How Kansas Jayhawks basketball spotlighted its unexpected renaissance in K-State win
When Mitch Lightfoot received the pass, Kansas had nothing going offensively — a circumstance that would change quickly.
This was midway through the first half of KU’s 102-83 home thrashing of Kansas State on Tuesday night, and Lightfoot looked over a few options before throwing to guard Dajuan Harris.
KU, in the moment, was disorganized. Four teammates stood next to each other on the perimeter, and as they separated, Harris tried to work around a ball screen before tossing to teammate Jalen Wilson, who began to curl around Lightfoot as well.
That was all it took. Wilson saw an angle for a straight-line drive, attacking K-State big man Kaosi Ezeagu with three bounces before putting in a right-handed layup over a pair of defenders in the lane.
Many headlines will deservedly laud the Jayhawks’ 15-for-24 three-point shooting on Tuesday. And make no mistake: Doing that will produce a win every night for a team as talented as KU is.
Focusing only on that part of the offense, though, would ignore the Jayhawks’ overlooked greatness this season — coming in an area that might not be expected with this particular roster.
Bill Self has built a hall-of-fame career on creating easy baskets. And though this squad is one of his least-centered on big men, it’s still turned into one of his most effective in converting those all-valuable inside shots.
The numbers show just how dominant the Jayhawks have been.
KU made 26 of 40 two-pointers against K-State (65%), which also improved the season-long average, where the Jayhawks are now shooting 56.5%.
If that sounds impressive, it’s because it is; this year’s team ranks second in Self’s 19 seasons at KU in two-point percentage, trailing only 2010-11, when the Jayhawks led the nation with 56.8% precision.
“I think it just shows our versatility,” Wilson said of the team’s interior scoring. “We’ve got guys that are big guards that are able to get downhill, create, finish at the cup, finish through contact and also stretch the floor.”
Wilson mentioned a crucial point in saying KU is stressing defenses with its ability to shoot both inside and out.
Lately, an offensive resurgence has been spurred by Ochai Agbaji, whose standout play has resulted in opposing coaches selling out to limit his scoring. That’s meant face-guarding and not helping off him, which in turn has allowed KU many possessions to play 4-on-4 offensively when Agbaji simply gets out of the way.
Christian Braun, David McCormack, and Wilson have quickly foiled that by upping their offensive efforts. In the last five contests — or since Texas first started an oft-copied trend of laser-focusing on Agbaji — KU has shot at least 50% from two each contest and 65% or better twice.
The most significant volume of close shots is coming from guards as well ... and KU’s guys just aren’t missing that often.
For Self, this is unprecedented paint production for ball-handlers. According to College Basketball Reference’s Play Index, only 10 KU players listed as a “guard” in the 19-year Self era have averaged four twos per game or more in a season, and two of them are playing for the Jayhawks this year.
Both of those, by the way, are at the top of the list when it comes to shooting percentage inside, with College Basketball Reference’s numbers not including Tuesday’s K-State game.
| Made 2s/game | 2P% | |
| 21-22 Christian Braun | 4.4 | 59% |
| 21-22 Ochai Agbaji | 4.2 | 56% |
| 16-17 Josh Jackson | 5.3 | 55% |
| 19-20 Devon Dotson | 4.8 | 54% |
| 03-04 Keith Langford | 4.4 | 53% |
| 11-12 Tyshawn Taylor | 4.3 | 52% |
| 04-05 Keith Langford | 4.1 | 51% |
| 16-17 Frank Mason | 4.4 | 50% |
| 13-14 Andrew Wiggins | 4.2 | 49% |
| 08-09 Sherron Collins | 4.3 | 47% |
That list, though, doesn’t capture others who are propping up KU’s two-point shooting as well. Wilson, for example, is averaging 3.1 twos at a 60% clip, while McCormack has made 53%.
The Jayhawks’ efficiency in transition helps. Then again, Ken Pomeroy’s numbers have KU facing the toughest defensive schedule in the nation this season, so it’s not like the team has been able to carve up patsies for dunks in the lane either.
What’s fascinating is the path that’s led to Self’s two-point renaissance. Over the years, Self has loved having control from the sidelines while often looking to manipulate any situations he could; KU, as a result, seems to always thrive after timeouts and also in special cases like sideline and baseline out-of-bounds plays.
Interestingly, though, the Jayhawks have reached their new two-point level this season because Self has become more comfortable letting go. KU isn’t calling as many set plays, so the coach is leaning on his players to make good reads in real-time with ball screens and dribble handoffs. He’s also trusting them not to abuse the privilege of having nearly complete control over shot selection while keeping faith that it’ll turn out fine more often than not.
The Jayhawks have been rewarding him to this point. KU ranks third nationally in adjusted efficiency, and on Tuesday, the team put up 102 on a top-50 K-State defense by chaotically freelancing their way to fast-break and half-court success.
Self has often talked about, at his core, believing that basketball is a game of getting easy baskets and not giving them up. For years, he schemed up numerous ways for his big men to dissect opponents at the rim with a flurry of post-ups and high-low passes.
Times change, though. Gifted with a roster of tall and adaptable wings, Self has found a new path to KU layup lines, with these involving fewer X’s and O’s and more read-and-react with increased emphasis on proper spacing.
No Self-coached team at KU has succeeded quite in this manner.
Which makes it important to appreciate this Jayhawks’ new era of paint dominance — the amplest of strengths seemingly hidden in plain view.
This story was originally published February 23, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
