us about switching five,” Agbaji said, “because we had some problems in the past.”
Self’s teams historically have been great in these scenarios. The Jayhawks, year after year, seem to always win more than their share of tight games simply because they perform their best in crunch time.
KU won a close game Saturday not because it played well late, but because it let a big lead slip away following multiple mental lapses.
Self loves those times when his team can win and still learn, and this should provide one of those opportunities.
After Oklahoma State last season, after Dayton this year and even after an earlier play Saturday, KU has yet to fully correct its mistakes in these crucial switch five situations.
While Garrett still saved KU against Texas Tech, that effort comes with an obvious caveat.
Miraculous recoveries are no blueprint for late-game success.
This story was originally published February 1, 2020 at 9:15 PM.
