1 – Jalen Wilson – Wilson finished off his stellar junior season with a 20-point effort that came up just short. Still, to cap off that run with that kind of night on this stage was a good way to go out, in an individual sense. Give Arkansas’ Jordan Walsh a ton of credit for the job he did on Wilson. He made everything hard for him, harassed him all night, stayed connected to him and limited him on the glass, too. Wilson may go down as the one Kansas player who only got a call on about 50% of the fouls he earned. He never whined about it, save for the occasional, “Are you serious” look. Wilson missed a pair of free throws he was trying to make and made one he was trying to miss. It was just that kind of night for him and the Jayhawks.
2 – Kevin McCullar Jr. – With Wilson and KJ Adams on the bench in foul trouble and Harris ailing with the ankle injury, McCullar really stepped up and nearly carried Kansas to a win. He hit a couple of big shots, looked comfortable in the role of lead dog with the ball in his hands and delivered. The two missed free throws from a guy who didn’t seem to miss even one in the past month or so, was the first indication that this night could end poorly for Kansas. And while he no doubt regretted them, they shouldn’t be what McCullar’s night is remembered for. He competed to the bitter end and gave Kansas everything he had during his lone year as a Jayhawk. They can’t all end up like Remy Martin’s one year at KU did.
3 – KJ Adams – Adams claims the No. 3 spot here as much for what Kansas couldn’t do with him on the bench as what he did do while he was in the game. Adams was a difference maker in the middle of the floor and Arkansas didn’t really have much of an answer for him, his quickness, his athleticism or strength. He only played 25 minutes because of foul trouble, though, and that really hurt Kansas’ chances. I’m not one to get caught up in the officiating, especially not in this space, but I do think Adams was the victim of an awful whistle in this one and that may have cost the Jayhawks. KJ was a plus-6 in this game in his plus/minus rating, which tells you how much better Kansas was when he was out there.
4 – Dajuan Harris Jr. – Give Harris all the credit in the world for gutting it out and playing all 20 minutes, but there’s no doubt that he was impacted by the injured ankle. He had plenty of good moments, even after the injury, but it was a factor. Harris’ 10-second violation was one of the most perplexing moments of a wild game, and he, too, missed a couple of free throws that wound up really hurting. The biggest factor involving Harris, though, came when he injured the ankle — while landing on an Arkansas photographer, no less — and how the injury likely kept KU from extending its lead from eight to double digits before halftime. The Jayhawks were really cooking when that happened, and although they had plenty of chances to still win, that sure seemed like a pretty massive moment looking back.
5 – Gradey Dick – Gradey was good on the glass again, leading the team with 7 boards. And he competed. But his defensive issues were at center stage in this one, as Arkansas continued to attack him in the half-court and had plenty of success doing so. It also wasn’t his best shooting night, as he knocked in 3 of 9 shots overall and just one 3-pointer in what may very well have been his final game as a Jayhawk. Much, much more to come on that in the days and weeks ahead.
6 – Ernest Udeh Jr. – Udeh looked like he was ready for a big night when he picked up a huge block seconds after checking in for the first time. He also fouled a few seconds later. And then fouled some more and some more, much like all of KU’s big men, who were plagued by foul trouble all night. In a game decided by one point, every little play is magnified when you’re looking back at how things went. Not only were Udeh’s fouls big, but he had two cracks at a bunny from point-blank range and couldn’t convert. He also grabbed just one rebound.
7 – Zuby Ejiofor – Pressed into action because of foul trouble, Ejiofor actually played pretty well given the fact that he probably didn’t really expect to play much but showed he was ready when needed. Finished with 2 rebounds and a block, plus one foul, in seven minutes.
8 – Bobby Pettiford – Pettiford did an admirable job of filling in for Harris when he had to leave the game, but didn’t have a whole lot to show for it in the way of stats. The one bucket he scored was a Johhny-on-the-spot sort of thing, where the Arkansas player just lost the ball and Bobby picked it up and raced to the other end for a tough transition two. Nothing more to show for his 7 minutes on the stat sheet, and Pettiford will enter the offseason needing to put in some serious work to both figure out how to stay healthy and how to make the jump from seldom-used bench piece to reliable rotation guy.
9 – Joe Yesufu – Yesufu needed to be better in this one and he only played eight minutes while KU’s bench was outscored 18-5. Three of those five came on a deep, shot-clock-beating 3-pointer by Yesufu in the first half that was definitely a heads-up play and shades of Christian Braun vs. Villanova in last year’s Final Four. It never really clicked for Joe, who people continually wanted to see more from but never really did, either because of a lack of opportunity or him not always being ready to answer the call or challenge.
10 – Zach Clemence – Clemence played 3 minutes, fouled twice and misfired on a 3-pointer that the KU coaching staff was not all that thrilled with, given when it came during the possession. Clemence is a gunner and that’s part of his charm. But when you don’t play much, it’s hard to come in firing and the times he did this season, including Saturday night, usually didn’t go that well.
Final Season Standings
———–
1 – Jalen Wilson, 293
2 – Dajuan Harris Jr., 264
3 – Gradey Dick, 234
4 – KJ Adams, 229
5 – Kevin McCullar Jr., 228o
6 – Joe Yesufu, 128
7 – Bobby Pettiford, 123
8 – Ernest Udeh Jr., 105
9 – MJ Rice, 71y
10 – Zuby Ejiofor, 69u
11 – Zach Clemence, 47z
12 – Cam Martin, 11q
13 – Kyle Cuffe Jr., 2x
*x – Out for 10-12 weeks with a knee injury starting Nov. 13*
*y – Missed 3 of the first 5 games of the season because of injury and illness; also sat out games because of COVID, kidney stones and back spasms*
*z – Missed Duke, Southern Utah and NC State games because of injury. Also injured a knee in road loss at Iowa State, which caused him to miss more time*
*o – Missed Nov. 29 game vs. Texas Southern with a groin injury; Also missed Big 12 title game with back spasms*
*q – Missed first nine games of the season with shoulder injury*
*u – Missed a few weeks during the middle of the Big 12 season with a foot injury*
