Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Locked On Jayhawks - 11.20.19

Episode Date: November 20, 2019

KU hoops toppled ETSU; QB controversy for KU football? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What's up everyone? Welcome in to Locked On Jayhawks. I am Sean Kellerman, Learfield IMG College Broadcaster and University of Kansas Insider. This is Locked On Jayhawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks, giving you insight, numbers, and a chance to hear from all the voices within Kansas athletics. It's a victory Wednesday today as our Jayhawks took down one of the top mid-major teams in the country, in East Tennessee State, last night at Allen Fieldhouse. Jayhawks won 75-63. In the first segment, we're going to recap the game, go over some of the final numbers and some of my insights on why the Jayhawks were able to pick up this victory. Second segment, we're going to hear from Bill Self and KU players,

their thoughts, and then third segment, we're going to transition back to Kansas football. Two opportunities remain. We'll hear from Les Miles and Carter Stanley regarding the quarterback change that took place briefly last week in Stillwater. Then as the week goes on, of course, we'll hear more from Coach Miles, hear more from Carter, and new press conference coming tomorrow for Bill Self and the guys.

They'll talk about Maui in detail as KU has three games in a row, back-to-back-to-back nights, the Maui Invitational. And, of course, I'll have all the inside recap for you here on Locked On Jayhawks. All sorts of sound from those guys. And an exciting, exciting week, as always. Feast week, ESPN calls it. And a lot of college basketball starting up even tomorrow around the league with these mid-season or early-season tournaments.

So, all right, take a look at last night. This was a game that was expected to be close, and Kansas got out to a very big start. They were 15.5-point favorites against a team that, like I said, very highly regarded among its peers, and Coach Bill Self had always talked about how this is a very good East Tennessee State team, but Kansas was able to get a big enough lead early, and they did not relinquish it. Devon Dotson was really the key cog in KU's lead. East Tennessee State led this game 5-4, and that was their only lead of the game. Devon Dotson had a couple finishes in transition.

He had one that put Kansas up 25-10 with 9.5 minutes remaining. KU had a couple nice finishes in transition from different guys. Ochai Abadji, Tristan Inaruna, Marcus Garrett. Marcus had a crazy finish and one that put KU up 31-13 at the under 8 timeout. KU at that point answer with an 11-4 run. And they cut this game to 35-24. KU was able to then start relying on Yudoka Azubuki. Yudoka showed a couple different things. He, of course, finished off some alley-oops.

He had some moves on the post, finishing with dunks. And he even had a baby hook in there. It was 43-31 at halftime. A couple things that stuck out to me at the half, KU had 20 points off 10 East Tennessee State turnovers. I talked about the transition. That was big in this one. KU has had some struggles in transition the early stages of the season,

just kind of fumbling the ball away or not making the right read, not pitching ahead when they need to. That was not the case yesterday. So 10 first half turnovers for ETSU and KU got 20 points off in the first half alone. KU shot 19 of 30 from the field, including 18 of 21 on twos. KU just one of nine for threes in the first half. They actually parlayed that into an 0-5 performance from three in the second half. But in the first half, 18-21 on twos for Kansas. Very efficient.

In the paint, KU dominated 32-20. Doak was a perfect 5-5 from the field, 10 points and six boards. And Devon Dotson led all scorers with 13. Tristan Inaruna, by the way, he had three steals in the first half alone. I'd have to go back and look, but I would venture a guess that guys like LeGerald Vick and Quinton Grimes probably did not have three steals and a half in any game last year. Maybe that's unfair comparison because Inaruna's got the length, but it just shows that he's being active, he's being a force defensively for the Jayhawks.

All right, second half got a little bit dicey. There was a lot of back and forth momentum swings, and there were times in Allen Fieldhouse where the crowd kind of had to wake themselves up, say, all right, we got to get into this. This is kind of getting too close for comfort as ETSU was putting some actual score pressure on the Jayhawks. Yudoka had a dunk on an assist from Isaiah Moss that put KU up 49-36 with over 14 minutes to go, but then ETSU went on their run. They eventually cut it all the way to 5 as they finally started hitting from deep. They're a good 3-point shooting team as well,

and they were not getting their shots to fall. But following a couple KU turnovers and 5 of 6 threes from ETSU, the Buccaneers cut it to 61-56 with six minutes remaining. A couple threes from Trey Boyd, a couple threes from Patrick Good. Every time ETSU was hitting a three, KU was answering most often with Yudoka Azubuki. He had a couple big-time dunks, one time on the seven-footer Lucas Ngasan, the Oklahoma State transfer.

He also had an and-one before the under-eight timeout, but again, it was usually answered by ETSU, and they're stroking it from deep. So they cut it to five, and then after that, Kansas was able to do what they do. They calmed everything down. Marcus Garrett sunk two free throws to extend the lead to seven. And then Silvio De Sosa entered the game, and he was a big part in KU's success and their ability to close out this win. We'll hear from Bill Self regarding Silvio in the next segment. But Silvio had a great catch and dunk in transition that extended the lead to 65-56 with five minutes remaining.

A little bit more of a comfortable lead there for Kansas, but KU had more success in transition. It was Dotson finding Silvio, who had the athletic finish. They're up by nine, and it did not get any closer. Devon Dotson, Marcus Garrett, and Silvio De Sosa were the main Jayhawks who were ending this game. Kansas wins 75-63. It's the same 12-point margin that the Jayhawks defeated ETSU's conference rival, UNC Greensboro, a couple games back. Some of the final numbers that stuck out to me in terms of team, how about 54-24 in the paint in favor of the Jayhawks. They did not double down on Yudoka Azubuki, ETSU. How about 54-24 in the paint in favor of the Jayhawks? They did not double down on Yudoka Azubuki, ETSU.

There was no trapping, no double teaming, and KU took full advantage. Doak led all scorers with 21 points. Mentioned the points off. Turnovers not as good in the second half for Kansas, but they still led 24-17 in that, and KU shot 56% from the field. When you get Doak with 13 field goal attempts in a game that's usually a good sign because he's going to shoot upwards of 70 percent more often than not he shoots 10 of 13 from the field UTSU is held to 38 percent from the field and how about the threes Bill Self will mention the three disparity as well. ETSU was 9 of 30. Kansas was 1 of 14. So

KU just 7% from deep. Let's not forget that KU has entered this game with a 43% clip from three. So that probably wasn't going to stay. The 7% isn't probably an accurate estimate to how good this team is or how poor this team is from shooting three either, but that was the case last night. Kansas fought it off. They went with what they knew. They fed the big man inside. He ended up with a 21 and the seven rebounds,

and then they had a couple guys drive downhill when they needed to, and Devon Dotson, who had 19 points in this game on 6 of 12 shooting. He also dished out six assists, and Marcus Garrett had 13 points, including a couple big buckets late for KU, as KU wins 75-63 over ETSU. Jayhawks are now 3-1, and it's on to Maui for the Maui Gym Maui Invitational, taking place Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday next week. First game will be against Chaminade. That game is at 8 o'clock on Monday night. Should the Jayhawks beat Chaminade,

Tuesday's game will take place at 9.30 p.m. Central Time against either BYU or UCLA. Very exciting time. We'll talk more about this game after the break. We'll hear from Bill Self and KU players as well, and of course we'll dip into KU football in the final

segment. This is Locked On Jayhawks, a product of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. It was another perfect night for the Big 12 who continues to impress in the non-conference play. Of course, you're not usually facing top-tier teams warming up, but Kansas, of course, picks up the victory over East Tennessee State, 75-63. And the other two Big 12 teams in action were victorious as well.

K-State survives what was kind of a scare early against Arkansas Pine Bluff, who is still winless on the year. The Wildcats win 62-51, K-State 4-0, Pine Bluff 0-4. For Kansas State, the leading scorer was Xavier Snead. He had 21 points, and McCollum A. Ween had 10 points, and that was it as the Cats turned it over 16 times but survived a scare from Arkansas Pine Bluff. Other Big 12 game in action was Iowa State and Southern Miss.

Cyclones went at 73-45. In Ames, leading scorer was Solomon Young. He had 14 points. A couple other Cyclones in double figures. Prentice Nixon had 13, and Tyrese Halliburton had 12 points and 9 assists. Next action for the Big 12 will come up on Thursday, and of course we'll preview those games and let you know game times and opponents for those on tomorrow's show right here on Lockdown Jayhawks.

All right, let's break down this game a little bit more. Big time win over a tough non-conference foe. We see so many of those on KU's schedule. KU wins it 75-63, and Bill Self after the game spoke to reporters and said he was very pleased, especially with the hot start. I thought we played a really good team. I thought it was the best 10 minutes of basketball we played all year to start the game, and that's not making shots from the perimeter. And if you'd have told me before the game they'd outscore us by 24 points from three, I'd say we'd be in serious trouble.

So I thought we did some good things. I thought defensively we were pretty good, and I really like their team. They're going to be really good, and they're veterans, and they can stretch it. And they made some hard shots late to get back in it, but I thought we closed the game out pretty well. Mentioned that Devon Dotson really was in the middle of everything for that hot start for KU. Here's Devon talking to reporters about the hot start. That's a thing we want to do, especially at home.

We had a crowd behind us, so we want to jump out on them early and really get that first, you know, hit, really. So just, you know, bring the energy and tenacity from the start, and that can sway a game. It was 31-13. I had a chance to catch up with Marcus Garrett after the game, and I asked him the key. Devon, he got into a hot start.

What did he start off with, like 11, a quick 11. So we was riding him at the beginning, and he was hot. Devon Dotson was huge for Kansas in the opening of this one as KU got out to that 18-point lead about midway through the first half. And in the second half, when things got tight, KU relied on their other preseason All-Big 12 selection, Yudoka Azubuki. And East Tennessee State, with four guards,

opted to not trap Yudoka in the post. And needless to say, the big fella was pretty pleased with that choice. I was excited. Like, this is probably the first team that I would double-team me since we started playing. And I just used that to my advantage and then when you don't double team me and I got to learn to myself so I just kind of and then the guys they did a good job of feeding me the ball so I went to work.

Yudoka happy with his performance and happy to be able to operate finally in a one-on-one situation here his teammates Marcus Garrett and Devon Dotson, talking about how Doak really stepped up. He was great. I feel like just the first team that didn't double him. You see what happens when you don't double him. Yeah, for sure. Same thing like Marcus said.

Yeah, this team, you know, stuck to their, you know, straight-up man-to-man defense, didn't try to double. So, you know, that's what happens when teams do not do that. stuck to their straight-up man-to-man defense, didn't try to double. That's what happens when teams do not do that. He played great today. We got a chance to see some moves from Yudoka Azubuki. Rather than just having to kick the ball back out when teams have been doubling or triple-teaming him, we got to see him operate, of course, against just one defender.

He used both shoulders. He had some ferocious dunks, as he always does. Of course, he finished off some alley-oops as well. But again, it was kind of nice to be able to see one-on-one. If you're a KU fan, a big reason Kansas got 54 points in the paint was Yudoka Azubuki and him not being trapped. Here's Bill Self talking about that. Whenever they're trapping the post, you need to score before the trap gets there.

And when they're not trapping the post, I thought he made a couple of good moves without bouncing it. But then when he knew that he had single coverage, he was more patient. So he looked good in there, I thought. KU took full advantage of that. And that's really what we envisioned before the season, right, is KU dominating the points in the paint stat behind guys like Yudoka Azubuki, David McCormick, Silvio De Sosa. I saw a lot of four-guard lineup. Talked about that on the show yesterday that I wouldn't be surprised if KU continues to start

two bigs, as Coach Self has said, and that was the case with McCormick drawing the four-spot and starting lineup yesterday and then transitioning quickly to the four-guard lineup. And that's what we saw after the first media timeout. KU went four guards exclusively from there on out, and it worked out well with Doak not getting double teamed, and KU was able to get that efficiency. The four guards worked without KU making shots, so that's, I think, a big-time positive as well.

It never hurts to play an Allen Fieldhouse, but I think any time you can lean on guys like Dotson and Azubuki, you've got to feel good about your chances, and KU was able to get it done. They don't cover the spread, but they beat a tough ETSU team that we'll hopefully not see again in March. Very tough team, and they're likely going to be an NCAA tournament team, so another tough test checkmark on the good side for Kansas. After the break, we're going to transition to KU football. We'll hear from Les Miles and Carter Stanley. Of course, tune in the rest of this week. We're going to be previewing the Maui Invitational in regards to Kansas basketball. Exciting time of year. Three games in three days coming up,

beginning Monday at 8 o'clock against Chaminade. This is Locked On Jayhawks, a product of the Locked On Podcast Network, the local experts on the biggest stories. Just one NBA game last night featured Jayhawks in the NBA. It was the Suns at the Kings. Phoenix Falls, 120-116. Two Jayhawks play for the Suns. Sheck Diallo got 15 minutes. He scored two points and brought down four rebounds.

But a good game for Kelly Oubre, Jr. Kelly, 37 minutes, scored 20 points, pulled down eight boards, and had two assists. The lone game last night in the NBA featuring our Jayhawks. A lot more action tonight. Joel Embiid and the 76ers host Marcus Morris and the Knicks. That game is at six o'clock. Devontae Graham and his Hornets travel to Brooklyn to take on the Nets and other games in action. Chicago Bulls are hosting Sfee

McKay-Luke and Markeith Morris and the Pistons. That game at 7 o'clock in Chicago. Andrew Wiggins may or may not be back for the T-Wolves game. They host the Jazz at 7 o'clock. And Ben McLemore, who's been getting a lot of run recently with Eric Gordon being out with a knee injury, he and the Rockets head to Denver to take on the Nuggets. That's a look at the NBA Jayhawks for today. All right, transitioning now to Kansas football. Disappointing game on Saturday, of course,

against Oklahoma State and Stillwater as the Pokes won it 31-13, and really for Kansas, there was nothing working offensively. The defense showed a little bit of life. They held Oklahoma State to 4-12 on third down conversions, and Oklahoma State scored just seven points in the second half, but the game was 24-0 at halftime. And for the KU offense, we didn't see any firepower until the last couple drives of the game, in which Carter Stanley led the team down the field, and those drives culminated with touchdown passes from Stanley to Stephon Robinson and Quan Hampton, respectively. That being said, Coach Les Miles, who addressed the media earlier this week, talked about how he wasn't as down about the game as he could have been. The Oklahoma State game certainly was something we wanted more for. I can tell you that

our kids are still fighting. I looked at that film and I wanted to be very critical and I was not. So I made mistakes and mistakes can be corrected. And I accept their effort and energy. The defensive effort was led by Jay Dineen's two and a half tackles for loss. Kyle Mayberry had a pair of tackles for loss as well. But in terms of the offense, there was nothing going. Puka Williams had 12 carries for 26 yards. He was bottled up.

Not a lot of push up front from the guys who have been dealing with injuries. Malik Clark went down again in this game. Coach Miles saying that Malik should be good to go for the game in Ames on Saturday. But quarterback play, Carter Stanley, you know, it was six consecutive quarters going back to the K-State game where Kansas had nothing going. And at halftime of the Oklahoma State game, the coaching staff opted to go with Manny Miles in favor of Carter Stanley, at least at the beginning. Carter would come back, but the majority of the third quarter was Manny Miles. And here's Coach talking about his son. Manny coming in the game was something that he'd earned,

but also we were looking to substitute that pitcher that gives us a lift, maybe gets a couple outs, and then gets us out of the inning. So no real quarterback controversy or anything like that moving forward, but Manny Miles did play. He was 4 for 8, 25 yards in an interception in this game. Of course, he had the rushing touchdown a couple weeks ago against Kansas State, but he was asked by media members, was Coach Miles, about why Manny Miles and why not somebody who could potentially help you in the future, like a Thomas McVitie or even a Torrey Laughlin. Why'd you go with Manny? Next season's not the thing that we're trying to do.

We have two games left, and certainly one at a time, we want to play the best players. And we were looking not necessarily for future in terms of years. What we're looking for is an opportunity to make a play and get us a kind of new start, maybe get us a drive that we would enjoy. But I think what it did is it did give us a spark. I think when Carter went back on the field, I think he enjoyed the time, and he did so with a lot of effort and energy. And Carter, who did return, ended up throwing

those two touchdown passes. His final line was 22 of 37, 226 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Carter was asked by media members earlier this week about kind of what was his thinking on the sideline when he had been benched after the coaching staff stuck with him the first nine and a half games of the year. Just the competitor in me. It was tough to start the second half like that. But I mean, at the end of the day, at the end of the day, those are my teammates. Those are those are my guys, some of my best friends, you know, at this place. So, you know, I was cheering for him and, you know, it's the ultimate team sport, so I was pulling for them. Carter continued to talk about team,

and he was understanding why the move happened because of the lack of production. Given the situation in the game, you know, I kind of get it that they were trying to get a spark going for this team. And, you know, again, I'm all for the team and um you know again i'm i'm all for the team and you know whatever is best in the situation um you know it it was unfortunate that we kind of struggled but um you know it's it's a team game that's carter stanley talking about getting benched in favor of senior manny miles the beginning of the second half of the game in Stillwater on Saturday. Of course, Carter hopefully got a little bit of energy,

a little bit of juju for this KU offense because they're going to need it against a very good Iowa State team. It's a team that is 6-4 on the year. We know what Matt Campbell has done with that program. We know they've got a good quarterback of their own in Brock Purdy. They've got a great freshman running back in Brees Hall. And they've really produced some guys in the past couple years, especially the wide receiver core.

I mean, look, guys in the NFL right now, Alan Lazard and Hakeem Butler are both on NFL rosters right now. So Matt Campbell's getting guys in, and they're producing in Ames. And it's not going to be an easy one as KU hits the road for the final time this season. That game is at 11 o'clock on Saturday. Ames, and it's not going to be an easy one as KU hits the road for the final time this season. That game is at 11 o'clock on Saturday. Final game will either be 2.30 or 6. The Big 12 Conference has not yet announced the senior day time against Baylor. That game's on November 30th, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. A little bit later in the week, we'll hear more from Coach Miles, more from Carter Stanley. They're going to talk about kind of the problems with the KU offense and what their plan of attack is. And where does Coach Miles feel like his first

season is going? Does he feel happy about where the program is at? And, you know, what can we expect? He's got five years on his contract, year one. I think a lot of fans were hoping for four wins. Maybe thought that was optimistic heading into this year. That's still very much attainable with two opportunities remaining. This show, thank you so much for listening i had a chance to hear from bill self and a lot of ku basketball players and we'll have more sound the next couple days and monday as ku basketball heads to maui for the maui invitational that'll be exciting of course first game monday against chaminade at eight o'clock we'll have all sorts of coverage for you coming up into this week and of course monday on lockeded on Jayhawks.

And we'll talk Kansas football as well. Looking forward to it. Thanks so much for listening. This is Sean Kellerman signing off. Locked on Jayhawks, a product of the Locked On Podcast Network, the local experts on the biggest stories. And Rock Chalk, Jayhawk.