Familiar issue emerging in KU basketball’s losses. Jalen Wilson thinks it’s fixable
.JPG "Kansas guard Gradey Dick (4), Kansas guard Joseph Yesufu (1) and Baylor forward Flo Thamba, second from left, reach for the ball during the second half of a game Monday, Jan. 23, 2023, in Waco, Texas.")
It was then or never for the Kansas men’s basketball team.
The Jayhawks cut a one-time 13-point deficit to five points with 2:09 left on Monday night at Ferrell Center. Baylor guard LJ Cryer shot a three, but his shot rattled off the rim. Then, as the ball hung in the air, both teams scrambled for it. The ball ended up out of bounds.
Both teams looked at the official for his verdict; the official ruled it was the Bears’ ball and Baylor called timeout. On the next possession, BU guard Langston Love initiated contact against KU guard Joseph Yesufu and got to the free-throw line.
Love would hit both free throws. Kansas wouldn’t get closer than five points the rest of the game.
That possession was the perfect encapsulation of an issue that continues to emerge for KU basketball, the latest instance coming in a 75-69 loss at Baylor: rebounding. That was part of how the Jayhawks dropped their third straight game in conference play after starting 5-0.
BU outrebounded KU just 35-33, but the biggest margin came on the offensive glass, where Baylor had 17 rebounds to Kansas’ eight.
One game prior, KU was outrebounded 36-30 against TCU and gave up offensive rebounds on more than one-third of TCU’s misses (9 of 26, 34.6%). KU grabbed 10 offensive rebounds, but on 36 misses (27.8%) in that game.
“I didn’t think we played bad, but I just didn’t think we rebounded very well,” Kansas coach Bill Self said of the Baylor loss on Monday. “We just didn’t rebound the basketball. When you are switching that much and you’re that small, ... you’ve got to be able to fight on the glass.”
Kansas starts 6-foot-7 forward KJ Adams at center, so every Big 12 game is somewhat of an uphill battle against taller and bigger opponents. KU has a 3-0 conference record when they outrebound Big 12 opponents.
On Monday, the Jayhawks took it a step further and moved forward Jalen Wilson to center late in the game. Wilson finished with five rebounds. Oftentimes, Baylor bigs would push KU players out of rebounding position. Sometimes, KU players just didn’t box out.
“Flo (Thamba) is a really big guy in there,” Wilson said. “We just have to do a better job of boxing out and not trying to jump a lot. I think a lot of times, even myself, going for rebounds, I jump too many times besides boxing out.”
Baylor showcased why it ranks ninth in the nation (per KenPom) in offensive rebounding percentage (37.4) early in the game.
BU guard Keyonte George drove hard in the lane and KU’s KJ Adams slid over to challenge him at the rim. George missed the layup but moved Adams out of position. Thamba then grabbed the board and made the second-chance layup.
On that play, KU showed a lack of situational awareness. Despite three players around Thamba, the KU players got caught ball-watching instead of rotating and boxing out and it led to an easy two points for Thamba.
When the game hung in the balance, Baylor remained the aggressor on the offensive boards. It paid off.
Nearing the 13-minute mark in the second half, Cryer missed a three; forward Jalen Bridges ran and tipped the rebound to himself over KU’s Gradey Dick. He would then use his physicality and push Dick to create some space. Bridges made the shot and got a foul called on Dick in the process. Bridges would convert the and-one and put Baylor up 54-48.
That possession was a perfect example of how committed BU was to win the battle on the offensive boards. Dick had better positioning but failed to box out and it cost him — and Kansas — three points, along with tacking on a (somewhat questionable) foul.
Rebounding may always be a question mark for this undersized KU team, but Wilson believes there’s a way to succeed in that area.
“I think it’s (about) focus,” Wilson said. “Focusing on it, on defense and setting the tone in the first half.”
This story was originally published January 24, 2023 at 9:09 AM.
