How did Gradey Dick get so open against Missouri? A closer look at KU’s star freshman
Kansas freshman Gradey Dick relishes being the villain. On Saturday, Dick played his role well against rival Missouri.
His play silenced the 15,061 spectators inside a hostile, sold-out Mizzou Arena.
While the Jayhawks rolled to a dominant 95-67 win over the Tigers, Dick had 16 points, shooting 6 for 11 from the floor with seven rebounds and five assists. He began the game shooting a perfect 6 for 6. He matched the Missouri team point-for-point (12) for over six minutes.
“The shot was falling and you know the rim was feeling wide open, so I just kept going for it,” Dick said postgame.
Let’s take a closer look at that scoring performance.
On Dick’s first basket, Kansas guard Dajuan Harris swung the ball to the freshman in the left corner. Respecting Dick’s shooting ability (46.6% FG from 3), Missouri guard Deandre Gholston tried to run Dick off the 3-point line, but Dick drove and made a difficult layup over the top of the Tigers’ defense, which rotated a bit too late.
Dick’s first shot attempt was an excellent example of his awareness and overall scoring ability. Dick knows defenders will sell out to make sure he doesn’t take a three — so he wisely decided to drive. For many players, that switched-hand layup in traffic isn’t a move in their repertoire. It’s not a problem for Dick.
His second make perfectly encapsulated why Dick is such a dangerous scorer. He received a pass from Harris on the right wing, quickly pump-faked the scrambling D’Moi Hodge and stepped into an open mid-range jumper.
Dick’s scoring gravity forces defenders to overrun him, making them susceptible to pump-fakes and quick dribble moves. An overaggressive Missouri defense was particularly vulnerable to such moves.
Transition is perhaps where Dick is the most dangerous. On Dick’s third basket, sophomore guard Bobby Pettiford stole the ball, quickly ran up the court and found Dick. Pettiford’s pass to Dick beat an overzealous Tiger, Sean East II, which allowed Dick a sliver of space. By the time East recovered, it was too late, as Dick had a clean pocket to get his shot off.
The KU freshman’s shooting stroke is rapid, which punishes defenders who gamble for steals. If defenders lose track of him in transition, he will make them pay more often than not. This shot began Dick’s run of eight straight points, which forced a Missouri timeout.
Harris drove with the ball from the left side of the court to the free-throw line and saw Dick in the right corner — so he threw him the ball. Jalen Wilson screened off his defender and forced the Tigers’ Kobe Brown to go around him, which gave Dick just enough time to get his shot off.
This play was a great example of situational awareness across the Kansas roster. Harris saw Dick’s hands rise for the ball and Wilson knew even if he couldn’t fully screen Brown, it didn’t need to be perfect with Dick’s high release point and quick jumper. So, he started positioning himself in between two Missouri defenders during the pass. Because of Wilson’s screen, Dick had open space for the three.
KU ran hard in transition off a missed Missouri shot, as Harris found a streaking Wilson in the middle of the court. After Wilson received the pass, Missouri’s Noah Carter put his hands up to challenge a potential shot, but Wilson wrapped a pass around Carter to Dick, who came crashing in from the left corner and scored on a reverse layup, avoiding a block by Tre Gomillion.
Dick showed off two of his offensive abilities on the play: his finesse finishing and ability to relocate. Pay attention to how often Dick moves in any given play by Kansas. He constantly moves around the court to get himself open. It also forces the defender to constantly pay attention to him, opening up the floor for his teammates.
On shot No. 6, Wilson quickly stole the ball, ran up to the free-throw line, saw Dick wide open to the left and passed him the ball. Dick stood deep beyond the arc, calmly stepped into his shot and nailed the three.
This clip was a classic example of how defenders cannot fall asleep guarding Dick. Wilson drew extra defenders to the paint, and in the process, they lost sight of the freshman. That left him wide open for three.
