**1 – Jalen Wilson -** Wilson was spectacular once again on Saturday, scoring 26 points to lead all scorers and getting to the free throw line 11 times after drawing nine fouls in KU’s 68-53 loss at Iowa State. He single-handedly willed Kansas into Saturday’s 68-53 loss at Iowa State after another slow start by the visitors, but he just did not have enough help on offense to bring the Jayhawks into true contention for the win. And he knew it. A picture of poise throughout most of the season, you could see bits of frustration on Wilson’s face in this one. Frustration for the deficit. Frustration for the way the Jayhawks defended. Frustration over calls by the officials. Frustration over a fourth loss in the past five Big 12 games. He shook it off each time it surfaced, but this was the first time this season that I really started to see it on Wilson’s face. Credit to him for staying in it mentally, doing everything he could to lead his teammates through it and thinking “next play” as often as possible.
**2 – KJ Adams -** Adams lands in the second spot simply because everybody else was pretty awful in this one. His numbers were OK on the offensive end. He shot 3-of-6 from the floor and finished with 7 points and 4 rebounds to go along with 3 assists. Defensively, Adams struggled mightily to guard ISU big man Osun Osunniyi, who pinned him deep in the paint and scored easily over either shoulder. That alone would have dropped Adams lower in the rankings on a normal day. But today was no normal day. Beyond that, Adams should not be expected to hold up that well one-on-one in the post against true big men. With teams figuring out more and more how to limit his effectiveness on the pick and roll to the middle, Adams has to find a new way to become a weapon for a team that needs weapons to emerge.
**3 – Zach Clemence -** He played just 21 seconds and paid a steep price for those precious seconds, leaving the game with an injured knee. But his chase-down block was as big of a play, per second, as nearly any all day, and it was good enough to land him ahead of a few of his teammates even though he didn’t play big minutes.
**4 – Joe Yesufu -** Yesufu played 20 minutes off the bench and was the team’s second leading scorer with 8 points. While that might sound good on some nights, it was a disaster in this one. He hit 3-of-6 from the floor but missed badly when he missed, and he looked a little too sped up at times, as well. He stayed in there, though, and did his best to compete. He’s just too much of a true role player for KU to find itself relying on him to be more than that. When that happens, days like Saturday is what you’re going to get.
**5 – Kevin McCullar Jr. -** Other than Wilson’s 26 points, McCullar’s 11 rebounds were the other single statistic that stood out after this one. It marked the third game in a row that the Texas Tech transfer has reached double digits in rebounding, but he was so poor in so many other areas in this one that those hardly mattered. McCullar did not score his first points until 3:48 remained in the game, on a nice and-one on a hard take to the basket. He then promptly missed the free throw in keeping with the theme of the day. He shot 1-for-4 from the floor, 0-for-2 from 3-point range and 0-for-1 at the free throw line. He also fouled four times and turned it over three times.
**6 – Gradey Dick -** It was a tough-luck kind of day for Dick, who actually got a few good looks early, didn’t rush them and saw them miss anyway. He finished 2-of-6 from the floor (1-of-4 from 3-point range) and also turned it over five times, with one charge. He had a great back cut and dunk to pull the Jayhawks within five early in the second half. But he also had a lob thrown his way that went off his hands and out of bounds without him even getting a shot. Making matters worse, Dick grabbed just one rebound and failed to record an assist in his 30 minutes on the floor. It was a far cry from the 21 points he had against the Cyclones in the first meeting, which likely speaks to the work Iowa State did to take him away. Still, Self said after the game that too many Jayhawks let their offense affect the rest of their game — good and bad — and Gradey was the poster boy for this on Saturday. He, too, had plenty of moments where the frustration of the day showed up on his face and in his body language, not than anyone could really blame him for that.
**7 – Dajuan Harris Jr. -** It’s been a season-long issue for the Jayhawks, but it becomes magnified with every loss. Harris has to score and be a threat to score for this team to play at peak efficiency. Self mentioned after the loss that the team’s ball and body movement was poor for most of this one. The Iowa State defense deserves some of the credit for that. But you can’t play into it and allow yourself to be taken out of the game entirely. Harris missed the three 3-pointers he attempted (none of them really looked like they had a chance when he let them fly) and also made just one of five field goals overall. He recorded three assists, two turnovers and two steals but had a whopping -18 plus/minus number. A couple of his turnovers were uncharacteristic of what you’ve come to expect from the sure-handed Kansas point guard, who has turned it over and found trouble more this Big 12 season than during the non-conference schedule and during pretty much all of last season. A lot of that has to do with his supporting cast, but that merely underscores why he needs to step up and be a guy more consistently.
**8 – Bobby Pettiford -** Give Pettiford credit for trying to gut it out on a day when his hamstring was clearly bothering him. He worked some on the stationary bike during the game and stretched himself out with bands on the sideline. None of it led to him looking all that productive when he was on the floor. He finished scoreless on one shot attempt and canceled out his three assists with three turnovers in his 7:34 of action. KU needs his aggressiveness in attacking the paint and, after watching on Saturday, the Jayhawks might need him to be more of a scorer when he does it.
**9 – Ernest Udeh Jr. -** Udeh looked like he took a pretty big step backwards again in this one, unsure of his footing on defense and ineffective on offense. He finished with a single point and two rebounds but also turned it over twice. The writing’s on the wall now, though. With Clemence and Zuby Ejiofor out with injury, it’s Udeh’s job to back-up KJ Adams. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll play more than the 6:42 he played in the loss on Saturday. But if he doesn’t, it’s likely because Self elected to go small whenever Adams had to sit. Bottom line: The Jayhawks could use Udeh to be a little more solid and steady, now more than ever.
**10 – MJ Rice -** After riding the stationary bike for a bit to get loose, Rice got a legit chance to be a factor in this game. And then he wasn’t. At all. It’s hard to say it’s all the back spasms at this point, but even if that’s still the biggest thing that’s ailing him, Rice’s effort on the floor does not seem to warrant many more additional opportunities. He looks discouraged and disinterested and isn’t showing anything that might make anybody think he still has a chance to be a key player before the season ends.
Season standings
———–
1 – Jalen Wilson, 193
2 – Dajuan Harris Jr., 163
3 – KJ Adams, 157
4 – Gradey Dick, 150
5 – Kevin McCullar Jr., 143o
6 – Bobby Pettiford, 97
7 – Joe Yesufu, 80
8 – MJ Rice, 55y
9 – Ernest Udeh Jr., 54
10 – Zuby Ejiofor, 52u
11 – Zach Clemence, 44z
12 – Cam Martin, 11q
13 – Kyle Cuffe Jr., 2x
*x – Out for 10-12 weeks with a knee injury starting Nov. 13*
*y – Missed 3 of the first 5 games of the season because of injury and illness; also sat out games because of COVID, kidney stones and back spasms*
*z – Missed Duke, Southern Utah and NC State games because of injury. Also injured a knee in road loss at Iowa State, which caused him to miss more time*
*o – Missed Nov. 29 game vs. Texas Southern with a groin injury
*q – Missed first nine games of the season with shoulder injury
*u – Missed a few weeks during the middle of the Big 12 season with a foot injury*
