A closer look at Gradey Dick’s ‘big-time’ performance vs. Duke in Champions Classic
Kansas freshman guard Gradey Dick entered crunch time as an unlikely candidate to be a hero, considering how his second half was progressing in the No. 6-ranked Jayhawks’ 69-64 come-from-behind victory over No. 7 Duke on Tuesday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Dick, a 6-foot-8, 205-pound Wichita native who scored seven points in the first half on 3-of-8 shooting (0-for-3 from three) to help KU to a 33-29 lead, didn’t attempt a shot in the second half until 2:19 remained.
At that point of the game, KU trailed 59-58.
Dick swished a long three at 2:19 to give Kansas a 61-59 lead, then, after a Jeremy Roach three put Duke ahead 62-61, dropped in a two-handed layup off an alley-oop feed from Dajuan Harris to provide KU with a one-point advantage, 63-62.
His scoop layup — a third-straight basket — as he was tumbling to the floor on a possession made possible by Harris taking a charge from Roach also dropped through the goal, giving KU a 65-62 lead at 1:01.
After a defensive stop and rebound by Dick, KJ Adams scored to help KU pull away, putting the Jayhawks up 67-62 with 22 seconds to go. Jalen Wilson, who had a career high 25 points with 11 rebounds and five assists, finished the scoring after a Roach bucket by hitting two free throws at 9.2 seconds, accounting for the five-point win.
“Him (Dick) making those plays, that’s big-time,” said KU acting coach Norm Roberts, who played Dick 14 minutes the final half, resting him as much as possible in the high-energy late-night game in Indy.
“It was an unbelievable layup the way he spun it in there,” Roberts added of the bucket that gave KU a three-point lead late. “We didn’t do a great job of penetrating and getting it to him. He did a great job at the end. I liked our toughness there, the way we stayed with it as a unit.”
So in summarizing what happened ... Dick took just three shots the final half and hit them all. His seven points were huge in a game-ending 15-5 run. Dick finished with 14 points, one rebound and one steal. The Jayhawks won his minutes on the court by six points in what was ultimately a five-point win.
Dick’s three that helped KU wipe out that 59-54 deficit was his only make from behind the arc. He hit 1 of 4 threes while KU as a team made 3 of 19 to Duke’s 3 of 21.
“It shows Gradey’s confidence, courage and composure,” Wilson said. “I knew in his mind (that three) was going in. He knows it’s going in. He has the next-shot mentality. When he gives us that energy we know what he’s capable of doing.”
Indeed, Dick wasn’t dwelling on anything but the moment when he finally put up some second-half shots.
“Growing up, it was always ‘next shot,’’’ Dick said, “forgetting what I did earlier with misses.”
Dick said his first KU game — at the Champions Classic — against a fellow blue-blood program was “amazing. We played beautiful basketball, not only for the players but I hope to watch for the fans. This was a great success tonight. Teams will always adapt and get better as the season goes on,” Dick added.
It was an interesting game in that the Jayhawks (3-0) led Duke (2-1) by as many as 11 points early (17-6) and looked like they might breeze to victory.
The way the game turned out … the Jayhawks had to battle back from a game-high deficit of six points with 14:24 to play.
The Jayhawks were pleased with the grit they showed in pulling out the win.
“We said, ‘Guys don’t panic, let’s just play,’’’ Roberts said of messages during timeout huddles in the final half. “Jalen (his 25 points came on 11-of-26 shooting) and Juan (Harris, 10 assists, six points) never gave in. We said, ‘There’s no time to panic, stay steady, no need to take bad shots.’ That was led by Jalen and Juan the whole time.”
Wilson said he and Harris told the younger Jayhawks to “stay poised, stay patient, don’t force a three.”
KU hit 46.3% of its shots to Duke’s to 35.8%.
“It wasn’t a shooting night for anybody,” Roberts said. “When that happens, attack the basket, try to give yourself easy bunnies and score off defense. Juan and Jalen showed unbelievable poise the whole game.”
For KU, Kevin McCullar had 12 points and six boards, with two assists against four turnovers. Additionally, Adams had eight points (including the huge hoop late) and two rebounds with two assists, three turnovers.
Duke freshman Kyle Filipowski became the first newcomer in school history to produce three double doubles in his first three games. He had 17 points and 14 boards. Roach had 16 points and one of Duke’s eight assists. KU had 21 assists. Kansas City native Mark Mitchell had seven points and five boards. Duke outrebounded KU 46-35, yet KU won the game.
“It was back and forth the whole time,” first-year Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “They have championship DNA. They have been there before. We showed great heart, resiliency to gain the lead (in second half after being down 11). It hurts. It’s how we should feel.”
The win means KU can finish its season-opening four-game stretch without Self on the bench on game night with a perfect 4-0 record. KU needs a win over Southern Utah on Friday for that to happen. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse. Self’s program-imposed suspension ends after the Southern Utah game.
“It was a good win. We stayed tough to make it happen,” Roberts said, adding the game was “a lot of fun. We’re really happy we were able to get that done.”
This story was originally published November 16, 2022 at 8:10 AM.
