Defense – or lack of it – is KU’s biggest problem
LAHAINA, Maui – If you want to know what’s wrong with the Jayhawks – and no doubt you do – Larry Brown gave you a clue on Sunday.
During the Jayhawks’ stirring second half comeback against Illinois in the Maui Classic, the Kansas coach had his second-leading scorer sitting with him.
Archie Marshall, averaging 13 points a game, started the second half, was hooked soon thereafter and watched the rest of the way as the Jayhawks failed to overhaul the Illini.
Why was Marshall on the bench?
“He couldn’t guard anybody,” Brown answered bluntly.
Defense, or lack of it, turned out to be KU’s primary trouble in paradise. Against Illinois, Kansas had 31 fouls. Against Iowa on Saturday, 30. Even 22 against overmatched Chaminade on Friday was too many.
Kansas outfouled each of its three foes singly and totally (83 to 59).
“When you’ve got so many young kids,” said Brown, “you realize you have a deficiency, and that’s defense.”
Brown used nine players in the losses to Iowa and Illinois and only four of them wore Kansas uniforms last season.
Only one of the five newcomers is a freshman, Mike Masucci. Another is Marshall who red-shirted last year with a knee injury. The others are juco transfers Otis Livingston, Lincoln Minor and Marvin Branch.
“We’re asking a lot of young kids to play,” Brown said, adding that he includes the jucos in that category because they “…don’t have a clue of what we’re trying to do right now.”
The 6-10 Branch was particularly foul-prone in Hawaii. He was disqualified from two games and picked up four in the other. Branch also had just nine rebounds in the three games, but that’s another story.
Brown is also worried about the Jayhawks’ rebounding and ball-handling, but defense is clearly concern No. 1 right now.
“The thing that worries me about this team,” Brown said, “is we’ve gotta play (Jeff) Grayer, (Derrick) Chievous and (Mitch) Richmond, and we gotta find somebody to guard ’em.”
Brown does have one player who can shadow those Big Eight stars, but he wasn’t in Hawaii over the weekend. Keith Harris remained in Lawrence chewing on a Milk-Bone.
Brown has never said why he sent the 6-6 sophomore to the doghouse, and he isn’t saying when he’ll take off Harris’ leash.
“He told me he’d grow up by the time we got back,” the KU coach said, and left it at that.
Will Harris play in the home opener against Pomona-Pitzer on Tuesday night? We’ll just have to wait and see.
Meanwhile, another player the Jayhawks could have used in Hawaii – especially for his rebounding and defense – was Chris Piper.
However, Piper underwent an arthroscopy on a knee last week and, although he’d hoped to play in Sunday’s game, the 6-8 senior and returning starter was scratched.
“He did some jogging on Saturday,” said KU trainer Mark Carins, “but he’s not ready.”
Said Brown: “The worst thing we can do is rush him back.”
And so until Kansas regains the services of Piper and Harris, and until the new faces learn the meaning of assimilation, the Jayhawks must struggle against the good teams.
Asked if he was discouraged by his team’s poor showing in Hawaii, Brown responded by putting on a happy face.
“Not at all,” he stressed. “I know we’re going to be better. We have so many new kids and we weren’t playing bad teams.”
In the meantime, as one of the 20 pro scouts in Hawaii to evaluate players in the Maui said of the Jayhawks: “They’ve got some problems.”
