Bill Self wants Kansas to improve its pace offensively
Kansas holds an 8-3 record as it approaches its last two nonconference games before Christmas. The Jayhawks have played without Darryn Peterson in seven games, and the star freshman has struggled to play at full speed when available. Bill Self said he wants to see Kansas finish strong in its last two non-conference games.
Self said Kansas has the potential to be a good defensive team, as the Jayhawks rank ninth in KenPom’s defensive efficiency. However, he thinks the offense can take a big step, citing their pace.
When the Jayhawks have struggled offensively, they’ve been stagnant and slow. Kansas currently ranks 256th in D-1 in adjusted tempo and 236th in average possession length.
“I think offensively we play ridiculously slow,” Self said on Monday. “I didn’t anticipate that at all, and we’re not an execution team. So if you’re not an execution team, then at least play with pace and do some things that we gotta get better at. And when I say we’re not, we’re not yet.”
Part of the Jayhawks’ offensive issues have been because they’ve been without Peterson in the bulk of their games. Self said Kansas’ offense was at its best this year against Tennessee, where its ball and body movement was successful. He said the staff needs to do a better job making the players understand what makes the offense work.
“We gotta do a better job of getting our guys to understand what works with us,” Self said. “We don’t have a team full of one-on-one guys. When Darryn’s out there, he can hold it, and can stick, and he can get his own. Everybody else has to be a ball mover, a shooter, a passer immediately, or screener. We can’t be standing.”
Kansas’ offense has been at its best when it plays with pace. Melvin Council Jr. has been a catalyst for that, but the Jayhawks rank in the middle of the pack with 11 fastbreak points per game. Self said that the offense doesn’t need to get in transition, but it does need to play with more pace.
“We need to get guys to play and run with [Council], so you need to have a combination of both,” Self said. “Playing fast does not necessarily mean shooting fast. Playing fast is a pace that you play with, and there just hasn’t been that pace.”
Self hopes the Jayhawks come out with “the passion and the energy and the pace that good teams play with” against Towson. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m., broadcast on ESPN2.
