Tuesday was a special night at Allen Fieldhouse and not just because the Jayhawks scored a season-high for points and absolutely throttled their opponent, UMKC, 105-62.
It marked the 600th victory in the coaching career of KU coach Bill Self and, thankfully for everybody involved, Self actually took time to enjoy that.
And why not? 600 wins, though not *the* milestone of all milestones certainly is a big deal. And KU fans like big deals and should get to celebrate as many as they can.
In a sport where only one team ends the season truly happy, we often overlook the little moments for joy along the way.
This was no little moment, but it was full of joy and it was cool that both KU and Self embraced it and shared it with the fan base. The game was a delight to watch. Years from now nobody’s going to remember that Josh Jackson had 12 boards against UMKC or that the Jayhawks made 9 of 15 three-pointers in the first half of a blowout win. They will remember Self’s 600th, though, and, who knows, they might be remembering it on the night they’re celebrating his 700th or 800th.
Quick takeaway
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Nine games into the 2016-17 season, we’ve seen the KU guards absolutely carry this team night in and night out. A question was posed to me during my Gameday Chat that asked how long they could keep this up and the answer, at least in my eyes, is simple: A long, long time. The biggest reason they can is not because Devonte’ Graham, Frank Mason and Josh Jackson are just better than everyone. Even Superman had his off days. But because the commitment to play that way is there from Bill Self that gives this group a much better chance to establish this style as their true identity. From there, whatever they get from the bigs — which they will and still do need — will be an added bonus.
Three reasons to smile
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**1 – Josh Jackson is a bad man.** And he knows it. One of the coolest things I’ve seen about Jackson thus far is his ability to crank up his competitiveness no matter who the opponent or what the game. It makes sense for guys to be up for big games against Indiana or Duke, but to do it in a game against overmatched UMKC when you’ve already got a 20-point lead is a whole other deal. Jackson has that burning inside of him and it’s based on his unending desire to get better every time out. It doesn’t hurt a bit that he also likes to put on a show while doing it. And what a show it’s been so far.
**2 – How about your three leading rebounders being perimeter players?** Jackson had a dozen, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk added seven and Frank Mason grabbed five, including one *ridiculous* board where it looked like he ripped off a standing vertical jump of 300 inches to grab it over the outstretched and leaping arms of Lagerald Vick. In a perfect world, a team’s big men would lead the way on the rebounding parade. But KU’s bigs continue to struggle and the fact that the guards are hitting the glass not only shows that they’re capable but it also shows that they get the importance. Great sign all the way around.
**3 – Although most of the damage came from behind the arc, the Jayhawks appeared to execute the game plan to perfection,** looking inside to Carlton Bragg and Udoka Azubuike whenever they ran halfcourt sets. This is a good sign not only because it shows this team’s ability and willingness to execute the game plan, but also because it shows the team’s willingness to give the big men — especially Azubuike — time to get going. He posts hard and calls for the ball every time he gets position. That’s Step 1. Making quicker, more decisive moves and not dribbling into trouble in the post is going to be Step 2. At one point, after an Azubuike move led to a KU turnover, Jackson came from all the way across the floor, yelled at him on his walk over and said simply, “You’re holding the ball too long.” Leadership. By a freshman. More proof to support Reason to Smile No. 1 in this blog. Jackson’s a bad man.
Three reasons to sigh
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**1 – We’re not going to talk a lot about it because there’s really not much to say.** You either make ’em or you don’t. And right now Kansas is not making their free throws. The Jayhawks were 12 of 22 (.545) against UMKC from the free throw line and that was *after* starting the game 4-of-4 from the stripe. They may not want to talk about it, but Self is irked and the players are overthinking it.
**2 – Landen Lucas is by no means all the way back (4 points and 5 rebounds on Tuesday night), but he has passed the frustration torch to Carlton Bragg,** who continues to play hard but just cannot catch a break. Part of the reason for that is that Bragg isn’t making any breaks for himself. He looks lost on defense, sped up a little on offense and seems to be thinking way too much instead of just playing. It’s going to take some time still for both of those guys to play through their non-conference funks.
**3 – With just three non-conference games left to fine tune things for Big 12 play,** the Jayhawks are running out of time to get some important minutes and extra on-the-floor emphasis for the guys up front. KU will have seven days between games following their next outing, another five between games after that and then eight more over the winter break. That will give them plenty of practice time to get better, but there is no substitute for doing it in live game action. Right now, though, maybe the confidence needs to come from executing and playing well in practice, because, at least for KU’s bigs, the games have been little more than frustrations thus far.
Next up
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Third-ranked Kansas will return to Allen Fieldhouse at 2:15 p.m. Saturday to welcome former Big 12 foe Nebraska to town.
— See what people were saying about the game during KUsports.com’s live coverage.
By the Numbers: Kansas 105, UMKC 62.
