Kansas basketball: 3 positives, 3 negatives from Jayhawks scrimmage loss to Illinois

Kansas Basketball Negative No. 3: KU looked outmatched in the paint

For a team with the tallest player in the Bill Self era, the interior defense was laughable against Illinois. They don’t have a player taller than 6-foot-10, yet they were driving to the rim with ease every play and drawing fouls.

We knew that Hunter Dickinson’s defense was subpar coming into Lawrence, but it was especially poor on Sunday. If he lets players six inches shorter than him blow by every play, it’s going to be a long season before Bill Self can correct his defensive mistakes.

And despite the notion that KJ Adams can guard all five positions, he looked uncomfortable defensively. He still needs to work on his footwork and technique before we can consider him among the likes of Dajuan Harris and Kevin McCullar. KJ was no match for the Fighting Illini in the paint.