Kansas Jayhawks have healthier Remy Martin. So Self should make this uneasy adjustment
The following sentence is some of the best news that can come out of this week for the Kansas Jayhawks: Guard Remy Martin looks better physically than he has in months.
This was evident early in KU’s 87-63 victory over West Virginia in Thursday’s Big 12 quarterfinals at T-Mobile Center, as Martin showed some juice off the bounce that hadn’t been there in four previous games returning from a knee injury.
“He looked healthy,” KU coach Bill Self said afterward.
That’s the good news. The bad news was that the physical part only took Martin so far.
So Self finds himself in a similar quandary with the preseason Big 12 player of the year. The season’s most important games loom next week, and the coach knows he has a dynamic weapon on his bench, yet it’s in the form of a wild stallion.
In short, Martin tends to make difficult read-type plays look simple while turning easy, execution-type motions into an adventure.
And while Self is a man of principle — not quick to reward players for a lack of studying or playbook knowledge — it’s the point in the season where he might need to make a small concession when Martin has to be out there.
The alternative is what happened during his worst moments against West Virginia: a point guard becoming paralyzed because he was overthinking.
Let’s start with Martin as his best, though, which came in the first half when Self called one of his team’s simplest motions: a high ball screen.
This has been one of Self’s favorites over the years ... when he has the personnel to run it. For example, in KU’s season-opening contest against Indiana in 2016, Self went to this nine times with point guard Frank Mason, including five instances in the final seven minutes.
It’s only as good as the player running it, however, as it basically just requires read-and-react. Mason was phenomenal in these settings, and Martin — with his speed — has shown an ability to thrive as well.
With 3:17 left in the first half, Martin diagnosed West Virginia’s defense perfectly. Malik Clark overplayed KU’s screen, so Martin rejected it, going left to accelerate into the lane before finishing with an uncontested finger-roll in the lane.
Martin’s outing didn’t go as well, though, when he was asked to be more scripted.
That included a set-play call two minutes later when he started by incorrectly going left instead of right. He also motioned for Jalen Wilson to get the ball, when in reality, he was supposed to execute a dribble-handoff to teammate Ochai Agbaji; Wilson, in the moment, tried to point Martin back in the proper direction.
The misstep led to confusion and eventually a turnover, with Self screaming his frustrations to Martin from the KU bench.
For Martin, it’s a difficult spot. Missing almost a month of practice means he’s behind on an aspect Self holds dear: proper execution.
It’s a good moment here to provide some needed context. Martin ran this play perfectly early in the season, with an example coming in a November game against North Texas when his pass to Agbaji led to a Christian Braun three.
Notice, though, that Martin had a different role then: receiving the dribble-handoff instead of passing it because he was primarily a 2-guard then.
Since his return from injury, Martin’s role has changed immensely. Wilson’s emergence and starting-lineup insertion means Martin is now getting most of his minutes as KU’s backup point guard when Harris needs a rest.
Self faced a similar circumstance earlier this month when he was forced to play Joseph Yesufu some as a point guard after the transfer had practiced most of the season as a 2-guard. Self spoke to that challenge in late February, saying Yesufu didn’t play to his athletic ability whenever his mind was locked up.
So Self’s short-term solution then to help out his guard? Run fewer set plays.
And though it’s not Self’s preference, that might be the place he needs to get to with Martin as well.
It’s not ideal. Martin playing without a grasp of the playbook could be especially harmful with this experienced roster, as it’s limiting four other guys on the court who are prepared to run sets that Self has drilled into them.
Yet, it probably plays best for Martin’s specific function to let him play with a free mind. Harris — he has 27 assists and two turnovers in his last five games combined — is the unquestioned point guard at this point, with Martin threatening opponents as a dangerous scoring option who might be able to provide an energy boost at the most opportune time.
Self, for good reason, does not like to compromise. And he also doesn’t want to give in to players who have failed to gain the knowledge he values immensely.
This might require an audible, though, for the team’s sake. Martin showed again Thursday a tendency to be dynamic when playing free and detrimental when trusted for scripted movements.
If KU needed 35 minutes from him per game, the conversation would be different.
Self and the Jayhawks, most likely, need about 8-10 minutes in the most critical games beginning next week.
And that’s a short enough time to cater things to Martin’s strengths — even if it requires a step outside Self’s preferred framework.
This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 8:26 PM.
