**1 – Jalen Wilson -** I don’t care how many times you’ve seen it, the way Wilson pushes the ball up the floor and puts soooo much pressure on the defense in transition is an absolute work of art. It’s particularly effective in moments when the Jayhawks are trying to mount a comeback as they were on Saturday after digging a 15-point hole in the first half. That relentless attacking approach by Wilson adds to the panic that KU’s opponents feel when the storm is brewing and the Jayhawks are furiously trying to come back. Sometimes it leads to points. Other times it leads to buckets for others. Every time it creates serious stress that many teams just can’t handle. Add to that the fact that Wilson, once again, hit for 20 points and it was another solid showing by KU’s latest All-American candidate.
**2 – Dajuan Harris Jr. -** Harris didn’t do much at all for the first 20 minutes but he changed that in a big way in the second half. First, he drilled a 3-pointer that started the Jayhawks’ comeback on the opening possession of the second half. Then, he finished the game with 9 assists and just 1 turnover. He had a few bad moments. And a couple of them came on defense. But once he decided to elevate his game to the point of making OSU’s ball handlers miserable when he guarded them, there wasn’t so much as an inch of space between Harris’ chest and the player he was defending. And that approach rubbed off on the rest of his team.
**3 – KJ Adams -** Adams hit all 6 shots he attempted and continues to show insanely impressive progress on the offensive end. He’s comfortable, confident and becoming a bona fide weapon. The way he finishes through and around contact continues to be the most impressive part of his offensive game. On defense, when he decides to lock in, as he did in the first few minutes of the second half, he can stay with and frustrate just about anybody.
**4 – Gradey Dick -** There was a point in this one when I thought about giving Gradey the nod at No. 1. His two offensive rebounds that led to second-chance 3-pointers for the Jayhawks were massive and showed a real understanding of how to impact a game when you’re not getting — or hitting — the shots you want. He still managed to knock down a few key shots. But those boards (he had 9 for the game) were absolutely big time. A great first step in conference play for the talented freshman.
**5 – Kevin McCullar Jr. -** Hit a huge 3 late in the game, blocked a crucial shot in the final seconds and switched onto OSU’s Bryce Thompson after the former Jayhawk got going en route to a pretty big day. It wasn’t McCullar’s best game as a Jayhawk by any means. After all, he finished with 5 turnovers by himself. But he made clutch plays when Kansas needed them and the Jayhawks would not have won without him.
**6 – Joe Yesufu -** He played 14 minutes because of foul trouble and hit a couple of big 3-pointers while looking a little more comfortable than he had in recent games. It continues to look like it’s opportunity and rhythm that are most important for Yesufu. And although he looked a little off during some of his 14 minutes on the floor, he played tough, was aggressive on offense and tried hard to give Kansas good minutes on a day the Jayhawks needed them anywhere and everywhere they could get them.
**7 – Zuby Ejiofor -** Four points and 3 rebounds in 10 minutes seems like a pretty solid day at the office for a role player. Ejiofor played in this one because of the size of Oklahoma State, and while he wasn’t perfect in matching up with those guys, he did create a couple of good scoring chances and leaned on the OSU bigs just hard enough to give Kansas some kind of physical presence inside. Not perfect but pretty darn solid. Don’t expect it to lead immediately to more playing time, though. This one seemed pretty matchup specific.
**8 – Bobby Pettiford -** He played just 9 minutes and didn’t do a whole lot while he was out there. I’ll be honest: I completely forgot to ask if something was up with him since Yesufu played a much bigger role than Bobby did in this one.
**9 – MJ Rice -** He played just two minutes and recorded a foul and a steal. I thought about putting Cam Martin ahead of him since Martin actually scored 2 points and the Jayhawks won by 2. But a case could be made that Rice’s steal kept OSU from scoring 2 or 3 on that particular possession, making it just as important as Martin’s tip-in. The reason Rice got the nod here was because of how lost Martin looked on defense in his 2 minutes on the floor.
**10 – Cam Martin -** See MJ Rice’s comment.
**11 – Zach Clemence -** Clemence played fairly early in this one and wasn’t afraid to get physical with the rough and tumble OSU lineup. But his time on the floor was short-lived (5 minutes) and his numbers reflected that.
**12 – Ernest Udeh Jr. -** Udeh’s only action came in the final few seconds, inserted in the lineup to defend the inbounds pass on OSU’s last two attempts to tie the game. On the first, he failed to cut off the angle to the basket and allowed Thompson to catch a clean pass that nearly led to the game-tying layup. On the second, he tipped the ball that would’ve had to be a lob and tip-in, ending the game as soon as he touched it. Weird sequence. But sort of important, too.
Season standings
———–
1 – Jalen Wilson, 114
2 – Dajuan Harris Jr., 100
T3 – Gradey Dick, 93
T3 – KJ Adams, 93
5 – Kevin McCullar Jr., 86o
6 – Bobby Pettiford, 61
7 – Joe Yesufu, 55
8 – MJ Rice, 44y
9 – Zuby Ejiofor, 40
10 – Ernest Udeh Jr., 39
11 – Zach Clemence, 20z
12 – Cam Martin, 8q
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*
*z – Missed Duke, Southern Utah and NC State games because of injury*
*o – Missed Nov. 29 game vs. Texas Southern with a groin injury
*q – Missed first nine games of the season with shoulder injury
