5 thoughts about Kansas basketball now that the Jayhawks’ exhibition schedule is finished

LAWRENCE — Kansas basketball wrapped up its exhibition slate Wednesday with a 73-55 win against Fort Hays State.

The victory didn’t end as smoothly as it started. The Jayhawks were outscored in the second half by two points, as head coach Bill Self allowed players who aren’t major parts of the rotation to get more time. But Self and company did protect home court in their last opportunity to do so before the regular season starts.

So, now No. 1 Kansas can start to look in earnest at its season opener this upcoming Monday at home against North Carolina Central. The Jayhawks can put the final touches on their plans for what’s to come. And ahead of that season opener, here are five things to think about:

Here’s why Bill Self is concerned about Kansas’ perimeter shooting

Across the two exhibition games Kansas played in the last week, it shot 3-for-12 on 3s against Illinois and 6-for-28 on 3-pointers against Fort Hays State. That’s a combined 9-for-40, or 22.5%, mark. On paper, that reads poorly.

What Self identified Wednesday, though, was that he didn’t feel they have to make a lot of 3s to be successful. There are other ways they can play offensively. It’s just that if they aren’t going to shoot it better on the perimeter, which he thinks they can do, they must defend better.

Odds are that as the likes of graduate senior guard Nicolas Timberlake, freshman guard Johnny Furphy and more become more comfortable, their 3s will fall more often. There are a number of newcomers on the roster. But even if that happens it isn’t guaranteed to happen every night, so the defense needs to be there.

Bill Self is thinking defense when it comes to who the fifth starter will be, too

It’s been pretty clear that four of Kansas’ five regular starters this season would be senior center Hunter Dickinson, junior forward KJ Adams Jr., graduate senior guard Kevin McCullar Jr. and redshirt senior guard Dajuan Harris Jr. When Arterio Morris was dismissed from the program, the potential candidates for the fifth spot narrowed to Timberlake, Furphy and freshman guard Elmarko Jackson. But while Jackson started the Illinois exhibition and Timberlake started the Fort Hays State exhibition, Self didn’t appear close to making a decision.

Self said he doesn’t think there’s enough scoring coming out of the fifth spot, at this point, for that person to not be performing well defensively. So, from his perspective, the decision is more challenging because the defense isn’t there yet. Whoever Self does pick, though, Harris said he’ll trust the decision.

Bill Self reveals Elmarko Jackson isn’t ready to back Dajuan Harris Jr. up at point guard

Self said it would be nice if Jackson was ready to back Harris up as the team’s point guard, but at the moment Jackson is thinking too much. Self went as far as to describe Jackson as paralyzed in that way. So, instead of potentially making Jackson think even more, Self tabbed McCullar as the guy if Harris isn’t in.

Self explained they’ve seen that reality since they started practicing. He thinks McCullar can handle it. And when it comes to McCullar’s professional aspirations, showing he can thrive in a role like that might actually help him down the line.

Kevin McCullar Jr. isn’t completely healthy, even though he played against Fort Hays State

Self said McCullar hurt his neck again Wednesday, and that at halftime there was word McCullar wouldn’t be able to play much in the second half due to the pain. Of course, McCullar ended up hitting a couple of 3-pointers early in the second half and played some. But, eventually, Self said McCullar came to him and brought up that it was time to call it a night.

Whether or not McCullar will be fully healthy for the regular season opener is unclear. But Self did say McCullar will be fine, and that it is a soft tissue problem. And Adams praised how tough McCullar was to play and help the team even though it was just an exhibition game.

Bill Self says they aren’t ready for the season to start

Self took some blame Wednesday for how many minutes he played certain guys days earlier in the exhibition against Illinois. He explained he thought that, and also practicing Tuesday ahead of the exhibition game against Fort Hays State, meant they were a tired team Wednesday. So, he noted they would take Thursday off.

But, still, Self said they aren’t ready for the regular season to start. He wants the energy they’re playing with to pick up in a significant way. He added they aren’t athletic enough as a team to not play with that kind of energy.

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Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: 5 thoughts about Kansas basketball after Jayhawks' last exhibition