The exit interview: KU's '14-15 season will be remembered for its defeats
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Before we close the door, one more look back on the hoops season that was ...
THE EXIT INTERVIEW: KANSAS (27-9, 13-5 Big 12)
What went right: The Big 12 regular-season championship banner run is up to 11 straight now, with the Division I record of UCLA's 13 consecutive titles clearly in sight. Frank Mason took the reins at the point and was arguably the Jayhawks' best answer at the position (12.3 points, 4.0 assists per game) since Tyshawn Taylor went pro in 2012. Reserve sharpshooter Brannen Greene rarely missed in December and January. Power forward Perry Ellis put KU on his back in February, averaging 19.1 points and 8.1 rebounds in eight contests over the month. After several slow weeks, all the key freshmen found a way to contribute something to the cause, and wing guard/small forward Kelly Oubre (9.3 ppg) began blossoming into a star just before Christmas. Frosh big man Cliff Alexander settled in as the roster's best rim protector in Big 12 play (6.1 ppg, 1.3 blocks per game in 15 conference tilts), while classmate Devonte' Graham, when healthy, provided instant offense (5.7 ppg, .425 from beyond the arc) and energy in relief of Mason or Wayne Selden, or if combined with both. Mason and Graham, while undersized, are the sort of tough, gutsy, scoring, defensively aggressive combo-slash-point guards that Self prefers to hand the keys to.
Four words: Jamari Traylor in Austin.
And despite being without a classic shot-blocker or center for much of the season, the overall defensive effort -- with some notable exceptions coming against Kentucky, Temple, Iowa State and Wichita State -- was better than the year before, better than a roster that featured future NBA pros Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid. The Jayhawks' team defensive rating, a metric charted by Sports-Reference.com that tracks points allowed per 100 possessions, was 96.8, 72nd nationally among 351 Division I squads. That was an improvement of nearly five whole points from a 101.5 rating last season, 108th in the country and one of the worst-ever team single-season defensive records posted by a Bill Self KU squad. The chemistry, as well as the general scrappiness, appeared to be at a much higher level than in 2013-14 -- even if the talent wasn't.
What went wrong: Local hero Conner Frankamp mysteriously transferring just before the first exhibition tip. Graham's turf toe. Ellis' knee. Alexander's fouling. Alexander's parents. Alexander's lawyers. Alexander's parents' lawyers. Alexander's lawyers' lawyers.
One word: Kentucky.
Two more: Wayne Selden.
Four more: Greene after Valentine's Day.
A young roster sometimes showed its age. The Jayhawks were undefeated at home but had to pull out some absolute nail-biters, seemingly powered by the will of the Allen Fieldhouse crowd alone (hello, West Virginia) in order to do so. And away from the friendly confines of Naismith Drive, KU was as mercurial as you can get. The Jayhawks played well in pre-conference tests against the likes of Michigan State, Georgetown and Utah and won at Baylor. But they also dropped both non-Lawrence meetings with title-challenger Iowa State, folded at Oklahoma State, and the cherry on top was getting emasculated on national television in Omaha by Wichita State in the NCAA Tournament.
For better or worse, March can define a season or sour it. And losses in the Big 12 championship to Iowa State and to the Shockers in the Big Dance ended a season with possibly a worse taste in the mouth of Jayhawk Nation than the spring before.
Lookin' good! Check out our gallery of NCAA hoops cheerleaders.
Key pieces expected back: F Ellis (13.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg), G Mason (2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio), G Selden (9.4 ppg, 2.6 apg), G Greene (5.7 ppg, .404 on treys), G Graham (2.1 apg), G Svi Mykhailiuk (2.8 ppg, 1.2 rpg), F Traylor (4.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg), F/C Landen Lucas (3.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 0.6 bpg), F/C Hunter Mickelson (2.4 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.0 bpg).
Key pieces out the door (or expected to be): F Oubre (.358 beyond the arc), F Alexander (.566 on field goals).
Things to work on: Finishing. Finishing. And more finishing. In 2012-13, the Jayhawks converted 64.2 percent of their shots at the rim, according to Hoop-Math.com, good for 54th nationally. Last winter, they drained 67 percent at the rim, winding up 20th. This past season? A dip to just 56 percent -- 251st in the country.
With a true rim protector, the Jayhawks are an elite team. Without one -- as the last two postseason flameouts have proven -- it's just a very good one. Simple as that.
When asked by FOXSportsKansasCity.com to break down the Jayhawks during the postseason, an opposing assistant coach offered this: "They're good. They're not special." The coach also noted that the lack of an NBA-caliber, NBA-size body guarding the paint made the Jayhawks appear mortal. And exploitable.
Former Charlotte center Mike Thorne Jr., a postgraduate transfer, is reportedly in Self's crosshairs, although the big man also serves as something of a conundrum: The physical profile (6-foot-11, 270 pounds) and stats (10.1 points, 7.3 boards per game this past winter) fit, while the defensive numbers (0.9 bpg, 103.5 career defensive rating; Jeff Withey had a career rating of 84.6) don't at all.
KU is still on the radar of elite teen big men Thon Maker (7-foot, 200 pounds) and Stephen Zimmerman (6-11, 225) to fill out the Class of 2015. But neither is a sure thing. And, come to think of it, the Jayhawks' street cred as "Big Man U" right now isn't really, either.
Season grade: B-. It was laughable when the pundits decreed in December and January that the Jayhawks were more vulnerable than ever to see their Big 12 title streak snapped, and even more laughable when fans and alums tried to mollify KU's stunning loss to Wichita State by officially decreeing this to be Self's worst team in Lawrence.
Was it his best? No. Far from it. And yet at the same time, it's hard to imagine this crew, even without Alexander, losing to, say, Bucknell or Bradley in an opening-round NCAA contest, the way Self's 2004-05 and 2005-06 squads did. While this group gutted its way through transfers, injuries and a bizarre eligibility saga to raise another Big 12 banner to the rafters, it is probably more likely to be remembered for its defeats, and the degree of those defeats, than anything else.
Forecast for 2015-16: Mostly sunny, with more worries about stormy weather in March (again). KU hasn't reached a Final Four or an Elite Eight since that feisty Thomas Robinson-led bunch slugged its way to the title game in 2012. An intimidator in the post could mean the difference between a good season and a great one, and the hopes for incoming freshman forward Carlton Bragg are justifiably high. Assuming Ellis returns for his senior year -- the Wichita native is on the fence as to whether to make the NBA jump -- Self's options, moving forward, could be as deep, or deeper, than the ones he had over the previous six months. The last KU coach to be eliminated by the Shockers in the Big Dance, Ted Owens in 1981, went 26-30 over the next two seasons and was replaced. It's extremely difficult to fathom Self's empire taking a comparable tumble. The Jayhawks now are not the Jayhawks of then, however many blows to the ego the fan base had to absorb over the last three weeks. They're fine. Of course, in Lawrence, fine is never, ever, ever good enough.
Next up: Wichita State
You can follow Sean Keeler on Twitter at @SeanKeeler or email him at seanmkeeler@gmail.com.
