Less than five games into the season, redshirt freshman Bryson Tiller emerged as the permanent fifth starter for Kansas. Though he’s had a very productive season, it’s been highly inconsistent, especially in the eyes of Bill Self.
Paired with Flory Bidunga all season, Tiller has been searching for a role in which he can consistently thrive, but it’s been difficult down the stretch.
Heading into the Jayhawks' loss against Cincinnati on February 21, Tiller was averaging 9.0 points per game while shooting 47.8% from the field.
Since then, over the past seven games, he's averaged just 5.1 points per game and has shot 36.1% from the field.
Throughout the season, Tiller has put together back-to-back double-digit performances, only to follow them with back-to-back poor showings.
If he could consistently score in double figures and provide adequate rim protection, he’d easily become one of the team’s most valuable pieces. His inconsistency is the reason he found himself in the doghouse during the second half of the Big 12 semifinal against Houston.
Bill Self was sending a message to Tiller: he needs to step it up heading into the NCAA Tournament, or he’s going to get benched.
As much criticism as he may take, he’s only a freshman and has shown he has the tools to become a KU legend if he sticks around.
Although his confidence peaked early in the season (during the first half of the North Carolina game) Tiller has shown both the ability and the willingness to shoot the deep ball. Given his size and length, he’ll be an extremely dangerous player if he can improve his stroke.
Kansas (4-seed in the East Region) must get Tiller back on track if it wants to make a tournament run past teams with talented frontcourts, such as St. John’s (5-seed in the East Region) and Duke (1-seed in the East Region).
As we know, March is a time for college basketball clichés, and one of the most popular (often repeated by legends like Bill Self) is: "By March, freshmen aren’t freshmen anymore."
Though it’s still technically his freshman season, Tiller must play with the confidence and maturity of a veteran to help the Jayhawks make a real push in the NCAA Tournament.
Will Bryson Tiller help Kansas avoid a season-ending loss to Cal Baptist this Friday night in San Diego?
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