This Kansas player stepped up at Texas Tech: ‘They are going to dare him to beat them’
Kansas point guard Dajuan Harris felt good heading into Tuesday’s game against Texas Tech. He just didn’t know why.
After the pregame shootaround, Harris told his teammates: “Y’all, the rim feels good today.”
It turns out Harris’ feeling was spot on.
Harris couldn’t miss from beyond the arc in the Jayhawks’ thrilling 75-72 victory over the Red Raiders in a hostile United Supermarkets Arena.
The guard dropped a career-high 18 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the floor, including a perfect 5-for-5 from three. Harris also dished three assists and had two steals.
Kansas coach Bill Self wasn’t surprised by Harris’ performance.
“I told Juan that he should average three threes a game — attempts — and he hasn’t shot it at all,” Self said postgame. “There haven’t been too many guys in KU history that have been 5-for-5 from three in a game or at least 5-for-5. He’s a good shooter. He shoots it pretty well in practice every day, but he doesn’t look to score. He was great tonight.”
Coming into this game, Harris had shot 6-for-16 (37.5%) from three. Typically, he is more of a facilitator and ensures his teammates put up quality shots.
It’s a strategy that has worked so far, but teams have guarded the Jayhawks differently as conference play has started.
In their game before Texas Tech, KU had a hard-fought 69-67 victory over Oklahoma State.
In that game, defenders sagged off Harris and dared him to shoot. Treating him like a non-shooter allowed his defender to help other OSU defenders against any KU players who drove to the rim. It also led to double-teams on Harris’ teammates.
Harris’ reluctance to shoot also clogged up KU’s floor spacing. He was perfect from beyond the arc in that game ... but only shot the ball twice.
Texas Tech employed a similar strategy, but Harris made it a point to be aggressive since tipoff.
On KU’s first possession, Harris received a pass beyond arc on the right side and without hesitation canned the three.
Texas Tech forward Kevin Obanor was standing in the paint, so Harris had plenty of time to get a shot off. When Harris doesn’t hesitate and makes his threes when open, it forces defenders to pay more attention to him. In turn, that opens up more room for his more offensive-minded teammates, such as forward Jalen Wilson and guard Gradey Dick, to operate in space and get better shots.
Later in the game, Harris showcased how important it is for him to let his threes fly without hesitation.
First, Dick stole the ball, ran down the court and faked a shot. He then found a trailing Harris beyond the arc on the left side. Harris calmly set his feet and drained the three before the Texas Tech guard Jaylon Tyson recovered to contest the shot properly.
If Harris can hit transition threes, KU’s fast-break offense evolves to another level. It gives KU another player opposing teams have to pay attention to beyond the arc. If teams have to defend Harris that far out, they get more spread out. It drags an extra defender out of the paint and gives KU more space to convert inside.
In true fashion, though, Harris had a different group to thank after a career night — scoring, that is.
“It was really my teammates; they set me up,” Harris said. “They wanted me to shoot the ball. I just happened to make it today. I give all the credit to my teammates for giving me open shots.”
Self’s view?
“The way teams are going to play him, at least up until this point, they are going to dare him to beat them,” Self said. “Tonight, he did.”
This story was originally published January 4, 2023 at 9:06 AM.
