Kansas basketball: Jayhawks are mentally tough team
By Stan Unruh
Free throws and turnovers continue to make headlines for this Kansas basketball team. Despite it all, this team is becoming mentally tough.
The Kansas basketball team’s turnovers and poor free throw shooting made it difficult to watch the first half of Monday’s Sunflower Showdown. The 12 first half turnovers made a few fans and coaches very nervous. You don’t win games playing this way. The Jayhawks gave the purple team 18 points on those first half turnovers. Bill Self’s guys also missed 7 of 13 free throws in the 20 minutes. On most night’s those mistakes would be fatal.
Fortunately, Lagerald Vick and Udoka Azubuike didn’t miss a shot from the field in the first half. Svi Mykhailiuk and Devonte Graham made 7 of 11 shots. The 70 percent first half shooting clinic bailed the team out. Except for Graham, the free throw shooting was awful.
The impressive stats came in the second half. There were only four Jayhawks turnovers. And after those atrocious trips to the charity stripe in the first half, the Jayhawks did not miss a free throw in the second half. They hit 13 of 13. Azubuike even made a pair of free throws after missing three in the first half. That says a lot about the 7-foot sophomore considering what happened in Norman.
By now many of you saw the videos of Dok practicing free throws prior to Monday’s game at Bramlage. The wild and crazy fans arrived early to scream and tease him. As a matter of fact, their attempt to disrupt his practice served as a great way help him adjust to the noise.
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This year’s Jayhawk team ranks near the very bottom of free throw percentage among Big 12 teams. At 69-percent they are just ahead of last place Texas. Despite that stat, Bill Self’s guys keep working. Whether it’s Malik Newman late against West Virginia, Svi at TCU or Devonte anytime, this team is mentally tough. Fans can count on them to hit the big free throw when it matters most.