For much of Kansas’ 75-59 loss to Texas on Saturday, ESPN announcers Dick Vitale and Jon Sciambi were pleading for freshman Gradey Dick to take a shot.
Dick’s first and only shot attempt of the first half came at the 4:31 mark, when he drifted to the corner and misfired on a 3-pointer. As soon as the ball left his hands, Vitale shouted, “Oh, he gets a shot finally.”
The first basket by Dick came on a 3-pointer with nine minutes remaining in the game, cutting the deficit to seven at the time. Dick took his defender off the dribble to his left and nailed the pull-up 3-pointer from the top of the key.
“About time he got a look,” Vitale said. “He made it count; he got a look. They got to get him some shots, that will change that game quickly.”
Coming out of the media timeout moments later, Dick drilled another 3-pointer from the right wing after slipping on a high ball-screen. But those two triples marked the only successful shot attempts for Dick over the final two games of the regular season.
Most KU fans were probably uttering similar comments as Vitale throughout Saturday’s regular-season finale. Dick simply wasn’t involved enough on a day where the Jayhawks (25-6, 13-5 Big 12) failed to score 60 points for just the third time all season.
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Box score: Texas 75, Kansas 59
Photo Gallery: Kansas basketball at Texas
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Dick, who scored 21 points against Texas (23-8, 12-6 Big 12) in the first meeting, finished with six points in the rematch on 2-of-5 shooting, with all five attempts coming from beyond the arc. He added two rebounds and one turnover, as no Jayhawk finished in double figures other than Jalen Wilson and his 23-point performance.
“They face-guarded him and pressured very well,” Kansas coach Bill Self said of UT’s defense on Dick. “We couldn’t get in an offense and get a back-door cut and things like that for a while. A lot of things we can work on and hopefully improve.”
Dick has been face-guarded by most teams since Big 12 play began, but the last two outings have been especially concerning for a Kansas squad with huge aspirations entering the postseason.
Against Texas Tech in the home finale, Dick went 0-for-7 and missed all five attempts from long range. Dick posted an offensive rating of 59.7 against the Red Raiders, which was his second-worst performance of the season.
Yet the bigger problem isn’t the two makes over the final two games, it is the 12 attempts for a player who is averaging nearly 11 shots per contest.
According to Bart Torvik, Dick had a usage rating of 10.3% in Saturday’s loss to Texas. It marked his third-lowest clip of the season, as he had a usage rating of 5.4% in a 78-55 road win over Oklahoma.
Following that OU meeting, Dick posted a usage rating of 23% or better in three consecutive games and Kansas scored 87 points as a team in two of those contests in wins over Oklahoma State and Baylor. He attempted at least 17 shots in all three games.
While Dick needs to be more aggressive, Kansas could also do a better job of making sure he is involved.
“Everyone knows he is an elite shooter and they are not going to let him get looks off,” Wilson said. “So it is up to us to continue to try and get him a screen and get him some good looks. A team like that understands that if he gets hot, then our offense looks a lot better.”
KU’s postseason might just end up coming down to whether or not Dick can be more involved over the next few weeks. This team might run through Wilson, who is likely on his way to being named Big 12 Player of the Year, but a secondary scoring punch is pivotal to a deep run.
Last year, the Jayhawks likely wouldn’t have won the national championship without Remy Martin’s contributions off the bench. Malik Newman’s hot shooting in March helped pave the way for KU’s Final Four run back in 2018.
Dick, who is a projected NBA lottery pick, is even more capable of catching fire at the right time. And the Jayhawks, who ranked 201st in adjusted offensive efficiency during the final week of the regular season via Torvik, are counting on it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eSPH2i-_c
