Bill Self was frustrated with Jalen Wilson. Then came five minutes of ‘All-American play’
.JPG "Harvard guard Denham Wojcik (55) fouls Kansas forward Jalen Wilson (10) during the first half on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, in Lawrence, Kan.")
Kansas forward Jalen Wilson felt disgusted.
The Jayhawks clung to a five-point lead (51-46) over Harvard with 6:49 to play on Thursday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
Wilson thought to himself, “They’re way too comfortable shooting the ball. A lot of that was on my part, my defense.”
Kansas coach Bill Self had been in Wilson’s ear all game long. He had pleaded with Wilson to play with more energy, guard his man better and stop standing around on offense.
Then with six and a half minutes left, it finally clicked.
“I felt like I owed it to the team to just close as hard as I could, be (as) aggressive that I could and win the game,” Wilson said.
The forward did just that. Jalen Wilson played the role of an energizer in the Jayhawks’ 68-54 victory over the Crimson in Allen Fieldhouse.
“I was not pleased with Jalen tonight,” Self said. “But you know he’s a stud. So he responded and then he closed the game out the way winners close games out.
“There’s 35 minutes of game that’s real important, but the last five matter more than anything else. He played like an All-American the last five minutes.”
The forward had 21 points while shooting 10-for-17 from the floor and grabbing six rebounds in 34 minutes. (He also reached 1,000 points for his career in the game.)
Wilson put on his Superman cape when KU needed him most. He went to work with Kansas up five with 6:49 left.
First, off a pass from guard Bobby Pettiford, Wilson made a mid-range jumper.
Then he grabbed the rebound off a Harvard miss and made a fast-break layup, putting KU up 55-46 with 5:54 left.
On Harvard’s next possession, Wilson rose in the air to meet the Crimson guard Chris Ledum and stuffed his shot at the rim.
Harvard would eventually gain the offensive rebound but missed the second-chance three-pointer. Kansas guard Kevin McCullar grabbed the rebound.
He quickly sent an outlet pass to Wilson, and Wilson found a streaking Pettiford for a layup.
The scoreboard read: Kansas 57, Harvard 46
The whistle blew — timeout Harvard with 4:35 left.
Wilson’s play on both ends led the Jayhawks on a 6-0 run over 2:13 of game time.
When Harvard came out of the timeout and cut the lead to six points (57-51), Wilson answered the call yet again. He hit a jumper with 3:01 left to put Kansas up 59-51. The game wouldn’t get closer than that.
Wilson scored 11 of his 21 points in the final 6:24. During that same stretch, he played intense defense and revitalized a sluggish Jayhawks team.
“I was just trying (to make the) type of plays to get us all going, energy plays down the stretch,” Wilson said. “That’s the best thing we can do is make plays to not only get us energized, but (also energize) the crowd. I feel like it helps us to our advantage as far as just the momentum of the game. (I) was just trying to do anything I could to win.”
Despite not playing his best until late, Wilson’s play earned him a new admirer.
“Wilson is tough; he does so much for one person,” said Harvard coach Tommy Amaker. “He brings the ball up, posts up, defends our best player and he’s a really good player.”
This story was originally published December 23, 2022 at 8:00 AM.
