The impatience within us all wanted Kansas University’s four freshmen to be sensational right away.
Look at it this way: If that unrealistic expectation had been fulfilled, we would have been denied the pleasure of watching them get better.
Brandon Rush was the first to assume a prominent role. Then Mario Chalmers came so far so quickly.
Saturday afternoon in an even more jacked than usual Allen Fieldhouse, it was Julian Wright’s chance to showcase his improvement. He did it in a way that made the imagination run wild about just how good this tough-to-typecast player can become once he matures physically and gains experience.
Nothing there for him on the right side of the hoop? No problem. A dribble or two and a long, quick stride later, he banks it in from the left side.
No shot for him 10 feet from the basket? That’s OK. He whips it to Darnell Jackson for a layup.
Nobody open underneath? Well then, he’ll take and make the 15-footer.
And the dunks. Nothing quite juiced the loud crowd as did Wright’s dunks, especially the one where he brought it behind his head with both hands and flushed it as if he had a personal issue to settle with the rim.
That must be the most enjoyable thing for a basketball player to do, right?
“Other than making a pass that gets a crazy dunk for someone else and then he points at you,” Wright corrected. “That’s the way we all feel. We’ll point and say, ‘nice pass.’ And then the other guy says, ‘nice dunk,’ or ‘nice shot.’ We do that all the time in practice. It’s not just for the stage.”
Wright hears “nice pass” and “nice dunk” frequently. The man he guards isn’t hearing “nice dunk” as often, and the man feeding Wright’s man doesn’t hear “nice pass” as much as earlier in the season, though his post defense remains a work in progress.
Overall, on an afternoon when Nebraska didn’t have the speed to stay with the aggressive Jayhawks and lost, 96-54, Wright’s return to prominence was the most encouraging aspect of the day for the victors.
In 21 minutes, Wright contributed 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and a steal. He’s among the quickest and most explosive power forwards in the country. He’s not among the strongest and definitely is the wiggliest, if that’s a word.
“He’s hard to guard because he’s unorthodox,” KU coach Bill Self said of how that elasticity helped Wright, then addressed how it limited him. “He doesn’t have a good base yet. Guys can certainly dislodge him from certain positions.”
Self is confident Wright will solve that in the weight room. By then, Wright will have enough polish with the ball that he’ll be spending a lot of time at small forward.
“Julian needs to play more,” Self said. “When he’s played well, he’s looked great. When he doesn’t play well, he doesn’t find a way to piece it together. It’s been a feast-or-famine situation. He is getting more consistent.”
Wright’s improvement was stalled by a back injury and the flu, ailments he has overcome. Other than Rush, who did it all, Wright was the best defensive rebounder in the first half against Nebraska and was rewarded with a second-half start alongside Darnell Jackson.
Wright hasn’t started a first half yet. It won’t be long.