How forward Jalen Wilson’s mindset propelled KU to road victory against West Virginia
.JPG "Kansas forward Jalen Wilson, right, runs up the court against West Virginia during Saturday’s Big 12 game in Morgantown, W.Va.")
As Kansas forward Jalen Wilson entered WVU Coliseum on Saturday, he had a specific mindset.
He was going to be the aggressor against West Virginia.
He knew the Mountaineers played a tough, physical brand of basketball. On top of that, the WVU frontcourt — Tre Mitchell (6-foot-9, 225 pounds) and Jimmy Bell Jr. (6-10, 285) — were simply taller and bigger than the Jayhawks.
Wilson thought, “I need to be physical first before they are and not let them bring the physicality to us.”
The forward lived up to his plan. Wilson brought the physicality in Kansas’ dominating 76-62 win over West Virginia.
Usually known for his scoring, it was his rebounding that stood out Saturday.
Wilson had a poor night shooting the ball, finishing with 14 points on 4-for-12 accuracy from the floor, including 2-for-6 from three-point range.
But much more importantly in terms of his contribution to the Jayhawks’ cause, he grabbed 14 rebounds, including three on the offensive end.
“Jalen rebounded the heck out of the ball,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “He and Kevin McCullar both rebounded the heck out of the ball. What did they combine for, 23 (20) rebounds or something like that? That was good.”
Wilson made rebounding a point of emphasis from the start of the game. He grabbed KU’s first at the 17:12 mark and quickly raced up the floor. He then found KU guard Gradey Dick near the right corner and Dick quickly canned a three.
Such aggressiveness by Wilson helped set the tempo for KU.
“Coach (Self) always said you take a step back, they are going to come at you,” Wilson said. “We had to take that first step and initiate everything.”
Later in the game, Wilson showcased how much of a battle it is when you’re fighting for rebounds against West Virginia.
First, McCullar began to take a shot near the basket; Wilson, standing beyond the arc, started to run to the paint. McCullar’s shot missed but Wilson came down the rebound between three West Virginia defenders.
Wilson then went up for the shot and got fouled in the process. Finally, Wilson sank both free throws to put KU up 30-21 with 6:34 left in the first half.
Coming into the game, Wilson hadn’t recorded double-digit rebounds since KU’s 95-67 win at Missouri on Dec. 10, when he had 10.
If Wilson succeeds in rebounding the ball, it mitigates the Jayhawks’ biggest weakness. When Wilson plays with this physicality and aggression, KU doesn’t seem undersized. Playing more physically enables them to compete more effectively against taller and bigger opponents.
Kansas outrebounded the Mountaineers 43-35, largely due to Wilson’s work on the boards.
“They’ve got a really big team, especially at the wing,” Wilson said. “I just had to make sure that we won the game on the glass because that’ll lead to a lot of success (for) them when they get offensive rebounds. I kind of made that a priority.”
Before this game, the Jayhawks had lost six of nine in Morgantown. Wilson was happy to walk away with the win this time.
“I think it was a dominant win,” he said. “We set the tone really fast and never really let them go on too big of a run. It kind of shows our composure on the road. There’s a lot of fans out there … it looks sold out to me. It kind of shows our will to win.”
This story was originally published January 7, 2023 at 10:23 PM.
