This season, the primary criticism of the Kansas basketball team is that their bench play is subpar. The Jayhawks rank 343rd nationally in bench points with an average of 11.58 per game. Since Johnny Furphy was inserted into the starting lineup, Bill Self's second unit provides little to no production.
Despite a handful of impressive games from Elmarko Jackson, Nick Timberlake, and Parker Braun, they have been far too inconsistent. There are games where all five starters need to play nearly every minute of the game. However, when Jamari McDowell receives minutes, he provides the Jayhawks with much-needed energy.
When McDowell gets minutes, he usually makes the most of them. In his second-ever collegiate game, the Texas-based freshman hit two free throws to seal a win vs. Kentucky. One week later, he connected on a pair of 3-pointers and was the catalyst to a victory over Tennessee while playing 27 minutes.
But after his impressive outing against the Volunteers, McDowell has been the odd man out on the Jayhawks bench. He averages four minutes per game since then and is often subbed out after a few defensive possessions. When Kansas defeated Oklahoma yesterday, McDowell hit his only shot attempt and recorded an assist and rebound — and once again saw the floor for four minutes.
The Jayhawks are 26 games into the season and still receive no production from their bench. The minutes McDowell provides could not be any worse than what we've seen from the other guards on the bench. With all due respect to Jackson and Timberlake, they are liabilities on defense and look scared on the offensive end.
While no fan knows what goes on behind the scenes or at practice, McDowell looks like the most comfortable player off the bench whenever he enters the game. Bill Self should give the spark plug freshman more run on his second unit.