After missing on some recent portal transfers, Kansas basketball head coach Bill Self hit home runs with Tre White and Melvin Council Jr. this season. Both have been terrific for the Jayhawks.
KU had an eight-game winning streak snapped Saturday with a big loss at Iowa State. However, Kansas still has a shot at winning the Big 12 and has important games against Houston and Arizona coming up.
Even though Kansas is in a good position in the conference, Tre White hasn't been quite as good of late as he's been for most of the season.
Tre White has been in a small playing slump of late for Kansas
It says a lot that Tre White's last five games can be considered underperforming. He hasn't been terrible by any stretch of the imagination, but he hasn't played quite up to his established standard either.
Over the last five games, he's averaged 8.8 points per game, pulling his season average down to 13.7. Over his last two games, he's just 1-for-9 from the field and 1-for-5 from three-point range. He's only scored six total points in those games.
Despite the fact he hasn't shot well of late, he's still been accurate from the free-throw line, hitting nine of ten. This stat, however, is an indicator that he's not playing as well as possible. For the season, he's averaging 4.6 free-throw attempts per game but is averaging just two a game in the last five games. His shot attempts are way down, and he's not getting to the basket like he has for most of the season.
He also has 14 turnovers in his most recent five games, and that includes just one in two of the games. Many of these turnovers have been on poor passes, which might be an indication of his focus slipping a bit.
He's still rebounding well, averaging 5.4 a game in the last five games, and he's still playing hard on both ends.
All of these things seem like they can be fixed. The drop in scoring coincides with Bryson Tiller scoring more. While it's great that Tiller is scoring, White needs to return to his aggressive style of play on offense and get back to attacking the rim.
White has been terrific this season for the Jayhawks. This mini-slump is barely a slump at all, but it is a slight downtick in his play and effectiveness. Don't be surprised if it's merely a small blip on a great season. He will have a considerable impact on the rest of the season as KU seeks a deep March run.
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