Earlier today Kansas fell to Oklahoma 68-75, for their third loss in a row. Interestingly, the previous Jayhawk seasons with three-game losing streaks (2005, 2013), also concluded with losses at Oklahoma. Below are the traditional stats, alongside the PPG +/- numbers.
Marcus Garrett – Adj: +11.64. 21 pts, 12 rebs, 1 assist.
Christian Brown – Adj: -7.83. 2 pts, 1 reb, 1 assist.
Ochai Agbaji – Adj: -2.94. 10 pts, 3 rebs, 2 assists.
Jalen Wilson – Adj: -5.87. 13 pts, 0 rebs, 0 assists.
David McCormack – Adj: +5.76. 9 pts, 2 rebs, 4 assists.
Tyon Grant-Foster – Adj: +0.15. 0 pts, 2 rebs, 0 assists.
Tristan Enaruna – Adj: -1.03. 2 pts, 0 rebs, 0 assists.
Mitch Lightfoot – Adj: +0.28. 6 pts, 3 rebs, 0 assists.
Dejuan Harris – Adj: -0.08. 5 pts, 2 rebs, 4 assists.
Summary
Marcus Garrett showed why he is KU’s best player, playing 37 minutes of great defense while knocking down jumpers and getting in the paint. Had some late turnovers, but aside from Dejuan Harris, is really the only Jayhawk who can create with the dribble. David McCormack had a solid game defensively, playing primarily when Oklahoma’s center was in the game. His offensive efficiency was not what it should have been, especially when one recalls the looks he had. This game should have been better for him, and had he finished the close shots he missed, could have changed the outcome.
Ochai Agbaji shook off another poor first half to bounce back and finish somewhat respectably. Hit two late 3’s to give Kansas a fighting chance. Christian Braun couldn’t get an outside shot to fall, and was only able to convert 2-2 FT’s when being fouled attacking the rim. Jalen Wilson seemed to break out of his slump by scoring 8 quick points to begin the game, but he only finished with 13 total. He added no rebounds or assists, and got abused on the defensive end down the stretch. Teams are purposely setting dummy screens to get match-ups against him when he is defending. Self needs to change the defense up and not auto-switch.
The bench had some good moments. Dejuan Harris played well, although his score was negative mainly due to being undersized and giving up an and-1 to Austin Reaves. Mitch Lightfoot also had a good offensive game in his limited minutes. Tristan Enaruna was so-so, and Tyon-Grant Foster played fine defense in five minutes yet couldn’t stay in the game due to two bricked jumpers.
After 15 games, the team’s PPG +/- looks like this:
The team is about equally as good on offense as it is on defense. The starters all grade-out positively, and the bench is primarily below “bubble-level.” If there were any doubts, Marcus Garrett’s defense remains elite and grades slightly better than even last year. As a prior blog post noted, his offense has slipped in 2021, but following his 21-point game this afternoon has gotten back above bubble-level. Christian Braun’s inconsistent play continues; when he isn’t making shots he has poor games and when he makes shots he has good games. The way to break the inconsistency is to find ways to score inside, off the bounce or offensive rebound. Ochai Agbaji has become KU’s best scorer, finding ways to get to double-figures even in games where he starts out slow. Jalen Wilson has crashed back down after a good non-conference season, and finds himself on pace to have the worst defensive season of any Kansas Jayhawk over the past 20 years. A large part of this is the style of play. The primary offensive strategy in recent seasons is to hunt for advantageous matchups and play iso-ball off of these. With KU’s automatic switches on the perimeter, Wilson is being picked on as the man to attack. Despite some misunderstanding, Wilson should not be thought of as a “guard,” he is a forward, and allowing him to switch on perimeter defense onto a quicker man 50 possessions a game will hurt the team. David McCormack has earned 25 minutes per game, but he needs to play more consistently when he gets chances inside. His defensive score has gotten better, but some of that is due to reversion to mean. He isn’t a great defender, and will have games where he gives up points.
Bryce Thompson has not shown the ability to add value at this level, he’s had exactly 1 positive game in the 10 he’s played (vs. Creighton). Tyon Grant-Foster is a solid defender, but his offensive flow in limited minutes has hurt the team. I would play him more minutes and not let him shoot 3’s (1-17 on season). He can add value by driving the ball and attacking the offensive glass. His lateral quickness and length allows the team to defend better on the perimeter as well. Tristan Enaruna is close to putting together a solid stretch of games. Mitch Lightfoot is quietly having his most valuable season as a Jayhawk. Dejuan Harris is a season away from being a consistent performer at this level. Of all the bench players, he has the best chance to improve his numbers dramatically over the rest of the season. His biggest weakness is that he doesn’t score much (averages less than 2 ppg). He distributes well on offense, but even getting his ppg average to 4 likely be enough to become replacement-level. Another thing hurting him is that he doesn’t play with great “finishers.” He doesn’t have a Doke to throw lobs to, and guys like Braun don’t move great off the ball. Which is only to say that in this scoring system, who you play with does affect your score, just as much as it affects traditional stats such as your assists, rebounds, and points.
Charting the Hawks 