He probably never would have chosen to find an answer to his questions about the rotation quite this way, but Kansas basketball coach Bill Self believes limited options actually may help his bench.
Down to just eight scholarship players for Monday’s top-10 showdown with No. 5 Texas, the 9th-ranked Jayhawks got arguably the best effort of the season from their three-man bench.
MJ Rice, Ernest Udeh Jr. and Joe Yesufu combined to play 42 minutes and scored 22 points to go along with 10 rebounds, two assists, two steals and zero turnovers.
Their production was critical in Kansas picking up a much-needed victory after all but one Jayhawk no-showed in a 15-point loss at Iowa State just a couple of days earlier.
While filling in for Self on his weekly “Hawk Talk” radio show on Tuesday night, KU assistant coach Kurtis Townsend said the Jayhawks met for about an hour after returning home from Iowa last Saturday.
Clearly, Self’s message, whatever it specifically may have been, reached his players, particularly the three guys who played major minutes off the bench on Monday night.
“I’ve always thought that when you know that somebody is having to depend on you, regardless, I think it sometimes gives you a confidence or an aggressiveness that (allows) you (to) play a little bit better than if you’re looking at the bench knowing if you screw up you think you could come out,” Self said after Monday’s victory.
Self added that KU big men Udeh, Zach Clemence and Zuby Ejiofor all had spent most of the season up to now playing with the fear of being benched in their heads.
That wasn’t an issue for the three reserves available to the Jayhawks on Monday night, and Self loved what he saw from them as a result.
“Now, Ernest knows he’s going to stay in there and this was the first time MJ knew he was going to stay in there, too, and Joe, as well,” Self said. “MJ had a presence out there. I’m sure you guys could tell, too. He belongs.”
Rice, Udeh and especially Yesufu all knew early on that they were going to be needed against the Longhorns on Monday night. That knowledge allowed them to prepare accordingly and may have contributed to an increased level of focus or, almost certainly, to the urgency they felt to come through for their teammates, healthy and injured.
The trio’s importance grew when three Kansas starters — Gradey Dick, Kevin McCullar Jr. and Jalen Wilson — encountered foul trouble as the game played out.
Because of the way they had played early, and likely because they knew they would be needed well before tipoff, those three KU reserves were ready for big roles, and they delivered some of the biggest plays of the game, be them on offense, defense or in the hustle department.
“I think that players thrive if they know that we need them to win,” Self said after the game. “And, certainly, they all delivered tonight. It was fun to watch.”
KU point guard Dajuan Harris Jr. said he, and the rest of his teammates, knew that all three players were capable of performances like those they delivered Monday night, Yesufu with 14 points, Udeh with six points and two rebounds and Rice with two points and three rebounds in more than 15 minutes of action.
“They’re McDonald’s All-Americans,” Harris said of Udeh and Rice. “So, we expect that from them. And they just have to continue to learn, keep trusting coach. We’ve got to stay connected with them. We’ve got to help the younger guys.”
