Kansas basketball picked up its first “win” of the season in an exhibition over Fort Hays State University by a score of 86-56. The Jayhawks started the game slow but finished strong against the Tigers.
When it comes to exhibition games, it’s hard to tell what’s real and what isn’t, so it’s important to take everything with a grain of salt. There are some moments and performances from Kansas basketball that stand out though.
1. Ochai Agbaji has made major improvements
Ochai Agbaji was probably the best raw athlete on Kansas basketball’s roster last season. His high flying dunks and scrappy play made him a fan favorite, but his shooting slowly got worse as the year wore on.
This season, it looks like Agbaji has coupled his incredible athleticism with excellent shooting. Against Fort Hays State, he went 8-15 from the field and 3-9 from behind the three-point line. Agbaji led the Jayhawks in scoring with 21 points. In addition to his shooting, Agbaji also had three steals and two incredibly athletic-looking dunks in the game.
The sophomore has a legitimate chance to be a first-rounder after this season if he can prove that he has an NBA worthy jump shot. Consistency will be key from this point onward for Agbaji.
READ MORE: Ochai Agbaji has the potential to be a first-rounder
2. Kansas may have a free throw shooting problem
In their exhibition game, the Jayhawks went 9-19 from the free throw line; that’s not good. A division one college basketball team should never shoot less than 50% from the line, and it will be a major problem going forward if Kansas can’t get it figured out.
To the Jayhawks’ credit, they were missing Isaiah Moss, a career 82% free throw shooter, and Devon Dotson, a 78% free throw shooter in his freshman season. It’s likely that the percentage would have been higher had Dotson and Moss played, but the Jayhawks still left ten points at the free throw line. When Kansas plays Duke in a couple of weeks, that cannot happen.
3. Marcus Garrett will be the Sixth Man of the Year*
Marcus Garrett will win the Big 12 Sixth Man of the year award if * he comes off of the bench. The senior looked fantastic against the Tigers, going 5-10 on the night and 4-7 from three. It may be too early to tell, but if Marcus Garrett can combine great shooting with his great defense, he will be an extremely valuable player.
Garrett racked up three steals, five assists, 15 points, and no turnovers as the starting point guard in place of Dotson. He also played the most minutes out of anyone on the team with 32.
4. Kansas may be better off not playing two bigs
Kansas started the game extremely slow, with the offense looking awkward and flat. After watching for a while, it looks like Kansas may not be able to play both Azubuike and De Sousa at the same time, which isn’t great considering the skill level of the Kansas froncourt.
After the game, Bill Self talked about how playing Udoka Azubuike, Silvio De Sousa, and David McCormack all at the five and rotating them might be the best way to play:
"“So we may be better off playing him at the five and playing David at the five and rotating those three guys to be honest with you.” – Bill Self"
It’s not an ideal situation, considering McCormack won’t get as much time as he deserves based on his skill, but if that’s what maximizes this team’s potential then so be it.
It was a good win and a good way to kick off the season, but having Dotson and Moss back will undoubtedly make a huge impact on this team. The two will likely start against Pitt. State in Kansas basketball’s next exhibition on October 31.