Kansas sophomore David McCormack made a meaningful impact in his return to the floor on Saturday, after serving a two-game suspension for his role in the recent brawl between KU and Kansas State.
And he spent a portion of the postgame meeting with the media apologizing for his part in things getting out of hand against the Wildcats.
“I’m sorry for my actions,” McCormack said when asked what he learned from the experience. “It doesn’t represent me or the program well. I need to come back with a better mindset, a better mentality to help the team, because that didn’t help.”
McCormack, who had started 17 of KU’s first 18 games prior to the suspension, came off the bench during the Jayhawks’ 78-75 win on Saturday, recording 6 points, six rebounds and three blocks in his return.
After the victory, he said it felt, “great to be back” on the floor with his teammates and in Allen Fieldhouse, and explained briefly what the two games away were like.
“It’s been constant reinforcement from teammates,” he said. “It’s been constant motivation to my teammates. It’s just been a big bonding experience, and a big learning experience as well.”
With starting center Udoka Azubuike in foul trouble, the KU sophomore played 20 minutes on Saturday.
“His attitude is great and he feels bad about the role he had the other night,” KU coach Bill Self said. “He accepted the suspension, and, I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t disagree with it. I don’t think it was anything that was awful, his role, but I do think that it would send the wrong message if he wasn’t suspended.”
Asked if he thought the two-game suspension was fair, McCormack said that was up to the Big 12 Conference, which levied the penalty to him and also handed down a 12-game suspension to teammate Silvio De Sousa and suspensions to two Kansas State players as well.
The reserve role is one McCormack is likely to hold down for the foreseeable future, as Self and the Jayhawks transition to a four-guard lineup, with McCormack backing up Azubuike.
“I really wanted to keep starting David,” Self said. “But now (I’m) not going to just because we only have two bigs and why let him get two fouls early and then we don’t have a backup for Dok. It’s not a knock to him; it’s just doing what we think is best for our team.”
Self also said McCormack handled the past week as well as he could have hoped.
“In no way is this a reflection of his character or who he is,” Self said. “And he knows that. I mean, it’s not like he’s hung up on that. He may be hung up on, ‘I let the team down and I disappointed myself and I need to control my emotions a little bit better.’ But everybody in our locker room knows the type of kid he is, and he does too. So he’s fine.”
Garrett ailing
KU junior Marcus Garrett temporarily asked to come out of Saturday’s victory after landing awkwardly on his left foot following a hard take to the basket.
The injury, which Self said was to the bottom of Garrett’s left foot, first hit him during KU’s win over Tennessee last weekend.
Although Garrett played 34 minutes in Monday’s win at Oklahoma State, Self said Garrett did not practice Tuesday or Wednesday and was “very limited” on Thursday, leading up to Saturday’s game with Texas Tech.
“We’ve got to get through Monday (vs. Texas),” Self said. “I think the type of injury he has isn’t going to linger for a long time, at least based on what I’ve been told. But, he’s got an arch problem that should heal fast, but we just haven’t had any time off for it to heal. Hopefully there’ll be enough time where he’s close to 100% by next weekend.”
Self said the injury is not related to either ankle injury Garrett had suffered in the past.
“Sometimes it gets me, sometimes it don’t,” Garrett said after the win. “And I just needed to come out for a little bit. I’m fine.”
Another streak snapped
Texas Tech’s 75 points on Saturday marked the first time this season that a team topped 70 in a non-overtime game against the Jayhawks.
That ended a streak of 19 consecutive 40-minute games in which the Jayhawks held their opponent under 70 points, the longest such streak of the Self era and the longest by any KU squad since the 1968 and 1969 seasons.
KU’s opponents are now averaging 61.1 points per game against the Jayhawks’ defense this season.
Kansas, meanwhile, moved to 13-0 this season when scoring 70 points or more.
This and that…
KU now leads the all-time series with Texas Tech, 36-6, including a 19-1 mark inside Allen Fieldhouse… KU is now 7-1 or better in Big 12 play for the 12th time in the Self era and the first time since the 2016-17 season… KU is 10-1 in home games this season, 9-1 at Allen Fieldhouse… Saturday’s game marked the fifth consecutive meeting between these two programs in which the team that scored first won and there were no lead changes… KU’s 51% shooting tied for the highest clip the Texas Tech defense has allowed this season. KU is now 9-0 this season when shooting 50% or better and 260-9 all-time under Self when hitting that mark… The three blocks apiece by Garrett and McCormack were a career best for both players.