Over the years, just about all Kansas basketball first-year players suffered through what is known as hitting the "freshman wall” under Bill Self. This phenomenon tends to affect young players who experience a performance downturn for a period during their first year.
It seems to hit most often in early January, when the non-conference portion of the schedule is finished and the brutal grind of Big 12 play kicks in. It varies by player, but the start of the Big 12 schedule, when all the schools are so familiar with the systems, is the most common time.
This season, for whatever reason, two yungsters have apparently hit the wall earlier than some. It may be because of the rugged non-conference schedule. KU has already played North Carolina, Duke, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Tennessee, UConn, and others. The overall competition has been great so far.
Kohl Rosario and Bryson Tiller are “hitting the freshman” wall early
One of the early-season surprises was when Self started Kohl Rosario as a starter at the beginning of the season, even before fellow first-year star Darryn Peterson was injured.
Rosario reclassified this summer into the class of 2025. He should still be in high school, but over the first five games, he showed maturity and athleticism. He played over 20 minutes in each of those games, and while he wasn’t a big scorer, he showed availability.
Against Texas A&M-Corpus Christie, he led the Peterson-less team with 16 points. He also had three early games with five rebounds, showing he could contribute in ways other than scoring.
In the last four games, he’s scored a total of 14 points, has only one rebound, and has seen his minutes drop steadily. Against UConn, despite Peterson’s continued absence, Rosario played just five minutes, scoring two points with a rebound.
Tiller came off the bench early in the season, but scored 30 points in the first three games. He made seven of his first 11 three-point shots. He eventually displaced Rosario in the starting lineup.
He’s scored 50 points in the last six contests, but 28 of them came against Notre Dame and Syracuse. He only has 22 in the other six games. He’s also missed his last 12 shots from beyond the arc.
While he’s still rebounding well and playing good defense, he has struggled shooting the ball. Over the last two games, he’s connected on only 25 percent of his field goal attempts. He’s also slumping at the free-throw line. After hitting eight out of 10 attempts against the Irish, he’s just 9 of 17 since.
Teller has been far less aggressive on offense of late too. Kansas struggled offensively in the first half of the Tennessee game and the second half of the UConn matchup. It was the guards who fueled the comeback against the Vols and the fast start against the Huskies.
Rosario and Tiller are both going to be outstanding players for Kansas, and they will still be key contributors this season. It is tough to perform at a high level early in a college career, especially when everyone has had to take on bigger roles due to Peterson’s injury.
“Hitting the freshman wall” is a common ailment and will eventually pass. KU will be better for it in the end.
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