KU freshman Ochai Agbaji says hiccup at West Virginia was good for him, has the bounce-back to back it up

By Matt Tait     Jan 24, 2019

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Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji (30) fouls Iowa State guard Marial Shayok (3) during the second half, Monday, Jan. 21, 2019 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Because of the way he’s wired, Kansas freshman Ochai Agbaji’s dud of a game at West Virginia last weekend was erased from his mind 24 hours after it happened.

A meeting with the KU coaches last Sunday was enough to ensure that Agbaji learned from his mistakes and mishaps in the 65-64 loss in Morgantown, and that conversation paved the way for him to completely forget about [the 3-turnover, 4-minute effort against the Mountaineers from there.][1]

“That’s how I am,” said Agbaji, noting it was easy to move past the poor performance. “After that (meeting with the coaches) it was just, ‘The past is done, we lost, it’s all right.'”

It certainly was.

In his very next outing — just the fifth college game of his life, remember — Agbaji played a monster role in KU’s come-from-behind win over Iowa State on Big Monday, finishing with 8 points, 5 rebounds and a pair of 3-pointers in 16 minutes.

His play — especially on offense — helped give the 9th-ranked Jayhawks life in a sluggish first half. And his overall contributions earned him a starting role for the second half of KU’s 80-76 win over the Cyclones.

Like just about everything with Agbaji so far in his KU career, that progression, from flopping freshman at West Virginia to second-half starter against Iowa State two days later, was the latest obvious example of a young player making a rapid rise that few saw coming when the Jayhawks broke for winter break.

His overall intelligence and advanced basketball IQ have been important parts of his ability to make a meaningful impact on the fly. But his general feel, both for life and the game, also played a role.

Beyond the makeup of his brain and competitive mindset, one of the reasons Agbaji was able to move past the setback so quickly was because he sort of anticipated it before it even arrived.

“I knew that game was coming,” Agbaji said Thursday, speaking with the media for the first time since his rough game at West Virginia. “I knew I was going to struggle in one of these games, but I talked to the coaches the next day, kind of got refocused and went out and practiced hard that day.”

In the practice gym and on game nights, that attitude has been a staple of Agbaji’s approach for as long as he can remember. He likes to work hard. He has fun doing it. And his maturity and perspective on life have made it easy to accept — and even understand — that even in the role of basketball player at the University of Kansas, not every day is a beach-chair-and-mai-tai kind of day.

“Yeah, I think it was definitely good for me,” he said of the West Virginia game. “Definitely got in there, got sped up, wasn’t really playing the way I was supposed to be playing or how I had been playing those past three games.”

The fact that his hiccup lasted four minutes instead of four games or four weeks is a credit to his ability to adjust. And with him holding down the important role of KU’s sixth man and quickly transforming from redshirt to reliable rotation player, the bounce-back against Iowa State on Monday, and his effort in all of the days since, had his head coach back in complimentary mode on Thursday.

“He has helped,” said Self of Agbaji when asked if the freshman could aid KU’s search for more energy and activity. “I think we’re more athletic and more energetic since he started playing, without question. He’s been a big bonus. … I thought he was terrific the other day with his energy. He comes in firing. You would think that everybody would have that mindset to come in and be aggressive like that.”

They’ll have to be this weekend at Kentucky — 5 p.m. Saturday night at Rupp Arena on ESPN — if the Jayhawks (16-3 overall, 5-2 Big 12) hope to find success against the Wildcats. And even Agbaji was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that, six games into his college career, he sits on the brink of stepping onto a stage so grand.

“It really hasn’t kicked in yet,” he said. “It’s just fun playing, honestly. But just thinking about how big this game is, I’m really excited for it.”

[1]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2019/jan/20/benton-smith-rare-ochai-agbaji-turnovers-kept-fres/?mens_basketball

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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.