For our final iteration of this short series, we wanted to cover head coach Bill Self. Self, of course, is in his 33rd overall season as a head coach, and has embarked on nearly 800 games with the Jayhawks.
Self himself said with the extenuating circumstances of not having star guard Darryn Peterson that this non-conference stretch would have likely been a B+ grade, which lets be honest, is probably spot on. The Jayhawks have won the games they should have with ease, and when the nation’s elite opponents have taken to the other side of the court, Kansas has suffered. Of course, it is easy (because we have done it) to throw in the fact that if Peterson was available in the 78-66 loss to the No. 5 Duke Blue Devils, and a 61-56 loss to the No. 5 UConn Huskies, then both of those could have resulted in wins…But Peterson wasn’t fit enough to take the court, and there are other factors Kansas could have flipped to have won either, if not both of those matchups, i.e., the bench points.
Now, one thing Self has done excellently well is dividing the burden of the missing Peterson. You would not have been wrong to have assumed that Self and his team were really going to feel the impact of a Peterson-less team, and at times, they have. Yet at the same time, this is also a squad that has seen a consensus leveling up in nearly everyone else's stats. Namely, Melvin Council Jr, Tre White, and Flory Bidunga.
In Kansas’ latest win, a 90-61 over the Davidson Wildcats, fans were left wondering if there had been a big change in this team's chemistry. At points this season, Kansas’ offense has really labored, especially in its ball movement and pace; however, against the Wildcats, the actions had rarely looked smoother. Kansas was able to execute nearly any offensive set, which led to their most points in a single half since February of last season.
Your team always wants to be peaking at the right time, and it is harder to find a time to peak then headed into dangerous conference play, meaning if what fans saw against Davidson can be tangible and improved upon, then Kansas will look a lot more dangerous against some of the nation’s elite teams.
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