‘Block out, break’: This Bill Self staple helped KU beat Howard ... at its own game
As Kansas guard Kevin McCullar ran up and down the Wells Fargo Arena court on Thursday, he started getting flashbacks.
KU coaches were in his and his teammates’ ears, yelling at them to run after every Howard shot. McCullar looked around at his teammates’ faces, which had the rare mix of exhaustion and anguish.
The last time his teammates looked this way wasn’t too long ago — it was the Jayhawks’ previous practice.
Kansas coaches run a drill called “block out, break” for 10 minutes of every practice. Essentially, it’s a scrimmage with no rules where the Jayhawks run back and forth to get into shape.
McCullar felt KU’s 96-68 win over the Bison had a similar feel.
“That’s what it felt like today,” McCullar said postgame. “Coach will keep us in it for a while until it looks good. So, you’ve got to play through some fatigue.”
McCullar wasn’t the only Jayhawk feeling the fatigue postgame.
“A lot of people got tired, even me when I turned the ball over,” KU guard Dajuan Harris said. “I couldn’t even run back down the court because I was just tired.”
The Bison came into the game known for their frantic pace and ability to force other teams to play at it. The average possession time of Howard’s opponents on offense is 16.5 seconds, ranking 6th in the nation, per KenPom.
For most of the first half, the Bison controlled the pace by taking quick three-pointers and burying them early.
Even when Howard missed shots, the Jayhawks would run. Acting coach Norm Roberts and McCullar emphasized how much Kansas likes to play quickly.
KU went on a 17-4 run in the last 5:19 of the first half to go into the break up 13. The game’s pace didn’t change, but Kansas tightened up its defense.
Howard came into the game with four players (Elijah Hawkins, Steve Settle III, Marcus Dockery and Jordan Wood) who had attempted over 100 three-pointers this season. The Bison entered Thursday shooting 36.9% from deep.
One key to that run — and the rest of the game — was running the Bison shooters off the three-point line.
After Howard went 5-for-12 from three-point land in the first half, the team finished 10-for-32 (31.3%).
“You can’t try to get into a track meet with them if we’re not getting stops,” McCullar said. “So, we had to lock in on that end of the floor, and then we started running with them, too.”
On the offensive end, KU started to connect more on fast breaks. Kansas finished with an 11-point advantage in fast-break points, 18-7.
Still, it was Kansas’ pick-and-roll duo of Harris and KJ Adams that drew high — well, hoops Hall of Fame — praise from Howard coach Kenneth Blakeney after the game.
“They did a great job I think on their pick-and-roll stuff,” Blakeney said, “with Harris and Adams running around almost like (John) Stockton and (Karl) Malone.”
