KU basketball slams Washburn in last preseason tuneup. See top performers & takeaways
If you’re a Kansas men’s basketball fan, you can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
This team looks better than last season’s in at least one pivotal area — shooting the basketball.
No. 1 KU defeated Washburn 84-53 Tuesday evening in an exhibition game at Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks were led by transfer guard David Coit, who scored 19 points. Lawrence native Zeke Mayo added 16 points off the bench.
Two Kansas players missed the game due to injury: Hunter Dickinson (ankle sprain) and Shakeel Moore (recovery from surgery).
KU’s starting lineup was Dajuan Harris, AJ Storr, Coit, KJ Adams and Flory Bidunga. The Jayhawks, who led by as many as 41, spent almost the entirety of the game leading. They shot 15-of-33 (45.5% from 3).
Up next: The Jayhawks host Howard on Monday at Allen Fieldhouse to tip off the regular season.
Until then, here are three takeaways from Tuesday night’s exhibition contest...
David “Diggy” Coit shines
Boy, can Diggy Coit shoot the ball.
The 5-foot-11 guard earned the start in place of senior transfer Zeke Mayo, who started against Arkansas. Coit made the most of his chance.
He had an excellent first half, especially on the offensive end. Coit led the team with 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field, including 3-of-7 (42.9%) from deep. He hit two more 3s in the second period.
On the defensive end, Coit was an absolute pest. He applied full-court pressure on several instances and didn’t back down defending anyone — even much taller opponents.
Coit’s play was a welcome sight for a team that struggled with shooting last season. He finished 5-for-10 from 3 in 24 minutes.
“I do think he’s a good shooter and I do think he’s a good scorer,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “I thought the thing he did best tonight was pressure the ball and really give himself up offensively, and the ball didn’t stick. He’s starting to figure it out.”
KU was red-hot from deep
One of KU’s biggest problems last season was an inability to hit 3-pointers. The Jayhawks averaged 5.7 made 3-pointers per game.
They almost tripled that on Tuesday against Washburn.
Although the competition wasn’t the toughest, the Jayhawks needed to show improvement, no matter the opponent.
Consider this: Last season, KU shot an abysmal 6-of-28 (21.4%) from deep in an exhibition game vs. Fort Hays State.
Kansas did an excellent job of creating open shots vs. Washburn. The Jayhawks often made the extra pass and rotated the ball until they found an open shooter. That paid dividends — KU shot 8-of-19 (42%) on 3-pointers in the first half alone.
Kansas finished 15-for-33 (45.5%) from deep.
“It was good to see Zeke, Rylan (Griffin) and Diggy make some shots because that’s what they are here to do,” Self said. “They were a little bit more aggressive shooting it.”
Alabama transfer Rylan Griffen makes most of his debut
After missing KU’s game against Arkansas, Griffen made his Jayhawks debut on Tuesday.
The Alabama transfer did well in his 16 minutes.
He finished with 14 points while shooting 4-for-8 from the field, including 4-for-7 (57.1%) from deep. He also showcased why he started on an Alabama squad with his stellar defense.
“I hope he can bring a lot (defensively),” Self said. “I thought at Alabama, he was a good on-ball defender. He was able to take some guys out of games with his length. He slides well. He’s skinny enough it’s hard to screen him. I think he’ll become a very adequate defender.”
Griffen also corralled five rebounds and added a block. For Griffen, it was a promising debut for a squad that will likely need him to play big minutes off the bench.
Self, in fact, referred to him as one of the keys to the team’s ceiling earlier in the week.
This story was originally published October 29, 2024 at 9:11 PM.
