Kansas basketball coach Bill Self reacts to exhibition win vs Washburn
Check out everything Kansas basketball head coach Bill Self had to say Tuesday after the Jayhawks won an exhibition game against Washburn.
LAWRENCE — Kansas basketball wrapped up its preseason exhibition slate Tuesday with an 84-53 win at home against Washburn.
Head coach Bill Self’s squad still wasn’t at full strength, with graduate center Hunter Dickinson and graduate guard Shakeel Moore both out, but junior guard Rylan Griffen was able to return to action. Griffen helped the Jayhawks, a Division I program, build substantial leads against the Division II-level Ichabods that reached as high as 41 points. And he certainly wasn’t the only one to have a quality evening.
Here are five takeaways from the exhibition, which Self said Dickinson and Moore likely would have played in if it was a regular season game:
Kansas basketball vs Washburn recap: Jayhawks capture exhibition game victory
David Coit enjoys a big night
Senior guard David Coit led Kansas and all scorers with 19 points. He started the game and went on to shoot 7-for-12 from the field and 5-for-10 from behind the arc. After Coit’s shots didn’t fall in the exhibition loss against Arkansas, it was an opportunity to showcase just how much of a boost he can give the team when they do.
Coit said he wasn’t bothered by the shots not falling against Arkansas, because he liked all of them. He was glad to get a game like that out of the way. He came off the bench that game, before starting Tuesday, and noted it doesn’t matter to him who starts or not moving forward because different games could necessitate different strategies and opportunities will still be there — like for senior guard Zeke Mayo, who had 16 points off the bench Tuesday.
Zeke Mayo shines
Mayo also had a much better game Tuesday than he did against Arkansas, and scored 11 of his points in the second half. He credited that, in part, to Kansas’ guards getting downhill and finding him for open shots. Self was encouraged by Mayo’s willingness to take shots because that wasn’t happening as much in practice and by the fact Mayo finished 6-for-9 from the field and 4-for-6 from behind the arc.
AJ Storr’s acclimation process is ongoing
Junior guard AJ Storr improved as well from the first exhibition game to the second, but Self allowed it’s still taking Storr some time to figure Self out. It’s still taking some time for Storr to figure out how they do things. Self noted Storr is a good shooter but needs to get downhill and use his body to get to the free-throw line.
Storr finished with eight points on 2-for-7 shooting from the field, 1-for-4 shooting from behind the arc and 3-for-6 shooting from the free-throw line. He added a rebound and an assist. Griffen said Storr is a great player who just needs to keep doing what he’s doing, attacking the rim and taking shots.
Rylan Griffen returns
Griffen had 14 points and five rebounds, as he returned from a hip flexor injury. He credited the training staff with getting him healthy as quickly as he did because when he’s experienced this in the past it’s taken him longer to get back. Late in the game, he didn’t tweak anything, he was just cramping because of how hot it was inside Allen Fieldhouse.
Griffen, who shot 4-for-8 from the field, 4-for-7 from behind the arc and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line, said he thinks he showed people what they can expect from him moving forward. Self, Griffen explained, told him to let it fly against Washburn. Self acknowledged Griffen has the potential to be a quality defensive presence for Kansas, but highlighted Griffen’s ability to get shots off quickly more so.
Bill Self highlights Kansas’ 3-point shooting
Self said Kansas doesn’t need to be shooting in the 50% range on threes like it was in the second half, but this season he would like for the Jayhawks to be over 40% or right around there. For the exhibition, they shot 45.5% from behind the arc on 15-for-33 shooting. Last season, they were at 33.2% for the campaign.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
