Here’s what should — and shouldn’t — concern KU fans following the loss to Gonzaga
While basketball can be complex, Bill Self often has a way of making it sound simple.
Make no mistake: Kansas’ coach is one of the best in the game at creating clever plays for his best scorers. He’s a great motivator, and always seems to find a way to make talented players want to compete hard for each other.
Though these things are all complicated — and remain Self’s strengths — the backbone for his success comes from a simple one-sentence mantra:
“If you’re good, you get easy baskets,” he told me a few years back, “and don’t give them up.”
Let that be the backdrop as we talk about KU following its 102-90 loss to top-ranked Gonzaga on Thursday.
Yes, it’s worth getting into the specifics. And it’s important to note some of the details that KU didn’t execute — over and over again — in this particular loss.
But more than anything, it’s worth focusing on the macro.
And that was this: KU did nothing to stop the Zags at the rim.
Some of the lowlights were unprecedented:
• KU allowed 62 points in the paint — 16 more than any other game Self has coached at KU, according to ESPN Stats & Info;
• The Jayhawks gave up 100 points in regulation for the first time in the Self era;
• Gonzaga’s 77% accuracy from two-point range was the top mark ever against a Self-coached team at KU.
“We’re not going to beat anybody,” Self said after the game, “unless we guard better.”
History tends to frown on those who overreact to Game 1. Remember the doomsday after KU turned it over 28 times in last year’s season-opening loss to Duke? That turned out to be a small-sample mirage ... and also only a hiccup for the Jayhawks on the way to a 28-3 record.
It’s crucial, then, to separate the real from the imaginary here. KU struggled defensively with allowing easy shots, but how much of it is correctable? And how much isn’t?
Here’s an attempt at some level-headedness:
Problem: Miscommunication
Level of concern: Low
The breakdown that surprised me most was early in the first half ... and came from two of the team’s most trusted veterans.
Marcus Garrett and Ochai Agbaji miscommunicated on a simple switch, with Agbaji pointing late and Garrett recovering too slowly. That left Corey Kispert open for a pass and dunk.
When Self used the words “never really connected” and “discombobulated” to describe his defense afterward, this is the type of play he’s talking about. The good news: It’s completely fixable, and something KU proved it could execute just fine last season.
There were also lapses in transition defense. On one first-half sequence in particular, Jalen Wilson was late to point out that his man was rim-running in transition, while Christian Braun and Garrett failed to protect the basket first, running out to three-point shooters instead.
The result was another uncontested layup, and once again, KU making things more difficult than they had to be.
These areas were bad Thursday, but shouldn’t be for long. Coaching emphasis, focus and organization are all facets that Self will get straightened out quickly.
Which is why that’s not KU’s biggest concern from the opener.
Problem: 5-man defense
Level of concern: Much higher
It was widely accepted that KU’s defense would take a step back in rim protection following Udoka Azubuike’s graduation.
What transpired Thursday in terms of big-man defense, however, was worse than KU’s coaches could have predicted.
David McCormack had one of his worst games. To be fair, Self commented afterward that the center seemed both “off balance” and “sped up,” but either way, it was a troubling look at how much more difficult things might be for KU without a shot-eraser in back.
Not only that ... McCormack struggled at times to simply stand in front of his man, whether that was in a post setting or during a late-shot-clock guard switch. Though Azubuike wasn’t always comfortable shuffling out at the perimeter, it’s difficult to remember instances where opponents scored this easily against him last season.
This should be a much more alarming development for KU. Sure, Gonzaga’s talent is better than the Jayhawks will face most of the season, but McCormack wasn’t much of a shot-blocker his first two seasons, and asking him to drastically change his defensive profile seems like it might be a reach.
Self doesn’t have many other big options he can go to. Mitch Lightfoot blocks more shots than McCormack, though those seem to come more often in chase-down transition settings than the half-court. Wilson played the 5 some in the second half Thursday, and while that gives KU an advantage offensively, it’s certainly not going to help the defense overall by putting an undersized player in the middle of the lane.
The positive for Self and the Jayhawks: It’s early. KU doesn’t just play again Friday, but then Tuesday ... and Thursday ... and once again Saturday after that.
There’s plenty of time left for the team to correct obvious problems.
As long as they’re ones that are able to be fixed.
