Kansas men’s basketball assistant coach Norm Roberts plays ‘Santa Roberts’ on Hawk Talk

LAWRENCE — Kansas men’s basketball assistant coach Norm Roberts filled in for head coach Bill Self on Tuesday during Hawk Talk, and for a time played a role host Brian Hanni called “Santa Roberts.”

It was a lighthearted segment that actually had some real truth behind it, about what could help certain Jayhawks improve their games. Roberts discussed which gifts, so to speak, he would give to each of Kansas’ five starters. He did so before saying that he’d want to give Self another chance at the “big prize,” because that’s what the Jayhawks play for.

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Roberts said he’d want to give redshirt sophomore guard Dajuan Harris Jr. “more weight,” because he thinks Harris is too thin and needs to bulk up. Roberts thinks it’s realistic Harris could add 10 pounds to his frame, although Roberts added that Harris is already considered strong and quick. And this was similar to what Roberts would give super-senior guard Remy Martin, which was “more size.”

With senior forward David McCormack, Roberts said he’d gift the ability to go after the ball with two hands every time. Because, Roberts said, when McCormack does that McCormack is a great player.

With senior guard Ochai Agbaji and junior guard Christian Braun, Roberts said that they want each of them to start to do more of what the other does so well. That means Braun taking more shots when he’s open, and Agbaji driving more and showcasing that athleticism the way Braun has. And Roberts added the gift for Agbaji would be the feeling of continuing to believe he’s a “bad boy” every night.

Here are some more highlights from Roberts’ appearance on Hawk Talk:

Roberts provides his thoughts on the Big 12 Conference

Roberts talked about two teams specifically, mentioning No. 1 Baylor and No. 11 Iowa State — as ranked in the latest coaches poll. Regarding the Bears (9-0), he highlighted the quality of their recruiting class, how they are great defensively and have a lot of options to score offensively. Regarding the Cyclones (10-0), he pointed out that the team has come a long way since going 2-22 last season.

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But Roberts was also quick to say the Big 12 is great every year. And he provided some insight into how Kansas approaches each game in conference play that probably won’t surprise anyone.

“You know you’re going to play against the best every single night,” Roberts said. “You’ve got to bring it. And I think the reason why we’ve been able to be somewhat consistent over the years is, we don’t take anybody lightly. Everybody has good players. Everybody is capable.”

While it wasn’t a game that included a Big 12 team, Roberts used Texas Southern upsetting Florida at Florida this season as an example to illustrate is point. According to a tweet Tuesday evening from the Big 12, in men’s basketball the conference leads the nation in non-conference winning percentage and winning percentage against top 25 teams.

Roberts reveals his favorite game he’s coached in

The favorite game that Roberts ever played dates back to when he was an athlete in high school, but the favorite game he’s ever coached in is much more recent than that. Roberts said it was the NCAA tournament game against Duke in 2018 that Kansas won that sent the Jayhawks to the Final Four. Kansas earned an 85-81 victory that day against a Blue Devils team that featured Grayson Allen.

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Roberts said that multiple members of that Jayhawks squad called Self ahead of the game this past weekend against Missouri. If Self had been on Hawk Talk, Roberts volunteered, Self would have told everyone that both Devonte' Graham and Malik Newman called to talk about how Kansas needed to win this rivalry matchup even though they weren’t a part of it during their time in college.

Roberts talks Ochai Agbaji’s development

Roberts said Agbaji is such a good kid that they’ve nearly told him that he’s too sweet and too nice. He brought up the potential for Agbaji, ahead of this season, to develop a meaner and grittier attitude. Because after Agbaji explored the professional route after the 2020-21 season, Roberts said the response from people in the NBA was Agbaji had everything they were looking for in a player but Agbaji needed to develop more of an inner fire and confidence.

So far this season, Agbaji is the clear leader on the floor alongside Braun. Agbaji’s 22.4 points per game, through games completed Monday, ranks first among NCAA Division I players and leads the Jayhawks. Roberts believes that light has turned on in Agbaji’s mind.

“I remember in the second half of the game. … Missouri shot a shot, we rebounded it and he took off like a rocket down the right side of the floor, like a rocket,” Roberts said. “He can really, really run, and he runs down and we pitch it ahead to him. I think Remy pitched it ahead to him. And he took one dribble between the legs, stepped back, 25-footer. And coach looked at us and said, ‘Is that guy confident, or what? Wow.’”

Roberts added people in the NBA have been calling to tell him how happy they are for Agbaji and that they want him to continue to play that way.

Roberts previews Kansas’ matchup with Stephen F. Austin

Roberts said the Jayhawks will have to be prepared to face the Lumberjacks (8-3), because they’re a veteran team that’ll have confidence. He noted as well that they’re coached by a former assistant of Self’s in Kyle Keller, and has multiple players averaging in double figures scoring. Roberts also described Stephen F. Austin as a quick and explosive team that can defend, and one that only a couple years ago went to Duke and beat the Blue Devils during the 2019-20 regular season.

“These games … are very good for us, because we’re playing against really, really quick teams that’s going to try to disrupt everything that you do and you’ve got to find a way to play through that,” Roberts said. “And then, also … where it helps us — work on guarding smaller teams. And so, David and (super-senior forward) Mitch (Lightfoot) and (freshman forward) Zach (Clemence) and those guys have to guard quicker players and that can happen in our league as well.”

This season the Lumberjacks’ wins include victories against Liberty and Buffalo. Their defeats include a loss Tuesday against Louisiana-Monroe and one earlier in the year against Saint Louis. Stephen F. Austin’s NET ranking is 183rd, while Kansas’ is fourth.

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas basketball assistant Norm Roberts plays ‘Santa’ on Hawk Talk