How Kansas Jayhawks guard Gradey Dick made his mark in victory over Oklahoma State
Kansas guard Gradey Dick wasn’t playing up to his usual standard.
The Jayhawks found themselves down big at the half (45-30) to Oklahoma State in their Big 12 conference opener on Saturday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse.
The usually dependable Dick was quiet on offense. He had six points while shooting 2 for 4 from the floor.
On the defensive end, the Cowboys beat Dick off the dribble and forced him to over-help in the post, leading to easy points.
Whenever he sat on the bench, KU video coordinator Brady Morningstar was constantly in Dick’s ear asking him, “‘How are you going to affect this game?’”
In the second half, Dick finally made his mark.
This time, it wasn’t his scoring that helped KU win the game.
Dick did all the little things in the Jayhawks’ thrilling 69-67 comeback victory over the Cowboys.
Dick did have nine points on 3-of-9 shooting from the floor. But he also grabbed nine rebounds, including three pivotal offensive boards, and dished out four assists in 33 minutes.
“This is the best he has rebounded the ball all year; he was great,” Kansas coach Bill Self said after the game. “He did a great job in that area.”
Dick had two huge offensive boards in KU’s 22-5 run over the first 9 minutes, 6 seconds of the second half that put Kansas up (52-50) for the first time since its 2-0 lead.
First, forward Jalen Wilson missed a three-point jumper. Dick came rumbling in for the rebound, grabbed the ball and dished the ball to Wilson, who canned the three-pointer. That shot cut the deficit to 10 (48-38) with 16:05 left.
A few game-play minutes later, Dick struck again.
Wilson missed a three, Dick ran across the baseline, rose up over two Oklahoma State defenders, and batted the ball to himself. While falling out of bounds, he whipped a pass to guard Dajuan Harris, who made the three. The shot made it a five-point game (OSU leading 48-43) with 14:33 left.
“Brady keeping in my ear… that was my version of going to get boards,” Dick told The Star post-game. “Trying to get those open threes with Dajuan and J-Will and luckily, they (were) on.”
Dick’s rebounding wasn’t the only thing that impressed in the game. He showed great situational awareness to get out of a tricky situation which put KU up late.
Dick did a pump fake which drew one defender in the air; then took a step inside, which pulled another and found Joseph Yesufu for an open three. Yesefu’s bucket put KU up 58-55 with 5:56 left to play.
While Dick showcased an ability to impact the game besides his scoring, his night wasn’t perfect.
Self took Dick out of the game late after he got caught in a screen, which led to a three by Oklahoma State’s Bryce Thompson that put the Cowboys up 64-62 with 1:48 left.
Though Dick had a quiet night scoring-wise, he showcased why he’s high on NBA Draft boards. The freshman displayed an ability to impact a game in a multitude of ways.
Shooting is his NBA-level skill, but Dick had his work cut out for himself against Oklahoma State guard Avery Anderson III.
“He’s (Anderson) is a super athletic dude, one of, if not the fastest dudes in the league,” Dick said. “Watching film, he’s a quick guard. … If he’s on me, he’s going to push me off the three-point line and not give me open looks.”
Anderson relished guarding a player of Dick’s caliber.
“Coach (Mike Boynton) gave me a great assignment in guarding Gradey, he’s a great player,” Anderson said. “I had to really be on edge because he can shoot it well. I had to make sure I was there on the catch so that he couldn’t get them off.”
Dick is happy to walk away with the conference win in his first conference game.
“I feel great and obviously, it’s a win; we needed some of these tough wins,” Dick said. “It was a close game. Oklahoma State was amazing. … At the same time, it was good to see our guys come together, build off what coach Self says in the huddle..
“(We know) not to get worried, not to rush anything, just play our game. Basketball is a game of sequences, and we went on ours.”
This story was originally published December 31, 2022 at 7:25 PM.
