KU basketball’s Diggy Coit starred vs. Washburn. Who is he and what did Bill Self say?
Kansas newcomer David “Diggy” Coit didn’t dwell on his first official appearance in a Jayhawk men’s basketball jersey — Friday’s zero-point showing in an exhibition loss at preseason No. 16 Arkansas.
“Just watching the film, I liked all my shots. I liked how they felt. The fact they didn’t go in there I think made me feel good, to get a game like that out of the way,” Coit, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound senior transfer from Northern Illinois said Tuesday night.
Coit followed his 0-for-5 shooting effort (in 24 minutes) against the Razorbacks with a game-high 19 points in Tuesday’s 84-53 exhibition rout of Washburn at Allen Fieldhouse.
Coit, who was 0-for-4 from 3 against Arkansas in a stint off the bench, was 5-of-10 shooting from 3 and 7-of-12 shooting overall against the Ichabods. He also had three assists and two steals with one turnover.
The Columbus, New Jersey, native led a KU 3-point attack that accounted for 15 3s made on 33 attempts (45.5%). The Jayhawks went 7-of-23 from beyond the arc at Arkansas.
Coit scored 11 of KU’s first 18 points, the Jayhawks storming to an early 18-2 lead against former KU guard Brett Ballard’s Ichabods.
“The only problem at Arkansas,” Coit said, “is we wanted to compete better, but when it comes to making shots it felt good. Miss or make, as long as they are good shots I’m fine with it.”
Senior guard Zeke Mayo, who started at Arkansas but according to coach Bill Self came off the bench Tuesday “because I couldn’t get him to shoot it in practice,” connected on four 3s in six tries and scored 16 points. Alabama transfer Rylan Griffen hit four 3s in seven attempts and scored 14 points.
Coit played 24 minutes, Mayo 24 minutes and Griffen 16 minutes.
“Every time one of my teammates shoot, I feel they are going to make it,” said Coit. “This is the first time I’ve been on a team every time they shoot at practice I feel it’s going to go in.”
A year ago, the most 3s the Jayhawks converted in a game was 13 in the opener against North Carolina Central. Their most in a Big 12 game was eight makes against Oklahoma State and their most attempts on the season was 27 (against Wichita State) — compared to Tuesday’s 33.
The school record for 3-point attempts in a real game is 38.
“We obviously got our shots up,” Mayo, a Lawrence High grad and transfer from South Dakota State, said. “Thirty-three is a great number for us (Washburn was 6-of-20) considering we have a fair amount of shooters out there at the same time. The shot selection wasn’t bad. That’s what I liked most about it. Our guards were able to get downhill and create open shots for others on the perimeter.”
Coit was enthused about playing his first game in Allen Fieldhouse before 15,300 fans.
“It felt great. I went to Northern Illinois, We never had a crowd like that,” Coit said, “It’s definitely a blessing to be here. I was having fun out there.”
He said “nothing” felt different about starting on Tuesday compared to coming off the bench at Arkansas.
“You have an advantage coming off the bench because you get to see the flow of the game and see different things,” Coit explained. “We have such a great team it really doesn’t matter who is going to start or who is going to come off the bench. Zeke didn’t start tonight and had 16 points. One game if they have a bigger guard, they’ll probably want Zeke to start and I’ll come off and provide the same things he did.”
Coit said he was encouraged by his teammates to shoot the basketball after missing all his shots at Arkansas.
“It’s a credit to the team, they give me the confidence, tell me, ‘Let it go. Shoot the ball. Guard hard, play hard, and we’re going to live with the result whatever it is,’” Coit said. “I feel so confident playing with them. They are the best players I’ve played with in my life. It’s a relief off my shoulders. I know I can come in and play my role.”
Of Coit’s performance, KU coach Self said: “That’s what we thought he was (a shooter and scorer). Granted playing against guys that aren’t Arkansas-type guards is easier to get the shot off than the other night. I do think he’s a good shooter, good scorer. The thing he did best was pressure the ball and give himself up offensively and the ball didn’t stick. He’s starting to figure it out. He is a good guard, he’s just little. If he can create space for himself he has a pretty decent chance of knocking it down.”
KU bigs KJ Adams and Flory Bidunga had 10 and eight points respectively. Bidunga blocked four shots.
The Jayhawks, who were without Hunter Dickinson (sprained foot) and Shakeel Moore (sore ankle) Tuesday, open the season Monday against Howard in a 7 p.m. tip at Allen Fieldhouse. Self said Dickinson and Moore could have played Tuesday if it was an important regular season game instead of an exhibition and have been practicing.
This story was originally published October 29, 2024 at 11:01 PM.
