Kansas didn’t miss Carlton Bragg, indefinitely suspended as of Thursday night and later charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, Saturday when it toughed out a 79-73 victory at No. 4 Kentucky, thanks in part to Dwight Coleby.
Still not at full strength after undergoing acl knee surgery that prevented from practicing with the Jayhawks last season, Coleby positioned his body well enough in his 10 minutes on the floor to be a factor in keeping Kentucky freshman Bam Adebayo from taking over the game.
All in all, not bad for a player who did not play (coach’s decision) in 7 of 10 games leading up to the Kentucky victory and totaled just five minutes in the three games he did play.
“Just gotta step up and when your number’s called be ready,” said Coleby, a transfer from Ole Miss and native of Nassau, Bahamas.
On the team’s approach against Adebayo, Coleby said, “Just tried to be physical with him and not let him catch it deep in the post because the farther out he catches it the less effective he is.”
He said he has no pain in his knee when he plays and asked to put a percentage on how close he is to full strength, he said, “in the 90’s. It felt great.”
Kansas doesn’t need him to be a force, just a big-body presence in Wednesday’s game against No. 3 Baylor, which plays as well near the hoop as any Big 12 team.
“I’m just working my way back in, focusing on defense and letting everything else come,” Coleby said. “(Playing time) should bring my confidence up playing the rest of the way.”
Kansas and Baylor bring 7-1 Big 12 records into Wednesday’s game and the schools have an identical plus-43 margin in conference games.
