After Hunter Dickinson was ejected, these KU basketball players stepped up vs. Duke
Seniors Dajuan Harris and KJ Adams huddled with their Kansas basketball teammates after an alarming development took place with 10 1/2 minutes to play in Tuesday night’s Vegas Showdown game against Duke at T-Mobile Arena.
Some steadying words needed to be uttered by two of the squad’s elder statesmen — leaders who made it clear the No. 1-ranked Jayhawks would not let the ejection of Hunter Dickinson cost KU the game against the No. 11 Blue Devils (4-2).
“There wasn’t too much of a message. It was just, ‘Next guy up,’” Adams said of the on-court chat session he and Harris held with KU nursing a 57-55 lead. Dickinson headed to the locker room with 10:26 remaining after picking up a flagrant two foul.
“We didn’t dwell on it too much. I think we know we have a great group of guys. I think we were looking ‘next play, next man up’ and that was able to get us the win,” Adams added.
The No. 1-ranked Jayhawks indeed were able to defeat Duke 75-72 and improve to 6-0 overall despite Dickinson’s absence in crunch time.
“We basically talked, ‘Next man up,’’’ said Harris, who finished with 14 points, nine assists, three steals and three rebounds in 36 minutes.
Adams, who guarded freshman sensation Cooper Flagg (13 points on 5-of-9 shooting with four turnovers in 38 minutes) most of the contest, totaled eight points with three assists, three blocks and three steals in 33 minutes.
“Flo stepped up,” Harris said of freshman big Flory Bidunga (six points, eight rebounds and a big defensive play with three seconds left). Rylan (Griffen, eight points) stepped up. We basically did it for our big man. He was out half the game the second half. We wanted to get the ‘W’ for him.”
Dickinson scored 11 points with six rebounds in 24 minutes.
Harris said the Jayhawks, who jumped to an early 16-3 lead, were fired up after learning they were considered underdogs to a young Duke team.
“We talked about it a lot,” Harris said “We had a great pregame speech from coach Rob (Norm Roberts). He got us going to start the game off.
“I don’t know why they did that,” he added of analysts and oddsmakers deeming KU the underdog. “It turned out great.”
Though seniors Adams and Harris were big on defense, they also contributed important points on offense. Adams scored eight points on 4-of-6 shooting, converting on mid-range jumpers he’s been working on at practice.
“I feel like I trusted my work even on a high stage like this,” said Adams. He hit his first four shots. “When the stakes are this high and the crowd gets big, that’s when you have to trust it the most. I think I did.”
Harris says Adams was “the reason we won this game.”
That’s because of the 6-foot-7, 235-pound Austin, Texas native’s work on Flagg, who this season had scored 24 points in a win over Arizona, 26 in a loss to Kentucky and 18 in a win over Maine.
“I know KJ can guard anybody in the country, 1 through 5,” Harris said “I told him a couple weeks ago, ‘I know what you are going to do against him (Flagg) on the defensive end.’ All the respect goes to KJ. He’s the reason we won the game because he played defense on another great player. KJ is the reason why.”
Junior guard Griffen, who was huge down the stretch, credited both Adams and Harris for leading the way after Dickinson’s exit.
“We knew what KJ was going to do. To be honest we expect that from him,” Griffen said. “When the game is tight we want the ball in their hands. They make the right plays, passes and shots.
“We want KJ on the floor guarding the other team’s best player at the end of the game. If it’s a guard, we want Juan on him. Those two know how to win They’ve been here a long time. They’ve been in the (NCAA) Tournament. They won a championship (2022) actually. They know what it takes to get there. I know what it takes to get to a Final Four (last year at Alabama), but not win a championship. I want to learn from them (how) to win a championship because that’s what I want to do.”
KU will next meet Furman at 5 p.m., Saturday, at Allen Fieldhouse.
