Tag: bill self

How former Wisconsin transfer fared in No. 1 Kansas’ big win over Duke

How former Wisconsin transfer fared in No. 1 Kansas’ big win over Duke

Former Wisconsin Badgers transfer A.J. Storr played an integral role in No. 1 Kansas’ 75-72 win over No. 11 Duke on Tuesday night.

The former Badger notched 11 points in 28 minutes in his first start with the Jayhawks. Storr also registered a pair of assists and a steal in the three-point win.

Storr’s most memorable moment in the blue-blood bout came within the first five minutes of the opening half. The Rockford, Illinois, native cut backdoor from the right corner, fielded an alley-oop pass from point guard Dajuan Harris Jr. and threw down a thunderous dunk with Duke stars Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg converging at the rim.

Storr scored eight of 11 points in the first half to help Bill Self’s team build a double-digit advantage. The Blue Devils rallied to take the lead in the second half, but Kansas prevailed to remain undefeated.

Individually, Storr is averaging 9.7 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists to go with 50% shooting and 47% from 3-point range thus far through six games. He has logged at least 23 minutes in three appearances this year and appears to have discovered a clear role for one of the nation’s best teams.

Storr transferred to the Jayhawks this offseason after one year with UW in 2023. As a Badger, he chalked up averages of 28.8 minutes, 16.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 0.6 steals per game as Wisconsin’s go-to offensive weapon.

While his departure loomed large, Wisconsin found his replacement, star wing John Tonje. The back-to-back Big Ten Player of the Week has accounted for 23 points and over five rebounds per game off 54.3% from the field, 40.6% from deep and 95.2% from the free-throw line.

Wisconsin and Kansas are two of the undefeated teams remaining at the top of the AP Poll.

Duke finalizing agreement to take on Kansas in Las Vegas for neutral site game, per Jon Rothstein

Duke and Kansas are finalizing an agreement for a non-conference matchup in November.

Duke’s already challenging non-conference schedule for 2024 is about to get even more difficult.

Jon Scheyer and his soon-to-be-revamped Blue Devils team will take on another college basketball blue blood in Kansas this November.

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, one of college basketball’s biggest insiders, confirmed that the two legendary programs are in the process of finalizing a November matchup in Las Vegas.

No official announcement is imminent, and a date and time have yet to be decided upon, but things are in motion behind the scenes.

The last time these two titans faced off was in the Champions Classic in 2022, Jon Scheyer’s first season as Duke’s head coach following the departure of Coach K. Kansas went on to win that game 69-64 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The Jayhawks finished the game on a 15-5 run over the final 4:37. In total, Duke is 8-6 all-time against the Jayhawks.

Bill Self will bring a revamped roster as he looks to improve upon a less-than-stellar season by Kansas standards. The Jayhawks made the Sweet 16, but they were often injured and didn’t have the depth necessary to compete.

The Jayhawks have been aggressive and active in the transfer portal, landing new names like AJ Storr, Zeke Mayo, and Michael Ajayi for their roster. They also are returning Hunter Dickinson and Dajuan Harris.

If the two schools reach a final agreement, Duke will play Arizona, Kentucky, and Kansas as part of its non-conference schedule in 2024.

Kansas adds third marquee transfer in former Wisconsin guard AJ Storr

The Kansas Jayhawks added Wisconsin transfer guard AJ Storr to an already elite transfer portal class for Bill Self.

An early exit in the NCAA Tournament, along with a handful of NBA departures, had the Kansas Jayhawks a bit in flux at the conclusion of the 2023-24 college basketball season.

However, the rebuild has swiftly gotten underway. After already securing portal commitments from Florida guard Riley Kugel and South Dakota State’s Zeke Mayo, Bill Self’s team landed a huge fish in Wisconsin guard AJ Storr, thought by many to be the top player in the portal, who committed to the Jayhawks on Thursday afternoon.

Storr began his college career at St. John’s in 2022-23, averaging 8.8 points while shooting 40.4% from three, but after a coaching change Storr entered the portal and landed at Wisconsin for his sophomore year – where he exploded as a scorer by averaging 16.8 points and 3.9 rebounds while shooting 48.3% on twos and 32% from the three point line.

The 6’6 wing is now on his third college program after playing at four different high schools, but the talent is undeniable and he should help the Jayhawks replace both Kevin McCullar Jr and Johnny Furphy, who are headed to the NBA.

Bill Self’s admission of looking forward to next season while Kansas was still alive was unfair to this year’s team

Bill Self could have kept this to himself.

Bill Self put his foot in his mouth Saturday after Kansas was eliminated from the second round of the NCAA tournament with a blowout loss to Gonzaga. During his postgame press conference, Self was asked if he was already looking forward to next season and the head coach responded by admitting he was looking ahead even before the tournament started.

“For the last month I’ve been thinking about next season, to be honest,” Self said. Not exactly a ringing endorsement of the team he was still coaching just a few moments earlier.

College basketball fans dragged Self for what sounded like an admission of giving up on a season that ended with a top-25 AP ranking and 4-seed in the tournament, disappointing only by Kansas’ own high standards. Sure, the Jayhawks had four losses in their previous five games before the tourney started, including the last two by a combined 50 points, but March is for miracles and a deep Kansas run would have hardly counted as such.

What Self said isn’t actually the problem, though, and shouldn’t be interpreted as him quitting on the season. In fact, him acknowledging he can do better to improve the roster is actually a statement of accountability — an admission of his own failure to put together a team he could believe in this year. Where he went wrong is that he said it out loud. Self should have kept this to himself.

“We could have done a much better job as a staff putting more guys out there that we could play,” Self said. “And so that’s something that I’ve thought about for a long time.”

Every coach is concerned with how they can improve their teams from year to year, and that doesn’t start and end in the offseason. Holes on a roster are never more evident than during the grind of a regular season. Self admitting as much shouldn’t be taken as him giving up, rather it’s a peek into the mind of someone obsessed with winning. There’s no way to prove Self wasn’t giving 100 percent while manning the sidelines for this year’s team, but if anyone deserves the benefit of doubt, it’s a two-time champion and third active career wins leader.

Because a team isn’t good enough doesn’t mean it needs to be said, though. Self admitting his team was short on “firepower” and lacked the depth to overcome injuries didn’t accomplish anything but throw his current players under the bus. Maybe he did it to absolve himself of a sub-par coaching job, or maybe he lacked the awareness to know how it would come across. But it was completely unnecessary and below any coach, particularly one already held in high regards.

Bill Self spoke out about Kevin McCullar Jr. after the Kansas star faced criticism for sitting out March Madness

Self defended his senior star.

The No. 4 seed Kansas Jayhawks will have a tough road ahead of them in the men’s NCAA tournament after head coach Bill Self announced upon arriving to Salt Lake City that leading scorer Kevin McCullar Jr. will miss the entire tournament. McCullar had been battling a bone bruise in his knee since January and had been in and out the lineup for months.

But shortly after that announcement, McCullar faced criticism for missing the tourney given Self’s own implication that doctors had cleared the Kansas senior to play. Here’s the clip from Tuesday:

Self said at the time that though McCullar hadn’t injured his knee worse, the pain had not subsided to the point where he can play. So, they decided to shut him down for the entire tournament regardless of any potential tourney run for the Jayhawks. The reaction to those comments and similar remarks from players drew a negative response from Kansas and college basketball fans.

A few hours before Kansas’ game against Samford, Self took to Twitter and spoke out on the situation. He wanted to make it clear that McCullar did not quit on the team and that it was a decision Kansas and the team doctors made.

Self added that McCullar would act as an assistant coach during the tournament. Kansas is expected to have star center Hunter Dickinson available for the game after he suffered a dislocated shoulder against Houston.

Oklahoma runs out of gas in the second half as they fall to No. 6 Kansas 67-57

No. 25 Oklahoma falls 67-57 against No. 6 Kansas as the Jayhawks sweep the season series.

No. 25 Oklahoma entered Saturday with a chance to earn their third win against a top-25 opponent. Instead, they came up short as Bill Self and his sixth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks completed the season sweep of the Oklahoma Sooners 67-57.

Oklahoma entered the day with severe doubt that two trusted rotation members would play. [autotag]Rivaldo Soares[/autotag] twisted his ankle in the second half of the Sooners’ 79-62 loss at Baylor on Tuesday after leading the team in scoring with 17 points.

[autotag]John Hugley[/autotag] IV injured his knee against Oklahoma State last Saturday and didn’t even travel for OU’s game vs. the Bears.

Soares tested his ankle pregame but ended up not playing, and he and Hugley were sorely missed.

Oklahoma started Javian McCollum, Milos Uzan, Otega Oweh, Sam Godwin, and Jalen Moore. They raced out to a double-digit first-half lead behind hot shooting and terrific defense on Kansas forward Kevin McCullar Jr., who was returning from an injury. Jalon Moore led the way with 13 of his team-high 17 points. Milos Uzan was aggressive and added 8 points, while McCollum contributed six.

Kansas pushed back towards the end of the half to cut Oklahoma’s lead to 5 at the break. OU entered the locker room up 34-29 after an excellent all-around first half minus 3/8 free throw shooting in the first half.

The second half started, and Kansas began to find themselves.

Kansa and OU played a close game with the game tied on a number of occasions before Hunter Dickinson found McCullar for a three-pointer that gave KU its first lead since 5-4. Kansas would go on a 14-4 run and would not look back.

Oklahoma continued to fight, but their first-half shooting cooled dramatically as they shot 3 of 19 from the field in the second half. The Sooners’ inability to stop Kansas in the half-court, specifically Hunter Dickinson, doomed the them despite having a five-point halftime lead.

Javian McCollum was 3 of 6 from three and finished with 15 points.

Hunter Dickinson posted a 20-point, 16-rebound double-double to set the tone for the Jayhawks. Freshman Johnny Furphy added 15 points on 5/8 shooting with three makes from distance to help his team.

For Oklahoma, the Sooners will have the week off and not play until next Saturday when they make their final Big 12 visit to Stillwater in basketball to wrap up the Bedlam season series.

Kansas will host Texas next Saturday back home in Allen Fieldhouse.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Bryant on Twitter @thatmanbryant.

Kansas coach Bill Self reacts to Sixers’ Joel Embiid scoring 70 points

Kansas coach Bill Self gives his reaction to Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid dropping 70 points.

Word of Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid scoring 70 points spread quickly across the basketball world. The Sixers have had some amazing players pass through the City of Brotherly Love, so the fact that Embiid has the franchise record for points is an amazing accomplishment.

Before Embiid became a legitimate superstar in the league, the big fella played his college hoops at Kansas University. He played one season of college ball under the guidance of coach Bill Self, and Self was doing an interview with Scott Van Pelt of ESPN when he learned about Embiid scoring 70 points.

Self had this to say about Embiid:

Hey guys, he learned everything in the eight months he was here in Lawrence, Kansas. Everything!

In his one season at Kansas, Embiid averaged 11.2 points and 8.1 rebounds which led to him being the No. 3 pick in the 2014 draft. The big fella has had to overcome a number of injuries and significant adversity in his career, but the reigning league MVP is doing some incredible stuff on the basketball court.

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Photos from the Phog: Sooners 2nd half extends drought inside Allen Fieldhouse

After trailing by one at the half, the Sooners couldn’t stay with the Jayhawks, extending their drought inside Allen Fieldhouse.

The Oklahoma Sooners trailed at halftime by one point on the road against the Kansas Jayhawks. In a place the Sooners haven’t won since 1993, OU was off to a good start.

However, Bill Self and the Jayhawks made adjustments in the second half to take away the things that were working for the Sooners. In the end, the Jayhawks pulled away in the second half for a 78-66 win.

The Sooners dropped to 1-2 in Big 12 play and are 0-2 on the road. In both losses to TCU and Kansas, the Sooners weren’t really competitive in the second half.

Javian McCollum, who had 12 points in the first half, was held to five in the second on 1 of 3 shooting and was 0 for 2 from three.

Oklahoma has to figure out a way to win on the road. They’ve been really good at home, but in games against North Carolina, TCU, and now Kansas have struggled in the second half.

Here’s a look at the best photos from Oklahoma’s loss to Kansas.

No. 9 Sooners fall on the road to TCU Horned Frogs 80-71

Recap of No. 9 Oklahoma’s loss in their second Big 12 conference game. The Sooners lost 80-71 to TCU.

Wednesday night was a pivotal moment in Oklahoma’s season. While it didn’t go Oklahoma’s way, the Sooners got that first road game experience. Wednesday became the second time Oklahoma has tasted defeat all year as the TCU Horned Frogs upset the Sooners 80-71.

Oklahoma entered the game off their first win in Big 12 play after beating a tough Iowa State team at home on Saturday. That same Iowa State team turned right around and beat previously unbeaten Houston on Tuesday evening.

Oklahoma has played many games on neutral courts, but the Sooners’ trip to Fort Worth was anything but inviting.

Porter Moser’s team opened the game trading baskets with TCU before the Frogs pushed out to a 27-22 lead midway through the first half. The Sooners were paced early by [autotag]Milos Uzan[/autotag] and [autotag]Sam Godwin[/autotag]. Godwin had seven first-half points. Uzan filled the stat sheet with six points, six rebounds, and six assists in the first 20 minutes.

Foul trouble and missed shots disrupted Oklahoma’s offensive rhythm in the first half, but the Sooners hung around enough to get into the locker room down 40-34.

Jameer Nelson Jr. and Emmanuel Miller paced the Horned Frogs’ scoring efforts in the first half. Nelson had nine of his 13 in the first half, while Emmanuel Miller poured in 10 of his 27 during the first 20 minutes.

Oklahoma’s 11 fouls and 12 turnovers were the story before the break.

[autotag]Javian McCollum[/autotag] came out fighting as he knocked in back-to-back threes to tie the game at 40 immediately after halftime.

From there, things began to get dicey for Oklahoma. The fouls continued to pile up, and the Frogs never looked back.

The Horned Frogs answered with seven unanswered points and began to run away from the Sooners, pushing the lead to as many as 17 points late in the game. The Sooners fought back to make the score more respectable, but the proof was in the pudding. TCU seized control of the game in the final 20 minutes.

Cold-shooting couldn’t mitigate Oklahoma’s foul trouble. Le’tre Darthard was 0-6 from three, and Rivaldo Soares was 0-3 from behind the arch. The Sooners shot just 28 percent as a team from three, which will never get it done in high-major basketball.

Milkos Uzan flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 13 points, ten assists, and seven boards. John Hugley scored 14 off the bench, and Javian McCollum ended with 17 points to lead all Sooners in scoring.

It won’t get any easier for Oklahoma. They won’t be shell-shocked by a road atmosphere come Saturday as they make a trip to Lawrence, Kan., to take on the Kansas Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas lost to Big 12 newcomer UCF just before the Oklahoma and TCU game tipped off. Both teams will be desperate to get off the mat and not have to stew for the next week amid a two-game losing streak.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Bryant on Twitter @thatmanbryant.

Bill Self’s locker room celebration after Kansas’ comeback win at Indiana will get you hyped

A March-worthy celebration in December

Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self often talks about how much value there is in winning ugly games — the games where the shots aren’t falling, the Jayhawks get into foul trouble early and the star players aren’t putting up numbers.

The games teams steal thanks to grit and a little luck. A game like Saturday in Bloomington, where the No. 2 Jayhawks trailed Indiana by 13 in the second half only to stun the home crowd with a 75-71 Kansas victory.

A game where Dajuan Harris played all 40 minutes, Kevin McCullar started the second half with with three fouls and Hunter Dickinson was jeered so badly he later quipped he could save a baby in Bloomington and Indiana fans would still boo him.

After beating the Hoosiers Saturday, Self showed just how much he loves winning those games, too — with an epic locker room celebration that feels more apt for March than December.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C07UwGgAO8L/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

“It was just a hell of a team win,” Self said afterwards. “It was a great environment. What a place to play.”

Kansas already has wins over Kentucky and UConn this year, so while it’s easy to say the Blue Blood programs should play more non-conference games against each other, it’s also understandable that it may not be in the best interest of their team records.

Especially when a ho-hum game in December can get a Hall of Fame head coach as fired up as Self was on Saturday.