Kansas basketball won its first game of the season yesterday against a scrappy UNC Greensboro. The Jayhawks looked good against the Spartans, particularly Devon Dotson and Udoka Azubuike.
UNC Greensboro came out playing a zone defense that didn’t allow Kansas basketball to drive to the rim as they’re accustomed to. The Spartans also made it tough on Kansas by running a full-court zone press; however, the Jayhawks did a fairly good job of breaking it.
Once the offense got going though, it was all over for the Spartans. Sophomore point guard Devon Dotson was doing everything for the Jayhawks, racking up 22 points, six assists, and eight rebounds on the night. Dotson also only committed one turnover all game and was also 8-8 from the free throw line.
Udoka Azubuike also dominated, scoring 10 points and totaling 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Doke also had an incredible posterizing dunk over a poor UNC Greensboro player.
WATCH: HIGHLIGHTS FROM KU HOOPS’ WIN OVER UNC GREENSBORO
The increased output from Azubuike could be attributed to the Jayhawks switching primarily to a four around one system. Having four guards on the floor helps Kansas in spacing the floor, giving Azubuike an advantage inside the paint.
Freshman Tristan Enaruna looked pretty great in his second college basketball game, totaling nine points and five rebounds in his Allen Fieldhouse debut. Enaruna is an intriguing player, he has a great frame standing at six-foot-eight, and Enaruna has a solid jump shot. He could definitely help spread the floor in a potential Dotson/Garrett/Agbaji/Enaruna/Azubuike lineup.
Iowa grad transfer Isaiah Moss made his unexpected season debut tonight, going 3-7 from the field and scoring eight points. Moss is a career 39% three-point shooter, so he will be extremely valuable moving forward considering he’s the Jayhawks’ only bonafide sharpshooter.
The bad news for Kansas basketball is that freshman Jalen Wilson will be having surgery to repair a broken leg suffered in the first half of the game. Wilson will be out 3+ months according to head coach Bill Self. It’s a rough start for the freshman, but his teammates have his back through the whole process:
"“I’m going to be the best supporter and make sure he’s all right, whatever he needs.” – Devon Dotson“We never want things like this to happen, but he’s strong mentally and he’s positive so he’ll come back strongly.” – Tristan Enaruna"
The only other good news for Kansas basketball is that the Jayhawks seemed to have proved that their 28 turnovers against Duke was just a fluke and not a trend. Kansas totaled just 10 turnovers against the Spartans; however, it’s true that UNC Greensboro is no Duke.
The Jayhawks have a long way to go, but they took a step in the right direction last night against a solid non-conference team. The Spartans played hard and tested Kansas basketball, but the Jayhawks proved that they could adapt and win.
There are still some questions that need to be answered, but Kansas basketball fans have to be feeling better than they did a few days ago.