Last week, before the decisive Kansas basketball win over in-state rival Kansas State, Through the Phog published an article about how forward Bryson Tiller needed to be more aggressive. He was more aggressive against the Wildcats, and it made all the difference.
Tiller was a force, especially early in the first half. He took a variety of good shots and helped to fill the scoring void left by Darryn Peterson's absence due to an ankle injury.
Bryson Tiller gives a glimpse of his potential against Kansas State
Though the Kansas State game was Tiller's 17th start, he looked like a different player than he has so far this season. He's had other big games, but he's not looked as comfortable as he did on Saturday.
Against Notre Dame earlier in the season, Tiller tallied career highs with 17 points and nine rebounds, but he needed 15 shots to get those points. He was much more effective against the Wildcats.
At K-State, his 16 points came on a 6-8 shooting night, with one of his misses being from long range, and he was 4-4 from the free-throw line. Most of his two-pointers came on short to midrange jump shots. He looked confident in knocking those down.
In the second half, he rebounded well, too. He had seven total, but he was one of many Jayhawks who hit the boards with more gusto in the second half. From a defensive rebounding standpoint, KU was pretty awful in the first half when it came to keeping Kansas State off the offensive boards.
It appeared as if his aggressiveness, both shooting and rebounding, came from a place of confidence and comfort. These are two things in which he's lacked for the most part. Either he is getting more comfortable in the offense, or the coaching staff has pushed him to be more aggressive, or he knew that he needed to score more to make up for Peterson's absence. Maybe it was all three of these things, but he looked like a different player.
Tiller is a player with an incredible future. He's got several skills that can be honed as he matures physically and mentally. His shooting, rebounding, and ability to create some shots for himself will help this team as the season moves into its later stages.
Tiller was a different, better player against K-State than he's been so far this season. Hopefully, he will continue to play well and improve. It will be exciting to see Tiller blossom into a star.