Washburn coach Brett Ballard had a humble suggestion.
In response to a reporter’s post on X last week about Kansas’ Hunter Dickinson, Rylan Griffen and Shakeel Moore sitting out the Jayhawks’ exhibition game at Arkansas due to injury, Ballard joked, “I think they should all rest until at least next Wednesday,” with shrugging and laughing emojis appended.
Unfortunately for Ballard, the former KU player and assistant and now eighth-year head coach of the Ichabods, Griffen and Moore will in fact be back Tuesday night in time for another exhibition against his team.
KU coach Bill Self said that they may be limited — the wing Griffen coming back from a hip flexor injury and the guard Moore from a broken bone in his foot that kept him out for many weeks — but they’ll be able to play. Dickinson will likely not, due to a sprain on the bottom of his foot, although he has returned to practice after missing nine days.
“With his type of injury, a little strain could set him back two or three more days,” Self said on Monday.
That means KU could opt for the same starting lineup — Dajuan Harris Jr., transfers Zeke Mayo and AJ Storr, KJ Adams and freshman Flory Bidunga — that for the most part landed with a thud in an 85-69 loss to the 16th-ranked Razorbacks on Friday, albeit without the services of those three key players, including the preseason All-American Dickinson.
“I think we were exposed in a way that our meat and potatoes needs to get somewhat better in some different areas,” Self said.
Added Bidunga, who had six points and seven rebounds in his first introduction to college basketball: “I think it’s one of the best things that could happen to us, because it’s early in the season, and we know what you have to work on to get better at it.”
The Jayhawks will have a chance to hone their skills against Division II Washburn — picked first in the MIAA preseason poll and returning a pair of all-conference double-digit scorers in Andrew Orr and Sam Ungashick — which makes the trip down I-70 for the first time since 2020.
It’ll be the introduction to Allen Fieldhouse for Bidunga and the newcomers, and another reintroduction to the renovated facility, this time in a game setting, for the rest.
“It’s kind of crazy, but I’ve never been to an Allen Fieldhouse game,” Bidunga said. “The only game that I’ve been to was through Late Night last year when they were recruiting me. So I’m really looking forward to (being) part of it.”
No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks vs. Washburn Ichabods (exhibition)
• Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, 7 p.m.
• Broadcast: ESPN+
• Radio: Jayhawk Radio Network (in Lawrence, KLWN AM 1320 / K269GB FM 101.7 / KMXN FM 92.9)
Keep an eye out
Hometown hero: Lawrence native Zeke Mayo received a sizable cheer from the crowd at Late Night in the Phog and it’s safe to say that sort of thing will continue over the course of the upcoming season. He’ll play his first game at Allen Fieldhouse, at least unofficially, on Tuesday after a lackluster seven-point, four-rebound performance against the Razorbacks with three turnovers. Self, who had been complimentary of Mayo throughout the offseason, on this occasion said he “played cautious” and “needs to continue to put himself in situations to be more aggressive as opposed to just being out there.”
Decision time: Self said on Monday that he has not yet made a decision about redshirts, and specifically with regard to sophomore guard Jamari McDowell. The comments come over a week after Self said McDowell was ahead of transfers AJ Storr and Rylan Griffen but that the advantage might not last as the newcomers got settled in, and just days after McDowell played the second-fewest minutes on the team on Friday. Self’s plan for McDowell now is to “see how it goes” on Tuesday and decide on Saturday or Sunday — right before the Jayhawks open their season against Howard.
Another try: A few significant areas in which the Jayhawks looked deficient on Friday night, according to Self, were defense against ball screens and in transition, as well as getting paint touches to ease matters on offense. The exhibition against Washburn, even if it provides a significantly lower level of competition than the Jayhawks will face the rest of their year, could supply an early opportunity for KU to improve on these fundamentals.
Off-kilter observation
The last KU-Washburn matchup was Harris’ first-ever appearance at Allen Fieldhouse. He posted two points and four assists in 17 minutes.
Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World
