**1 – Jalen Wilson -** There were a couple of Jayhawks who played really big games but had much smaller roles, so it wasn’t that easy to put them ahead of Wilson after the Jayhawks’ 77-68 win at Kentucky. And why would you? Wilson played arguably his best all-around game of the season, delivering time after time in clutch moments and leading the Jayhawks to victory. He finished with 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting, while knocking in two huge 3-pointers and adding 8 rebounds. More important than any of that was the way Wilson kept his head early in the game. As Kentucky ran out of the gate and appearing to be on the brink of knocking the Jayhawks down at any moment, Wilson just kept playing. He scored, he shook off no-calls and he found a way to get his teammates going, as well. In short, he did what All-Americans do and it’s probably time we start taking a real look at him as a national player of the year candidate. If he winds up being the best player in the best conference (by a mile) in college basketball, he at least has to be in the conversation.
**2 – Kevin McCullar Jr. -** McCullar didn’t shoot it great (just 4-of-10 from the floor) but that was hardly a problem. He more than made up for his average offensive night with an elite effort night. And he played that way from the jump. It was crystal clear early on that McCullar was more than willing to do what he could to help the KU big men with UK’s Oscar Tshiebwe. So he went hard to the glass, played strong with the ball and finished with a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with his 11 points. More than that, he played through a rolled ankle and, according to KU coach Bill Self, didn’t even consider sitting longer than he had to sit to evaluate the ankle. That showed up in his overall numbers, his 34 minutes played and the KU victory.
**3 – KJ Adams -** Adams got back to his offense in this one, scoring 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting, with many of his baskets coming right at the rim and a couple of them going right through Tshiebwe along the way. I’m not sure Tshiebwe was ready for Adams — or anyone on the undersized KU roster — to take it right at him. But Adams did, picking up buckets in tight and confidence with each trip. He only recorded two rebounds, but he hit Tshiebwe on almost every shot attempt, either moving him out or boxing him out so that his teammates could clean up the glass. Adams noted after the win that Tshiebwe wasn’t the biggest dude KU has played but was the strongest. It’s possible the UK big man was saying similar words about Adams after this one. His big night came in just 24 minutes because of foul trouble, which further illustrated how important he can be without needing to play massive minutes. In fact, the way the other bigs played in this one, you can see a future path than includes Ernest Udeh and Zuby Ejiofor playing 5-7 minutes apiece and Adams therefore needing to go just 28-30. He’ll always be out there when it counts, of course. But the more the others can play before that, the fresher he’ll be when that time comes.
**4 – Dajuan Harris Jr. -** Harris’ two early 3-pointers were HUGE in this one. Bigger than huge, probably. They not only signaled that he was a willing scorer — which the Wildcats immediately then had to account for — but his buckets were huge in helping Kansas keep contact as Kentucky rode the wave of adrenaline and emotion to an early lead. Harris played 37 minutes and looked so much more like himself than he had in the past few games. Especially as a passer and play-maker for others. If his two 3s were his biggest shots, his two lobs to Ernest Udeh were his biggest moments. Both got Kansas easy points and delivered a strong dose of confidence to Udeh, whom KU needed to win this one and might need even more in the weeks ahead. Harris’ 8 assists came with just 2 turnovers.
**5 – Ernest Udeh Jr. -** Udeh’s second-half minutes were largely forgettable, but boy were his first-half minutes big. He played hard, fought for everything, finished a couple of big lobs and hustled to help make up for his positioning issues on the defensive end. One of the biggest plays that didn’t show up in the box score or lead to points for Kansas came when he hustled back on defense to knock a pass out of bounds so the KU D could get back and get set. It might not have seemed that huge at the time, but it was more the statement the play made rather than the actual result. He’s getting it. Slowly but surely. And if Self and company can allow him just a little longer leash, he’s proven he can make plays that can lead to winning. We’ll see where his PT goes from here, but his confidence should only go up.
**6 – Gradey Dick -** Give Gradey credit for making a few huge shots late, none bigger than the late 3 that he got off after a pump fake to free himself on the wing. But up to that point, the freshman had played a fairly frantic game. He played hard. No one can question that. But he looked a little sped up and like he was trying too hard. That showed in his misses and decision making. One shot hit the top of the backboard, a very unexpected sight for a shooter as gifted as Dick. Still, he hung in there and helped Kansas find a way to win while grabbing 13 points and 5 rebounds in 33 minutes. It’s hard to blame him for too much of this. As great of a season as he’s had so far, he is still a freshman, it was still Rupp Arena against Kentucky and it came in a game that was highlighted as the game of the day on ESPN. It’s probably hard not to get a little extra turned up in that situation.
**7 – Zuby Ejiofor -** Before leaving the game for good with a turned ankle just before halftime, Ejiofor was an important part of this one much in the way Udeh was. He played big, physical and unafraid. The ankle injury, which kept him out of the second half and left him in a walking boot after the game, was the only negative about his outing. KU needs more of this from him, but you have to wonder if the injury will make it hard to deliver in the weeks ahead.
**8 – Bobby Pettiford -** Someone told me the other day that they thought Pettiford — and others — needed to just slow down a little. Rather than playing at Mach 3, perhaps he could dial it down just a bit to be a little more effective. I didn’t think much of it when they said that, but his one turnover last night showed it might be the case. He pushed hard in transition and even got the ball where it needed to go. Before that, though, he lost control of the ball and was called for a travel that took away a Wilson 3-pointer on the wing. Maybe Wilson wouldn’t have made the shot if Pettiford had gone a little slower. But would you have bet against it? It’s a fine line for Pettiford right now. But, yeah, slowing down just a hair might actually make the game easier for him and allow him to increase his production and time on the floor.
**9 – MJ Rice -** I really thought Rice might be in for a night to remember. He looked terrific in the pregame shoot-around and we knew he was going to get an opportunity because of Self and the Jayhawks’ desire to find something from their bench. But it was a couple of misses, a few slow rotations on defense and just 5 minutes for the freshman. He continues to stay ready and always looks the part. Maybe his Udeh day still coming.
**10 – Joe Yesufu -** There was some talk from Self about playing Yesufu more and giving him a chance for a breakthrough scoring game. That continues to be hard to do because of the decisions he makes when he’s in the game. His lone shot in his 3 minutes of this one missed everything. And it often looks to me like Yesufu doesn’t even fully catch the ball before he starts to shoot it. I know he wants to make the right play and bring some scoring to the lineup. But he’s too rushed too often and he usually sits because of it.
Season standings
———–
1 – Jalen Wilson, 176
2 – Dajuan Harris Jr., 150
3 – KJ Adams, 146
4 – Gradey Dick, 141
5 – Kevin McCullar Jr., 129o
6 – Bobby Pettiford, 88
7 – Joe Yesufu, 72
8 – MJ Rice, 54y
9 – Zuby Ejiofor, 52
10 – Ernest Udeh Jr., 49
11 – Zach Clemence, 31z
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*
*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
