Jalen Wilson’s career night easily earns top spot after Kansas’ win over Kentucky

By Matt Tait     Dec 2, 2020

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Kansas redshirt freshman Jalen Wilson drives past a Kentucky defender Tuesday night during the Champions Classic inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Dec. 1, 2020. Photo courtesy of Phil Ellsworth of ESPN.

**1 – Jalen Wilson -** Took over stretches of the second half and [led Kansas with a career-high 23 points and his first career double-double.][1] The experiment with him playing the 5 in KU’s small-ball lineups is working out tremendously for both Wilson and the team thus far.

**2 – Dajuan Harris -** For the second consecutive game, Harris’ presence on the floor calmed the waters for Kansas and sparked a KU surge. [The 6-foot, 160-pound point guard is rarely going to wow you with his physical prowess,][2] but his feel and impact are off the charts. Scored 2 points, dished 5 assists and swiped 4 steals in 22 minutes, while recording a +12 plus/minus number [in a game decided by three points.][3]

**3 – Ochai Agbaji -** For the third game in a row, Agbaji’s aggressive mindset early on benefited Kansas, which was woeful on offense for much of the first half. Had he not connected on a few shots early, KU might not have been close enough for his five-point mini-run in the final three minutes to matter as much. Another solid game for the KU junior, even if it was a bit of an off night shooting.

**4 – Marcus Garrett -** Tough call for the 4 and 5 spot here, but I went with Garrett for two reasons: First, he fought through illness on a night when it would’ve been very easy for him to say he couldn’t go. Second, his eight first-half points on 4-of-7 shooting were massive for a Kansas team that shot horribly the entire first half and could not even get the ball up to the rim when the Jayhawks got into the paint. Garrett did and delivered eight big points and 35 tough minutes.

**5 – Christian Braun -** Last game’s 30-point scorer shot 2-of-10 from the floor, 0-of-4 from behind the arc and even missed four of the eight free throws he attempted. But he made up for those numbers by grabbing 13 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass and swiping two steals and two blocks in a game-high 38 minutes.

**6 – David McCormack -** The struggling big man grabbed a few key rebounds and was clutch at the free throw line, where he scored five of his seven points. Look at that and you’ll see a solid outing. Look at the 1-of-9 shooting and two turnovers in 22 minutes and you’ll see otherwise.

**7 – Bryce Thompson -** Missed the only two shots he took and fouled three times, but was serviceable enough to be out there for nine minutes. Thompson likely learned a lot even while not playing well in this one. And I’m guessing he’s dying for another crack at a big name program like that.

**8 – Tyon Grant-Foster -** Missed the only shot he attempted — a 3-pointer — in his two minutes on the floor, but slipped ahead of the final two on tonight’s list by grabbing one offensive rebound.

**9 – Mitch Lightfoot -** Played just two minutes and did not record any statistics.

**10 – Tristan Enaruna -** Played just two minutes and did not record any statistics.

**Season Standings**

1 – Ochai Agbaji – 29

2 – Jalen Wilson – 26

T3 – Christian Braun – 23

T3 – Marcus Garrett – 23

5 – Bryce Thompson – 20

6 – Dajuan Harris – 19

T7 – Mitch Lightfoot – 12

T7 – David McCormack – 12

T9 – Tristan Enaruna – 10

T9 – Tyon Grant-Foster – 10

T11 – Latrell Jossell – 1

T11 – Gethro Muscadin – 1

[1]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2020/dec/02/we-dont-come-close-winning-game-without-him-jalen-/
[2]: http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/smithology/2020/dec/2/undersized-dajuan-harris-didnt-need-to-s/
[3]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2020/dec/01/no-7-kansas-earns-gritty-65-62-win-over-no-20-kent/

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.