“I’d rather be ranked high than not ranked.”-Coach Bill Self
The #3 ranked Kanas basketball team open their 2016-17 season with an exhibition game against the Washburn Ichabods. Here are three things to watch.
This will be the first game in Allen Fieldhouse for three freshmen and a transfer, how will they look in their debut?
Josh Jackson was the top recruit in the country and he is expected to be in the starting lineup all season. Even Andrew Wiggins had a lot of nerves in his debut so don’t expect Jackson to put up huge numbers. There is no doubt the coaching staff will try to draw up a play to get him on the board early to build his confidence.
Contributions from Mitch Lightfoot and Udoka Azubuike will be more interesting as it is unknown how much playing time they’ll earn during the regular season. This is especially true with the first two games against #11 Indiana and #1 Duke, according to the preseason AP Poll.
While he isn’t a freshman, Dwight Coleby hasn’t played in nearly two years after sitting out and rehabbing his ACL. He has to gain confidence that his knee is healthy and he can fit into Coach Self’s system.
Three of the starters return from the 2015-16 team. What improvements have the other returning players made?
Frank Mason, Devonte Graham and Landen Lucas have all worked hard on their game and will surely be better players. Most fans and the coaching staff have a good idea of what can be expected of those three and they may not play as many minutes in an exhibition game.
This will be the third season on the roster for Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and he has not played up to expectations in his first two seasons. He is expected to be the sixth man on the team and he needs to show that he can be a consistent shooter so the coaching staff can trust him in tight games.
Lagerald Vick saw very limited time on the court last season. Players and coaches all talk about the improvement he has made in the offseason. The game against Washburn represents his first chance to make his case for extended playing time.
“How we react to guarding smaller quicker guys” – Coach Bill Self
New to the starting lineup is Carlton Bragg and he has to fill the shoes of Perry Ellis. Their games are quite different, but Bragg needs to work the boards and get some points down low. Scoring against a smaller Washburn team won’t be the challenge he’ll face with Indiana and Duke. Bragg needs to get comfortable on both ends before those upcoming games. He should dominate a smaller, less athletic opponent, but Self is still concerned.
With three big guards in the rotation, will we see a four guard lineup?
When watching a Bill Self team, there are some things that are almost always true. The on-court lineup typically has three guards and two bigs. That could change this season as the Jayhawks have three big guards on the roster in Josh Jackson (6’8″), Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (6’8″) and Lagerald Vick (6’5″). Most likely this means either Mykhailiuk or Vick joining the three starting guards as Carlton Bragg or Landen Lucas gets a breather.
When Coach Self was asked about it in his pre-game press conference, he said “We gotta get our main rotation playing together and looking at different combinations. We’ll play small some tomorrow.” Should this happen, expect a very fast team on the court that can turn up the pressure on defense. 10-15 minutes of a small lineup will give Self some tape to work with for the next game. Washburn is smaller and is a perfect test for this smaller lineup.
This game holds extra significance for Washburn coach Bob Chipman as he has announced this will be his final season as the Ichabods head coach after 41 years on the staff. We at Through the Phog want to wish him the best in his future endeavors.
Bottom Line
In the exhibition season, a win is expected and the goal is to get the players comfortable in the system while avoiding injuries. Washburn has played the Jayhawks close on a few of their previous meetings and it won’t be surprising if they are still within reach at halftime. Kansas is just too talented and deep to worry about a loss. 88-60 Jayhawks.