How KU Jayhawks basketball’s Bill Self might have to adapt to his team’s funky roster
By the end of the season, Kansas coach Bill Self says he will have 75 plays — or more — that his team can go to.
At the moment, though? Self has put in nine.
And even those aren’t always being executed to his liking.
“I thought we were actually doing pretty good, but after practice (Wednesday), I think I’ve done a bad, crap job of getting guys to understand,” Self said at Big 12 men’s basketball media day Thursday. “Maybe I took for granted they understood better than what they did.”
Start with the caveat here: Adding in plays is always a process. A few are added each week, meaning Self usually has 35 in by conference play, then potentially the whole menu available for the NCAA Tournament.
But this early reality also speaks to the specific challenge Self faces with this year’s roster.
How do you handle a team with four returning starters (who all know what they’re doing) and eight newcomers (who, at this point, are behind)?
The answer might be something that Self has done well in recent years: a need to adapt his coaching style to fit his personnel.
From a 5,000-foot view, Self has always been a coach who has liked to have a good amount of control from the sideline. In other words ... he loves his plays, studying trends from the NBA to EuroLeague in the offseason and implementing the most creative actions to strategically move the chess pieces where he wants them.
This year might require ... less of that.
Because what good is the most clever plan if the guys out there don’t get to a point where they can run all that properly?
Self, for now, is going in a different direction. He says he’s going to implement more film sessions, hoping to get the newbies up to speed at an accelerated pace.
“I think I’ve got to do a better job of really maybe spending more individual time with guys to get them to understand exactly what we’re doing,” Self said, “as opposed to thinking they understand and don’t really do.”
The real challenge, though, isn’t getting guys to go to all the right places.
It’s to get them to understand why they’re going there and what Self hopes to achieve from that.
Here’s an example. Self has been running one particular play for years, which ends with the point guard curling around the 5-man for a pick-and-roll with the court spread.
This year, that point guard is likely to be Remy Martin, who only arrived on campus in August. So while it’s important that he makes the right cuts to get in position on this play, more vital is knowing what he’s supposed to be looking for once he gets the ball during the sequence’s crucial moment.
If one defender commits, he should throw a lob. If another one is late, he should drive the lane.
The issue then: How can Martin be expected to think about all that when he’s focusing so hard on where he’s supposed to go?
“It’s tough with Remy, because it’s one thing to teach guys to run plays. It’s another thing to teach them how to play,” Self said. “But you want to teach them how to play out of your plays, and there’s just not a comfort level yet.”
Again, this is where Self might have to pivot a bit from how he normally does things.
KU has four returning starters along with Dajuan Harris and Mitch Lightfoot. If five of those guys are in the game together, a mostly full playbook is ready to go.
Honestly, though, a fivesome from that group is not likely to happen often.
And that means KU might need to rely less on plays and more on its players.
This would be a philosophical choice, but it’s also one KU has ready in its arsenal if needed. The Jayhawks could lean heavier on a simpler, ball-screen-based offense (especially after timeouts or stoppages, which are times that are usually more scripted), while putting more onus on simple, repeated actions that require more freelance and less structure.
With the right personnel — and especially in early-season games — Self has not hesitated to go with this when needed in the past.
One example was 2016’s season-opener against Indiana. Point guard Frank Mason scored 30 points in KU’s 103-99 loss then, as he constantly took simple actions and turned them into points by being better than the defense.
Most of the time late in that contest, Self just called for a high ball screen. From there, Mason would shoot threes if the defense didn’t respect him, or pass immediately if he was double-teamed. The Hoosiers struggled to stop him, simply because an elite player was comfortable out there and playing without thinking.
Remy Martin in particular could benefit from this, but he wouldn’t be the only one. Jalen Coleman-Lands, Cam Martin and Joseph Yesufu also are transfers who could have their overall effectiveness impacted by how much they can avoid mind clutter.
Self, in essence, has created a grand experiment for himself with so many new faces.
Maybe the Jayhawks newcomers will catch up. Maybe the coach can get his guys to understand quickly.
Or maybe, like other years, Self will choose to morph what he does to his specific roster.
And for this year only, it might require Self to require less instead of pushing for more — as uncomfortable as that might feel.
