Why KU basketball’s win over Washburn was like an audition ... without a clear winner
Bryce Thompson answers the question honestly, with a smile and also a dose of humility.
Thompson is a McDonald’s All-American, a freshman guard ... and also someone who admits that he’s still getting accustomed to the college game.
“You can see it. I kind of play a little nervous when I first get out there,” Thompson said Thursday night. “Just trying to relax.”
This all usually takes time. Thompson would join a long list of highly touted freshman guards under Kansas coach Bill Self — Mario Chalmers and Kelly Oubre are notable examples — whose KU rookie years started off slowly before they played through struggles and excelled late.
There’s a problem for someone like Thompson, though, and it was magnified following KU’s 89-54 victory over Division II Washburn on Thursday.
Already — with the season barely started — time is starting to run out to earn Self’s trust.
This is not Thompson or anyone’s fault, but COVID-19 has jumbled things up. The season started late, so KU just crammed its fourth game into an eight-day span ... and at the same time also opens Big 12 play in exactly two weeks.
So let’s call this Washburn game what it was: a tryout of sorts. KU’s pregame odds of winning were somewhere in the 99.9% range, which means this was always going to be most about getting opportunities for guys like Thompson, whose minutes were limited during three competitive games to start the season.
Who took advantage of that chance most? No one completely, which made it a somewhat lost night for many Jayhawks coming off the bench.
Honestly, the have and have-nots of the rotation only seemed to separate themselves Thursday. David McCormack followed three bad games with a good one. Jalen Wilson was excellent once again, and Dajuan Harris continued to prove this stage isn’t too big for him.
Those three join Marcus Garrett, Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun as virtual locks to get playing time over the next month.
Everyone else behind them didn’t stand out much.
Mitch Lightfoot probably played the best, earning Self’s praise for his activity level and blocked shots.
Most of Self’s other comments about the reserves were qualified with “buts.”
Thompson finished the game OK, Self said, but got off to a bad start. That seemed to include a second-half sequence where the coach had to call timeout when there was offensive confusion on a set play, with Garrett immediately talking to Thompson once the stoppage began.
Tyon Grant-Foster had “his best outing so far,” according to Self, though he also had some lapses, which included not picking up a man following a dead-ball situation. That gave Washburn a wide-open three and also drew Self’s ire.
Self commented that Tristan Enaruna “had some good plays,” but he also allowed two backdoor lobs when he was ball-watching instead of sticking to his man.
We have an idea of how KU’s rotation establishes itself from past experience.
Self puts in who he trusts. And to build that trust, one has to play well in games.
To be frank, there aren’t many auditions left. KU gets North Dakota State on Saturday, then faces ninth-ranked Creighton, Nebraska Omaha and Tarleton State next week.
After that ... 17th-ranked Texas Tech. And the start of what is likely to be a loaded conference schedule with half the Big 12 teams in the top 20.
To be clear, Self was not upset with his team overall Thursday. KU arrived back in Lawrence about 4 a.m. the day before following a week-long road trip, so it was reasonable to expect some sluggishness.
The main development against Washburn, though, was this: A night that had the potential to jumble up the rotation race instead strongly favored the incumbents.
For Thompson and others, that should bring a sense of urgency.
Though the season has just begun, the trial runs end soon.
This story was originally published December 4, 2020 at 12:30 AM.
