A former teammate of Kansas basketball point guard Dajuan Harris praised him after his career game against Kentucky in the Champions Classic.
The Kansas Jayhawks won 89-84 in the Champions Classic last night after escaping a loss from the Kentucky Wildcats with a second-half surge. A large portion of KU’s 14-point comeback came from the efforts of fifth-year senior Dajuan Harris Jr.
Harris posted a career-high 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting (5-of-6 from 3-point range) while also assisting seven baskets. It was a vast difference from his first two showings of the 2023-24 regular season.
The Missouri native combined for just two points against NC Central and Manhattan and connected on 1-of-4 field goal attempts. Although Harris has never been known as a prolific scorer, even Kansas basketball fans were slightly surprised to see him playing so passively offensively.
But despite him seeming indifferent about putting the ball into the basket last week, Harris had the best outing scoring-wise of his 109-game collegiate career — not to mention one of the most athletic teams in the country.
His lack of contributions on the offensive end induced some complaints from the Jayhawk faithful, to which he responded with a hilarious social media post. Now that he has proved those doubters wrong, a member of the 2022 national championship team charged in with his own thoughts on the social media app X (formerly known as Twitter).
“Juan can score when he wants it’s always been like that. He just likes to pass. Been like that since middle school. Best PG in country,” the KU legend tweeted.
Juan can score when he wants it’s always been like that. He just likes to pass. Been like that since middle school. Best PG in country
— Christian Braun (@Ballin25Braun) November 15, 2023
The two were both signees in the 2019 Kansas basketball recruiting class and played with one another until Braun declared for the NBA Draft one year ago. They have remained close friends since, and Braun is now enjoying professional success after winning an NBA title with the Denver Nuggets.
Another thing worth noting is how intense Dajuan played last night. He was jawing with Wildcat Antonio Reeves all game and gave him a shove while the Jayhawks were trailing by 12. Then, he orchestrated a classic Kansas basketball comeback and hit back-to-back crucial 3-pointers at the 3:33 and 2:59 marks.
If Harris consistently stays aggressive on the offensive end, it’s difficult to see another school dethroning the Kansas Jayhawks as the No. 1 team in the nation.
“Get yo B*tch ass off me”
— Big Blue Nation #BBN (@UKBasketbalI) November 15, 2023
-Antonio Reeves pic.twitter.com/p3NpaUIgAn