Did KU Jayhawks escape OU game without injury? Bill Self discusses McCullar’s knee
The University of Kansas men’s basketball team, which snapped its four-game road losing streak Saturday at Oklahoma, doesn’t play again until Saturday at home against Texas.
The break in the action has been welcomed by the Jayhawks (20-6, 8-5), who dropped to No. 9 in the AP poll Monday after losing by 29 points against Texas Tech, then prevailing by 10 vs. OU in a pair of Big 12 road battles last week.
“This came at a good time for us because Kevin tweaked it (knee) again in Norman,” KU coach Bill Self said on Monday’s Hawk Talk radio show.
Self was referring to senior guard Kevin McCullar, who, after missing two games because of a bone bruise in his knee, returned to score 10 points and grab eight rebounds in 35 minutes Saturday. KU beat the Sooners 67-57.
As Self said, McCullar reinjured the knee in the game.
“He hasn’t been able to do anything since we’ve been back,” Self said. “We took yesterday (Sunday) off, practiced today, will practice tomorrow, will take Wednesday off then practice Thursday and Friday. This is a good week for us to at least get our legs back under us.”
Self did not assess McCullar’s playing status for Saturday’s game against UT, a game set for a 5 p.m. tipoff at Allen Fieldhouse.
“I think this is going to be something he deals with probably the rest of the year,” Self said, “until he has a substantial amount of time to rehab and do some things to strengthen some muscles around it which doesn’t happen over night.”
McCullar averages a team-leading 19.0 points a game on 46.3% shooting. He’s hit 37 of 105 3-point attempts for 35.2%. Also he averages 6.4 rebounds per contest with 102 assists to 61 turnovers. He has 34 steals.
“We wouldn’t have won the league without him last year. When he’s been healthy this year he’s been as good as any guard in the country,” Self said of the 6-7 San Antonio native.
In looking back at Saturday’s come-from-behind victory — KU trailed by 11 with two minutes left in the first half — Self said: “We were a tired team. The pace we played at Oklahoma was awful. We played so slow. There was a lot of standing. We need better ball and body movement. When the ball is moving offensively we can be hard to guard.”
Self believes the Jayhawks will be energized Saturday after taking advantage of this late-in-the-regular-season bye week.
“I think that this is fine for us,” he said. “The thing about it is everybody can break everything down and over-analyze stuff. The bottom line is these are 18- to 22-year old kids playing ball. They should want to play all the time and need to play. Of course injuries do factor into that. Of course they factor into us (with McCullar ailing).”
KU had the support of a former Jayhawk — Gradey Dick — at Saturday’s game against OU in Norman. Dick, a native of Wichita, is a first-year member of the Toronto Raptors. The league was on its All-Star break, so Dick was able to attend.
“Gradey said, ‘Coach, you are not going to believe this.’ I said, ‘What?’ He said, ‘One of my coaches told me they think I am the best defensive wing in the Eastern Conference.’ I said, ‘You are right. I don’t believe it,’’’ Self said with a laugh. “He is finally getting some (playing) time. He’s doing great. His attitude is so good.”
Dick has averaged 5.5 points per game for the Raptors. He has appeared in 34 games. He’s hit 35 of 98 3-point attempts for 35.7%. Overall, he’s made 64 of 159 shots for 40.3%. Dick scored 39 points combined in his last three games before All-Star break.
