Kansas Jayhawks’ Jalen Wilson ‘excited’ about opening NCAA Tournament in home state
Kansas redshirt sophomore forward Jalen Wilson is ready for his first real taste of the NCAA Tournament.
“I can definitely say my last two March Madnesses weren’t what I wanted them to be, both being COVID,” the 6-foot-8, 225-pound Wilson said Sunday after learning KU (28-6) had earned a No. 1 seed in the Midwest Regional.
“Last year I just got off COVID and played. It was kind of hard.”
The entire 2020 NCAA Tournament was called off in response to the pandemic, capping a true freshman season in which he played just two games and took a medical redshirt.
The 2020-21 postseason was equally unsatisfying for Wilson. He tested positive for COVID after playing one game at the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City. He was sent back to Lawrence to quarantine, missed a first-round NCAA Tournament game against Eastern Washington in Indianapolis, then, after passing COVID protocols, flew the morning of KU’s second-round game against USC.
He scored two points in eight minutes as KU suffered an 85-51 season-ending loss to the Trojans.
No wonder Wilson is truly looking forward to the 2022 tournament.
“I’m very excited,” Wilson said. “This being my first time being part of something like this with a crowd and the right atmosphere and things like that … we’re looking forward to getting the thing started. It’s the most important part of the year.”
The Jayhawks will meet the winner of a No. 16-seed play-in game between Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Texas Southern (5:40 p.m. Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio) at 8:57 p.m. Thursday in an area of the country quite familiar to Wilson. The venue for the Jayhawks’ first two games (KU would meet either Creighton or San Diego State on Saturday if it wins Thursday) is Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
“About 45 minutes,” Wilson said, asked how far a drive Fort Worth is from his hometown of Denton, Texas.
“Being able to be so close to home … I’ll be able to have family there. Just to be part of that and have the first round in Texas, a place that I’ve always dreamed of March Madness, is exciting. This being the first real one for me, to have it so close to home is great.”
Wilson’s immediate family members who figure to attend the NCAA games include brother Jace, a senior basketball/football standout at Guyer High in Denton. A 6-4 wide receiver, he has signed to play football at UTSA next season.
Jalen said he believes the Jayhawks are ready for what’s about to come starting Thursday in the Lone Star State. He said “no” when a reporter asked him Sunday if there’s a chance the Jayhawks players could be “arrogant” considering their No. 1 seed status.
“Just respecting our opponents … I think we learned that playing in the Big 12,” Wilson said. KU went 14-4 during the regular season and finished tied for first place with Baylor, another No. 1 seed, in the league race.
“The bottom team in the Big 12 can still beat the top team any given night. I think with us playing in our conference it gives us that experience we need especially in March Madness when you might be down 16 at half like we were at K-State on the road.”
The Jayhawks’ who had 10 of their 18 league games decided by single digits, rallied to beat the Wildcats 78-75 on Jan. 22 in Manhattan.
“When things are not going right, how do you fix it?” Wilson said of lessons learned in a tough conference. “Not getting too low, not getting too high as far as getting a lead. We have the games we need to show us what we’re going to have to go through in March Madness. It’s whoever plays best that game. We’re just going to have to respect everybody.”
KU coach Bill Self is certainly not worried about his team being arrogant or overconfident during the postseason.
“Arrogance can be part of confidence. I don’t think we will be (arrogant),” Self said. “The way this group does things, the way we try to do things with them, first and foremost you respect the game more than anything else.
“That’s easier said than done. I think we’ll do that. I look at Jalen Wilson. He’s a great one to ask that question to because when he made the decision to come back (to college and pull his name out of NBA Draft on July 2), he started texting me all the time, saying, ‘Coach what do we need to do? What do I have to do to get the guys ready? We’ve got to have a great year this year. We need to win big.’
“He (Wilson) was saying that for not only the guys on our team but his personal benefit. Winning helps everybody individually. I think there’s an attitude with this team that’s been there all year long, candidly.”
Wilson averages 10.9 points and 7.0 rebounds a game (13.4 points, 8.0 reounds in Big 12 games only) heading into the NCAAs. He’s the squad’s third leading scorer behind Ochai Agbaji (19.7 ppg) and Christian Braun (14.6). David McCormack averages 10.1 points and 7.1 boards.
“I think we are in a great area right now with our game,” WIlson said. “Coming off two championships and a great weekend playing great teams, especially being able to get Tech after those two hard games.”
The Jayhawks defeated Texas Tech 74-65 in Saturday’s Big 12 final at T-Mobile Center after defeating Tech 94-91 in two overtimes on Jan. 21 at Allen Fieldhouse and losing 75-67 to the Raiders on Jan. 8 in Lubbock, Texas.
“Look at how Remy (Martin, 12 points versus Tech, 10 against TCU in semis and finals) has stepped up and played. It showed the potential we have with so many guys. Nobody has to go out and score 20 every game for us to win. We have a deep team. We have the guys and pieces to do it,” Wilson said.
He said the squad is looking forward to putting in the effort for a long run.
“Win or go home,” Wilson said. “We know all the work, all the grind it takes to get to this point, to be a 1-seed. “I feel we always get everybody’s best shot. We’ve got to represent it (being a 1-seed) well and show why we are a 1-seed. We are confident right now, locked in. We are focusing on what we need to focus on, control what we need to control. We’re a really good team.”
This story was originally published March 15, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
