Last night, the new look Kansas Jayhawks defeated the Emporia State Hornets 86-60 in the team’s only preseason exhibition matchup. They will start the regular season Tuesday against Michigan State.
Chris Teahan, starter
Predicting who the starting five was going to be has been a much-debated exercise among KU fans in the recent weeks, but I don’t think anyone had walk-on super Senior Chris Teahan in the lineup. With Jalen Wilson out on suspension and Remy Martin apparently not practicing in the way Self wants, Coach went with Chris Teahan alongside Dejuan Harris, Ochai Agbaji, Christian Braun, and David McCormack. Teahan didn’t score in nearly 7 minutes of play.
From best to worst, here is how KU players performed. Keep in mind that this is just one game, and it was against a team that is far less competitive than KU’s normal opponents. The three PPG +/- numbers below reflect the unadjusted value score, the opponent-adjusted value score, and the per 60 possession estimated score. The per 60 possessions is made to normalize a player’s score over 60 possessions (or about what a key starter would play in an important, close game). Basically, it lets us see what the player would have contributed had he played at his value level for a full-length game.
Ochai Agbaji: 17 pts (6-12, 0-0), 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals in 23 minutes. +10.68 +7.24 +10.64
Ochai was excellent on both ends of the floor, drilling 5-7 from 3 while playing good on-ball defense. He only gave up 2 points in 23 minutes. Despite being last season’s leading scorer, Och has been overlooked somewhat coming into the season. But it is clear from last night that he will be a key piece of the puzzle.
David McCormack: 16 pts (5-8, 6-6), 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal in 15 minutes. +8.75 +6.54 +14.94
D-Mac got off to a slow start but finished the first half strong and dominated inside during his second half minutes as well. It would have been nice to see more playing time out of the team’s best center, but Self wanted to see how the other post guys would do. He posted a 1.78 offensive efficiency score and should quietly be one of the team’s most valuable guys this year.
Remy Martin: 15 pts (7-10, 0-0), 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal in 18 minutes. +6.84 +4.18 +7.92
The most-expected performance was that of Remy Martin, and it didn’t disappoint. Benched to start as an obvious motivation ploy by his head coach, Remy came in and immediately started to score, posting 13 points in the first half. His defense wasn’t great at times, getting beat off the bounce and then over the top on a lob as well. Shot selection will be key this season. Keep in mind, however, that he is the best Jayhawk at getting his own shot and scoring is the most important element in basketball statistics.
Mitch Lightfoot: 5 pts (1-4, 2-2), 5 rebounds, 2 blocks in 8 minutes. +3.05 +1.90 +8.41
Mitch was the team’s best interior defender yesterday, as he finished with a 0.20 defensive efficiency score (lower is better) by giving up only 2 points. To translate that number, if everyone had played as good of ball defense as Lightfoot the team would have given up 51 points instead of 60. And while he hit his only 3-point field goal, his inability to score in tight was a frustrating reminder of his offensive ceiling.
Christian Braun: 10 pts (4-10, 0-0), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal in 24 minutes. +2.96 -0.58 -0.83
Braun played fine, and his adjusted number could have easily been on the plus side if the ball bounced slightly differently. Still, he continues to struggle to score on his own. He should benefit from better point guard play this year.
Joseph Yesufu: 4 pts (2-7, 0-0), 1 rebound, 3 assists, 3 steals in 21 minutes. +2.30 -0.78 -1.28
Yesufu’s value score looks better than what the eye-test says. But he actually defended adequately, giving up only 2 points while swiping 3 steals. He missed some shots inside, but shared the ball well to add value with assists. Still figuring out his role, if he continues to defend he should be a nice addition to this year’s squad.
Dejuan Harris: 6 pts (3-3, 0-0), 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal in 22 minutes. +2.12 -1.16 -1.80
Harris was super-efficient (1.69 offensive efficiency), but like last season it was his limited production that contributed to a lower value score. He played 4 more minutes than Remy Martin, but produced nearly 11 fewer points of offense than his backcourt teammate. Defensively he bothered ball-handlers but gave up a few buckets. His value will increase with more transition opportunities.
Michael Jankovich: 2 pts (0-2, 2-2), 1 rebound in 4 minutes. +1.03 +0.49 +4.63
Jank outscored his man 2 to 0, while grabbing a defensive rebound as well in mop-up minutes. Would be nice for him if he can get in more games than last year when he was injured and only played in 1.
K.J. Adams: 2 pts (1-3, 0-0), 1 rebound, 1 assist in 14 minutes. +1.01 -1.08 -2.62
The last remaining Jayhawk who outperformed his Emporia State opponent, KJ showed some versatility on both ends (and didn’t give up any points). With both Jalens out to begin the season, he might get an opportunity when the regular season starts. If he can defend and rebound, he can add some value.
Cam Martin: 0 pts (0-2, 0-0), 4 rebounds, 0 assists, 1 steal in 8 minutes. -0.59 -1.72 -7.68
Cam didn’t seem to get into the offensive flow much while he was in. As a scorer in D-II, the question of how he can help this team in a different role is still unanswered. Still, his size and rebounding shows that he can be a factor, particularly in the half-court. He will likely get more minutes in certain games as opposed to others.
Chris Teahan: 0 pts (0-0, 0-0), 1 rebound in 7 minutes. -1.50 -2.49 -12.70
Surprisingly Teahan didn’t get a shot off in 7 minutes of action. His only negative play was giving up 2 points during second-half action, so while he was with the starters, he mostly played a complimentary piece and did well to not hurt the team.
Bobby Pettiford: 3 pts (1-4, 1-1), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 0 steals in 20 minutes. -2.13 -5.13 -8.65
The eye-test judged him more favorably, as he can clearly handle the ball, score, distribute, and defend at this level. His defensive score fared worse than his offense, and that was him missing some shots. I don’t find it likely that he redshirts.
Kyle Cuffe: 2 pts (1-3, 0-0), 0 rebounds, 0 assists in 7 minutes. -3.44 -4.42 -22.69
Struggled on both ends, but did get a nice finish and 2 points late in the game. He is likely to redshirt.
Zach Clemence: 4 pts (2-2, 0-0), 4 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 steals in 10 minutes. -5.09 -6.50 – 23.29
Zach finished with a decent offensive efficiency of 1.25, but he gave up multiple 3-point baskets which killed his defensive value. Over the course of more minutes and more games, that number wouldn’t look as bad. As a freshman, expect little playing time if he doesn’t redshirt.
Lineups, lineups, lineups
As I wrote yesterday, the lineups in November buy games can get quite fun. Yesterday was certainly no different. Self stuck exclusively with four-guard/wing lineups, meaning that the four post players (McCormack, Lightfoot, Cam Martin, Clemence) shared 40 minutes of action. Self made comments before the game that since the team has only practiced 4-out 1-in, he won’t be playing 2 posts together. If he stuck with this strategy during a pre-season game, I believe him.
But playing this way also meant that the team had 3 “little” guards (under 6’1) in the game at the same time (Harris, Remy Martin, Yesufu, Pettiford). Going this small caused some defensive problems, and Emporia State was able to throw the ball over the top or dump it inside easier at these moments. This was especially true when it ran an inverted offense, i.e. it brought its big man out to clear space and gain the advantage inside at the “3” position.
For these reasons, it seems that the depth chart will look like this come Tuesday.
PG/SG (1/2 position): 2 of Remy Martin, Dejuan Harris, Joseph Yesufu, Bobby Pettiford
SF/PF (3/4 position): 2 of Ochai Agbaji, Christian Braun, KJ Adams
C (5 position): 1 of David McCormack, Mitch Lightfoot, Cam Martin, Zach Clemence
With Jalen Wilson (PF) and Jalen Coleman-Lands (SF) out, this gives KJ Adams an opportunity. Even if both Och and CB played 32 minutes Tuesday, this would still leave 16 minutes for KJ Adams. Of course, Self could still go with 3 small guards for some of the game, but Adams will certainly play. David McCormack averaged 23 minutes per game last season, so unless he dramatically improves his ability to stay on the court, this leaves a decent amount of back-up time for the likes of Lightfoot, Cam Martin, and even Clemence. Expect the team to run a more guard-oriented offense when McCormack is out. What the backup posts can do is defend and rebound, and so far, Lightfoot looks like the most capable.
Closing Thoughts
The 2022 Kansas Jayhawks will be fun to watch. They will be able to stay in games since they can score at so many positions. The team’s depth should allow it to play better defense than it might otherwise be able to. At least initially, guys like Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun will get more minutes than fans think they should. This perception will especially hold if either struggle to make shots. But we know Self won’t play two posts together, and the other option of playing three small guards will make half-court defense and rebounding worse. Also, keep in mind that both Agbaji and Braun are KU’s most prolific 3-point shooters. Ironically going small can take away shooting and spacing for this year’s team.
Remy Martin will take over some games and pull the team out of the fire. But in playing so freely, he will also take ill-advised shots that will get him a seat next to the coaches. Self will want to get the ball into David McCormack, and this is a good thing. D-Mac can be inconsistent, but give him 25+ minutes and enough touches and his offensive efficiency and production tends to be quite good. He played absolutely great during last year’s Big 12 play (+4.97 Adj PPG +/- in 18 games), demonstrating he was the league’s best center. Feed him the ball and those force teams who want to play small to stop him.
Getting the Jalens back will be the cherry on top of a potent offense. Coleman-Lands will naturally provide the wing spacing and veteran consistency that the team is missing when Agbaji/Braun need a rest. Wilson will bring even more offensive potency to a loaded lineup. The games (and the stats) start to count this Tuesday! Rock Chalk!
Charting the Hawks 