The Kansas Jayhawks have lost three in a row for just the fourth time in the Bill Self era. But Monday’s 75-69 road loss to Baylor featured something the other two defeats didn’t — a scoring punch from someone other than Jalen Wilson.
Freshman Gradey Dick led the way with a game-high 24 points in the loss. It marks his fifth game with at least 20 points. Wilson, who finished with 23 points of his own, admitted after the game that it was important to get a performance like that from Dick.
“Everyone knows he is a great shooter and they are not just going to let him get open shots as we’ve seen,” said Wilson, who has scored 91 points and provided 43.1% of the scoring for Kansas during this three-game skid. “I think today was great for him to be able to make some shots and understand that it’s going to be like that every single night.”
Dick drilled two 3-pointers early in the game, but ultimately finished 2-for-5 from long range after Baylor adjusted on the defensive end. With the Bears chasing him off the 3-point line, Dick had to prove he can make things happen in a different way.
As a result, Dick looked to drive more frequently and emphasized getting to the rim when it became available. Dick scored 11 points at the rim, according to Synergy Sports Technology, which actually marked the most points he has scored at the rim in a game this season.
The play that best illustrated this was a transition sequence at the 16:15 mark in the second half. Dick caught the ball on the right wing and pump-faked his defender, blowing by Baylor freshman Keyonte George to his right. Dick met another Baylor defender at the rim, converting a layup through contact for the and-one play. It was one of six free throws on the day for Dick, thanks to his aggressiveness.
“Guys are just not going to let him walk into threes,” Wilson said. “They respect him enough that they are going to make him put the ball on the ground.”
Dick recorded a pair of highlight dunks for good measure, one of which was a back-cut slam along the left baseline while Kansas was running a five-out offensive set. The other was a back-side lob from the other baseline, in which his pink shoes cleared the chests of two different defenders on is way to the hoop.
GD gettin’ ???? pic.twitter.com/DztPaQnmi2
— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) January 24, 2023
The 24-point performance came after Dick combined for just 24 points over the previous two outings. Through eight games in his introduction to this league, Dick has been face-guarded several times and managed to finish below double figures on three different occasions.
“He’s getting the best defender every night out there, chasing him around and stuff,” Kevin McCullar Jr. said. “I think he’s doing an excellent job and he’s keeping a level head and competing on both ends.”
During the first two games of the losing streak, Dick went a combined 3-for-16 from long range and 7-for-26 from the floor. His offensive impact was minimal after the 3-ball was taken away from him, but that certainly wasn’t the case on Monday. Dick never stopped moving, and he was rewarded for it.
In the Baylor loss, Dick went 8-for-13 from the floor. It marked the most shots he has made in a game since he went 8-for-12 against Indiana on Dec. 17.
“On the defensive side they might be face-guarding, but that’s just stuff we’ve got to figure out,” Dick said. “There is always going to be something we can do differently, whether it be get face-guarded and get other guys open or just driving.”
Baylor has been the worst defense in the Big 12, so this was always an opportunity for Kansas to figure some things out on the offensive end.
Dick learned that he can make some things happen off the bounce. His teammates now have a better understanding of what they can do to keep Dick involved on the offensive end. And it just changes the overall outlook of KU’s offense in the process.
“That’s why we gotta get him more shots,” Wilson said. “We have to look to screen for him more. When he’s hitting, guys are coming out to the arc and we are able to drive by. That definitely helps our offense.”
