Was that really a zone defense KU coach Bill Self implemented in 2nd half of KSU game?
Displeased with his team’s man-to-man defense, Kansas basketball coach Bill Self went to a makeshift zone midway through the second half of Saturday’s 81-73 loss to Kansas State at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan.
It’s believed to be the first time KU has implemented a zone during the 2024-25 campaign.
“We put the zone in (during) a timeout. In a freaking timeout we put a zone in,” Self said in his postgame interview with color analyst/former KU guard Greg Gurley on the Jayhawk radio network.
Gurley had asked if Self might consider using the zone again this season.
“We actually got a stop and then Juan (Harris, point guard) gambled for whatever reason and they threw the ball to his man and made an uncontested 3 with no time left on the (clock),” said Self, who did return to man down the stretch.
“When we play man, that’s our best defense, but we’ve got to be turned up to play it. We’re not athletic enough not to be turned up,” added Self, who noted energy was a problem on defense on Saturday.
The Wildcats against both man and zone went 7-of-15 from 3 the second half after a 4-of-12 shooting performance from beyond the arc the first half. KU was 6-of-19 from 3, meaning KSU outscored the Jayhawks by 15 points from long distance.
“We knew this was going to be a hard game regardless when we came over here,” Self said after his team fell to 16-7 overall and 7-5 in the league. K-State, which has won five games in a row, is 12-11 overall and just one game behind KU in the league standings at 6-6.
“Anybody that knows ball knows that they’re playing well, and we’d have to play well in order to win. We had our chances even to start the second half (down 44-36 at the break). We got some wide open looks and then they made a couple of shots that were actually harder than the ones we missed to kind of extend the lead and keep us at (an) arm’s length.
“They played well, and we obviously didn’t do enough. I actually don’t think it was our offense at all. Considering how poorly we shot the ball from beyond the arc I thought our offense actually looked pretty good,” Self noted.
The Jayhawks suffered 14 turnovers to K-State’s 10. Senior guard Zeke Mayo had five turnovers to go with his 15 points (3-of-3 from 3), seven rebounds and five assists.
“Two turnovers in the first half, we just threw the ball to them for layups,” Self said. “We got a wide open 3 and we don’t shoot it. We throw it away and then they get a dunk. We just hurt ourselves. And I think not having some stability out there obviously contributed to that.”
Senior point guard Dajuan Harris played just four minutes the first half because of foul problems. He played the entire 20 minutes of the final half and finished with four points, six assists, no turnovers and two steals.
The Jayhawks will next meet Colorado at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Allen Fieldhouse, then head to Utah for a pair of games: against Utah on Feb. 15 and BYU on the 18th. After that, games remain at home against Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Arizona, and away at Colorado and Houston.
How can KU gain some wins both home and on the road while trying to snare the best seed possible in the Big 12 and NCAA Tournaments?
“I would say maybe having a mindset that it’s not a game-day attitude, it’s an everyday attitude, because our practice is inconsistent as well when it comes to that,” Self said.
“We are not talented enough that we can just show up and win off talent. So we’ve got to be turned up and have to play a certain way. And now, when we do that, we can play with anybody and beat anybody, but when we don’t, it drops quite a bit. (Friday) at practice the same message was sent and we played today on that (defensive) end, exactly like we practiced yesterday.”
KU senior Hunter Dickinson, who scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds Saturday, said attaining consistency in terms of effort on the defensive end is the immediate goal.
“I think it just goes to show you the lack of consistency that we have. I think that’s kind of what coach Self harped on (after the game), was just the lack of consistency that we’ve showed, especially in the last couple weeks,” Dickinson said.
“One game we look like (a) top 3 team in the country. The next time we look like a middle of the pack Big 12 team. Just trying to string some consistency would be really important. This six-game stretch for us, it’s probably the most important of the season, because they will really determine kind of the outlook for March. If we’re able to string together six good games in a row. I think that’ll be really inspiring for the team. But that remains to be seen. I think we got to come together as a team and really bond together over this and try to figure out ways to get that effort for six games consistently. And I think that’ll help us move forward toward March.”
The Jayhawks prior to the KSU game defeated Iowa State on Monday at home 69-52.
“I think it’s pretty tough when we’re supposed to be this experienced team and we have these lapses like this,” Dickinson said. “You would expect guys like me to be better at leading and I’ll say that’s definitely a lot to do with me, but I think we’ve just got to come together and really kind of try to figure out what we want this team to be. Everybody’s aligned and on the same page. I think we can be really special, but if we’re not, I think, like you saw out there today, we can be beat by pretty much anybody in the country.”
