Kansas athletics men’s basketball
Kansas center Hunter Dickinson looks to take on Michigan State on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Atlanta.
In terms of on-court performance, the Kansas men’s basketball team has not been perfect so far this season. Far from it.
The Jayhawks blew a 20-point lead against North Carolina. They missed 15 straight shots on Tuesday against Michigan State. Players like Wisconsin transfer AJ Storr, whose adjustment to Bill Self’s system has the potential to dramatically raise KU’s long-term ceiling, don’t look close to settling.
KU’s record, though, is a perfect 3-0.
“When you look at it, there’s no way it’s going to be better than 3-0 right now for us,” quarterback Hunter Dickenson said Tuesday. “It can’t be better than 3-0.”
In fact, the Jayhawks shook off a lingering shooting slump and did just enough to beat the Spartans 77-69, after making key shots and getting stops down the stretch to beat UNC 92-89 the previous weekend. Throwing in the season-opening win over Howard and KU did nothing to significantly jeopardize their No. 1 spot in the country entering Saturday night’s home game against Oakland.
With the Golden Grizzlies coming to town, followed by UNC Wilmington on Tuesday, KU has two more opportunities to get players like Storr, David Coit and Rylan Griffen into the swing of things before it takes on Duke in Las Vegas on Nov. 26. It’s an opportunity “just to keep our momentum going,” he said.
The Jayhawks can’t afford to look forward, because Oakland is no slouch. The Golden Grizzlies, from Oakland County, Mich., won the Horizon League and knocked Kentucky out of the NCAA Tournament last year thanks to 10 massive 3-pointers from now-graduated Jack Gohlke, then pushed Final Four participant N.C. State into second place. Overtime trailed by 30 points from Trey Townsend, who has since been transferred.
Chris Conway and Blake Lampman are also gone, so the question becomes: who’s still on the roster?
Leading the way is guard DQ Cole, who is averaging 10.7 points per game through a wide-ranging hat-trick of results for Oakland so far: a 23-point win over Defiance College in the NAIA, an upset loss at Boise State and a surprisingly close loss at Illinois.
Cole has already attempted 30 3-pointers this season, which represents half of KU’s total as a team, excluding teammates Malcolm Christie and Jason Woodrich who also had 21 each. So far, Oakland is shooting just 19.3% from deep and 36.0% overall.
The Golden Grizzlies, who were picked fourth in Horizon this year, don’t have great size. At 6-foot-7, Woodrich is the tallest player who has gotten significant minutes for Oakland. He and 6-foot-6 double-digit scorer Buru Naivalurua are pulling down 7.7 rebounds per game.
“It’s going to be a different type of game, but it’s also good to play against different styles,” KU coach Bill Self said.
Oakland coach Greg Camby recently earned his 700th career win. He’s been coaching the Golden Grizzlies since 1984, when Self — now approaching 800 — was still a player at Oklahoma State. Self faced and beat Campy three times, once at Illinois and twice at UCLA.
He said he was impressed by Camby’s longevity.
“Do you think I’ve been here too long and my speech is getting old?” Self joking. “This guy has been there 41 years.”
No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks (3-0) vs. Oakland Golden Grizzlies (1-2)
• Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, 5 p.m
• Broadcast: ESPN+
• Radio: Jayhawk Radio Network (in Lawrence, KLWN AM 1320 / K269GB FM 101.7 / KMXN FM 92.9)
Stay tuned
From Lawrence, Kansas…: Lawrence native and South Dakota State transfer Zeke Mayo joined the starting lineup for the first time during the regular season on Tuesday night, replacing David Coit, and despite shooting poorly, he made himself useful with 10 rebounds and seven Assists. Mayo is expected to retain his spot for Saturday, meaning for the first time he will hear his official announcement as the starter at Allen Fieldhouse. No doubt the KU audience will appreciate that as well.
Adams’ ankle: Forward KJ Adams turned his ankle midway through KU’s game against North Carolina and hasn’t been the same since. In the final three periods of play, Adams was 1-for-11 from the field with four rebounds and three assists, although he did manage to hit some key free throws late in the Jayhawks’ win over Michigan State. Self said Adams, whom he described as “as valuable as any player who’s ever played for us here,” played a key role in that game even in his hampered state. Adams was able to practice Thursday, unlike in the lead-up to the MSU game, and returning home and facing Oakland will provide him a chance to get back into the rhythm of the offense.
In the Zone: Besides their tendency to shoot threes, Campy teams are known for playing face-off zone defense. It’s the kind of thing KU is unlikely to face much, if at all, throughout the remainder of the season, and it will present a unique preparatory challenge for Self and his staff, perhaps more so than most games against mid-major foes. . As Self notes, Oakland “has fielded some really good teams.”
Monitoring outside the scope of the system
This won’t be the first visit to Allen Fieldhouse for Auckland forward Allen Mukiba. He had two points and eight rebounds against KU last year, when he played for Kansas City.
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Written by Henry Greenstein
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