Scouting Kansas ahead of the Big 12 Tournament semifinal

What can you say about the Big 12 glass court? It gave us ugly gray, and it gave us ugly khaki. What it didn’t give us was a reason to play on it one more time. You looked so cool, but you will not be missed.

With that said, the 27-5 (#2 seed) Houston Cougars get a second shot against the 23-9 (#3 seed) Kansas Jayhawks in the semi-finals of the Big 12 Tournament on Friday night. The Coogs finished off a nice 73-66 win over the BYU CoUgs and freshman phenom AJ Dybantsa. The Jayhawks escaped the pesky TCU Horned Frogs 78-73 in late-night action last evening, thanks in large part to 19 more free throw attempts.

TCU had Kansas on the ropes, but KU leaned on its own freshman phenom Darryn Peterson down the stretch. He made some big baskets and was getting the friendly whistle, which often led him to the free-throw line 16 times. Melvin Council Jr. is still my head of the snake. Kansas feeds off the intensity that he brings with his high motor and energy. The Jayhawks have several players who can be their best on any given night.

It’s hard to beat a Kelvin Sampson-led team twice in one season. There is no doubt that the Coogs had their toughness tested during the film session following their 69-56 loss on February 23. I expect them to come in and look to land the first punch tonight. Thanks to foul trouble, UH was able to limit the minutes of a few starters last night. The Coogs should come in with great energy and look to advance to the Big 12 Championship game Saturday night. It will be a tough atmosphere, but these games are why UH is in the Big 12.

My Gameplan vs. Kansas

1. Slow Melvin Council Jr. down in transition. He is the driving force of their team. They are at their best when he explodes on a fast-break to get downhill, looking to score or pass to an open teammate. In the last matchup, Kansas outscored Houston 12-5 in fast-break points and shot 20 free throws, compared to only 9 from UH.
2. Take care of the ball. Houston leads the nation in fewest turnovers. However, they had 12 last time these two teams met and 16 last night. It will be critical to keep that number in single digits on Friday evening.
3. Paint touches. The Coogs are so much better when they are aggressive and get in the paint. Milos did a nice job in the first half last night of getting in the paint to shoot his floater. Kingston, Emanuel, and Mercy need to drive the ball to draw attention and create opportunities for others to get open shots.
4. Pick-and-roll to get Flory out of the paint. I would look to bring Flory out of the paint on the pick-and-roll, to keep him away from the rim, and give Kingston some space to drive to the rim without him lurking down there. I may also look to play small a good bit, which would prevent their bigs from camping in the paint on defense. It could be a big game for Cenac and McCarty.
5. Adjust if someone gets hot. The Coogs have to identify who is heating up for Kansas and adjust accordingly. They have multiple guys who can take over a game. It should be an interesting chess match between two Hall of Fame coaches.
6. Attack in offensive transition. I think it will be important to attack in transition. Kansas is 5th nationally in field-goal-percentage defense. They are beyond disciplined defensively and force teams to make contested jumpers. UH will need to create unscripted points and try to make some open looks in transition, early in the shot clock. Shots late in the shot clock vs. KU are typically very unsuccessful.

Kansas Personnel (*Indicates likely starters)

*#14 – Melvin Council Jr. – 6’4″ – SR – Guard – (Wagner, Monroe College, St. Bonaventure) – 13ppg, 5rpg, 5apg.

• Head of the Snake!
• World Traveler. At his 4th college;
• Rangy/athletic point guard. Trying to bring a dog mentality to KU;
• Reminds me of a former Coog. Let me know if you see it too;
• Plays really hard at both ends of the court;
• Average three-point shooter (36-111, 32%);
• Strong driver to the basket;
• Good decision maker when he gets in the paint, to score or pass to open shooters;
• Council does a great job finding his teammates. He’s ranked top 10 in the Big 12 in assists per game and assist/turnover ratio.

*#40 – Flory Bidunga – 6’10” – SO – Forward – 14ppg, 9rpg, 3bpg.

• LEFTY!
• Force him to shoot with his right hand!
• Tall/athletic defensive enforcer and a problem around the basket. Double-Double machine with 12 on the year;
• Big time lob threat in the pick and roll;
• Ranked #3 in the nation and #1 in the Big 12 in blocks per game;
• Ranked #7 in the nation and #1 in the Big 12 in field goal percentage;
• Ranked #4 in the Big 12 in rebounds per game;
• Not a shooting threat outside of the paint.

*#22 – Darryn Peterson – 6’6″ – FR – Guard – 20ppg, 4rpg.

• Has the potential skills of Kobe Bryant. Doesn’t always have the Mamba Mentality though;
• Smooth outside shooter. Can shoot the three off the bounce, the catch, and fading away (54-141, 38%);
• When he pulls up for the mid-range jumper, he’s a threat to kick his leg out to draw a foul. If he gets inside the three-point line, he IS looking to draw a foul. Has sat out 11 games and is still second on the team in free-throw attempts (93-114, 82%);
• They love to run him off non-ball-screens to get him open. He will come off of them looking to shoot an open three or curl towards the basket;
• Capable of making incredibly tough shots.
• Played 37 minutes last night. Is he willing to do it back-to-back?

*#3 – Tre White – 6’7″ – SR – Guard – (Louisville, Illinois) – 14ppg, 7rpg, 2apg.

• Super athletic/tall three-level scoring guard;
• Outstanding outside shooter (55-129, 42%);
• Nice jumper off the bounce in the mid-range;
• Can make acrobatic finishes at the rim;
• Works hard on the glass on both ends of the court;
• He likes to pump-fake, then jump into the defender to draw a foul.

*#15 – Bryson Tiller – 6’11” – FR – Forward – 8ppg, 6rpg.

• Talented/big freshman forward;
• Has nice hands and footwork in the paint. Uses a variety of moves to score;
• Getting stronger at finishing at the rim;
• Solid mid-range shooter;
• Not afraid to shoot the three, but hasn’t been great (14-50, 28%).

#13 – Elmarko Jackson – 6’3″ – RS SO – Guard – 5ppg, 2rpg.

• Athletic guard off the bench. Sat out last year with a torn ACL;
• At his best when forcing his way into the paint to draw a foul or score;
• Capable of making tough shots in the paint;
• Pretty solid three-point shooter (16-42, 38%).

#11 – Jamari McDowell – 6’5″ – RS SO – Guard – 4ppg, 2rpg.

• Houston-area kid (Manvel HS);
• I’ve been tough on him over the last couple of years. He’s playing better this year, but I just don’t see it…
• Ok three-point shooter (28-80, 35%);
• Capable of scoring off the bounce in the paint;
• Pretty solid defender.

#7 – Kohl Rosario – 6’6″ – FR – Guard – (Overtime Elite) – 3ppg, 1rpg.

• Three-point specialist (not a great %) off the bench. Gets limited minutes;
• 60 of his 80 shot attempts have been from beyond the arc (15-60, 25%);
• Super sneaky athlete.