‘This team wants to be remembered’: Kansas Jayhawks’ Mitch Lightfoot on rest of season
Mitch Lightfoot believes Kansas’ men’s basketball players will bring their best effort the rest of the way as the Big 12 race continues past the halfway mark of a marathon 18-game schedule.
“Of course there’s a lot of drive in the standings. This team wants to be remembered here as one of the really good ones if not great ones,” Lightfoot, KU’s super senior power forward from Gilbert, Arizona, said Friday at a news conference held in advance of Saturday’s noon home game between the first-place Jayhawks (19-4, 8-2) and Sooners (14-10, 4-7), who enter the weekend tied for sixth in the 10-team league.
“Also you have a certain amount of home games left. Things are starting to come to an end so we’ve got to make sure to lock into each and every one of these.”
The Jayhawks, who lost to Texas, 79-76, on Monday night in Austin, Texas, currently are a game ahead of Baylor (8-3) in the loss column and two ahead of Texas Tech and Texas (both 7-4).
“We are still in good shape,” coach Bill Self said Friday of his No. 8-ranked Jayhawks in the league chase. “Obviously there are three more teams in play that you can make a strong case if they won out they’d win the league. You could make a case they’d be hard to beat,” he added of Baylor, Tech and Texas. TCU is another team with just four losses (against five wins).
“That means (if those teams win out) with the exception of Tech, they would have had to beat us and that gives us another loss (KU has finished its season series with the Red Raiders, 1-1).
“We are still in good shape though. There are not too many teams that have just dominated this league wherever they played. Everybody is vulnerable when you play teams as good as there are in the league. Oklahoma just beat a top-ten team (Texas Tech on Wednesday) worse than anybody has dealt with them all year long and won going away. What OU did against Tech … that was impressive,” Self added, noting Oklahoma could still make the NCAA Tournament.
Led by guard Umoja Gibson’s 30 points, OU slugged No. 9-ranked Texas Tech, 70-55 on Wednesday in Norman. The Jayhawks on Jan. 18 needed five points down the stretch from Christian Braun to stop the Sooners, 67-64, in Norman. Gibson had 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting in that game.
“He is a dangerous shooter,” Self said of Gibson, a 6-1 senior from Waco, Texas.
As far as KU personnel ... Self said senior forward David McCormack, who has had some foot problems of late, “took a pretty hard fall against Texas on his knee,” but has been able to practice this week.
“He is not quite 100%. He is not going to let that stop him from playing,” Self said. “I anticipate him being 100%. I would say he’s been a good player for us and one we need him to be able to have a chance to win.”
McCormack scored 16 points and grabbed seven boards with two blocks in 30 minutes Monday against the Longhorns.
Self said freshman forward Zach Clemence, who has missed nine straight games because of a toe injury, has returned to practice. His last game was Jan. 8 against Texas Tech.
“Zach has practiced full speed for the first time (since being injured). He looked good yesterday in his role,” Self said.
Senior guard Remy Martin remains out because of a bone bruise in his right knee.
“Nothing new with Remy … he’s doing rehab and all that stuff,” Self said.
Lightfoot said the Jayhawks are looking forward to returning to the fieldhouse after falling to the Longhorns on Monday for their second league loss. UT fans stormed the court after the game.
“We’ve been focused,” Lightfoot said. “Obviously coming off a loss we’ve got to lock it back in. This is another opportunity to get better, to figure out what we did wrong in that game and look forward to this next game. OU plays hard. They have a bunch of talented guards, talented big guys. They have a good team.”
The Jayhawks will remain home to meet Oklahoma State at 8 p.m. Monday at Allen.
