2006 Kansas Jayhawks

The 2006 Kansas Jayhawks finished the season with a 25-8 (13-3) record, winning a share of the Big 12 Regular Season as well as the Conference Tournament. The team earned a 4-seed in the NCAA Tournament, and would be eliminated in the Round of 64. The team’s Sports Reference link is here.

Offense

The 2006 Offense was a work in progress, with the team producing a value score below bubble-level for the season. Mario Chalmers led the team with a +1.10 value-score thanks to accounting for a team-leading 0.486 points per minute. Chalmers played fewer minutes than the other starting guards yet produced as much or more offense than Robinson and Rush. Julian Wright was the team’s second most-valuable offensive player. One area of note is the team’s offensive balance. Among its main starters, shot frequency ranged from 19.6% to 22.2%. Chalmers graded out as the team’s best shooter, but there wasn’t a large range of offensive performance as is seen in other years.

Defense

The 2006 Defense made up for the team’s offensive struggles, finishing the season as KenPom’s #2 defense overall. This defense would also be the first year of a three-year run of excellent defense; anchored by strong defenders such as Mario Chalmers, Brandon Rush, Russell Robinson, and Sasha Kaun. But the player who graded out as the team’s best defender in ’06 was actually Darnell Jackson, a strong rebounder and solid positional player in the post. The team was stingy about giving up points and competed for rebounds and loose balls. They also had a fair amount of balance on defense, with their guards winning possessions at a reasonable clip.

Adj. PPGAB +/-

The 2006 team had six players post > +1.00 value scores on the season. Leading all Jayhawks was Mario Chalmers, whose score was a shade under +2.00. Darnell Jackson finished second on a per game basis despite playing only 26.5% of available minutes (some of this was due to eligibility issues). Julian Wright and Sasha Kaun graded out with equal value scores. Brandon Rush and Russell Robinson also had very solid seasons in 2006.

The TEAM score of +7.94 is below the average of +9.63 over the past 26 seasons (1997-2022), placing the team 19th of 26 over this period. This was a team that saw steady improvement as its younger players matured. After 11 games it was only performing at +3.10 points above bubble. By 16 games it was +4.66. And by 21 games it was +7.36.

Much of the balance can be seen in this chart. Note that Jackson’s total points above bubble is fifth on the team, as he only played in 23 games.

Season Recap

After January 1, the 2006 Jayhawks went 18-4 (13-3), playing basketball at a true KU-level of +10.36 points above bubble. Although it wasn’t known at the time, this hot streak would be crucial in securing a share of the conference title (with Texas), and would become the second regular season Big 12 title in a stretch of 14 in a row. The co-champ Jayhawks and Longhorns would meet in Dallas for the tournament championship in March, with Kansas avenging its loss a few weeks earlier in an 80-68 fashion.

Despite the hot play late in the year, KU was only able to get a 4-seed in the NCAA Tournament and would draw a talented and experienced Bradley team. For the second season in a row, KU would lose in the First Round. But the core of the team would regroup, return, and go on to achieve considerably more in the next two seasons.

Julian Wright had an explosive freshman season.

Despite the lack of collegiate experience, the 2006 team gelled during Big 12 play.