Why Kansas Jayhawks basketball coach Bill Self calls forward Zach Clemence ‘fantastic’
University of Kansas forward Zach Clemence wants to be challenged whenever he steps on the court.
It’s why he returned to redshirt at KU instead of starting at UC Santa Barbara.
“From a player development (standpoint), going against the best every day at the best program in the country is hard to leave,” Clemence told The Star at Wednesday’s KU media day event.
Clemence averaged 1.4 points and 1.3 rebounds in 5.9 minutes per game last season while struggling to get on the floor due to injuries. According to his mother, Dusti Clemence, Zach Clemence nearly left KU over his concerns about playing time.
“He just wanted to play,” Dusti told The Star in June. “He just wanted to play the maximum time. It had nothing to do with the program, it just had to do with his time on the court. He wanted to be on the floor and contribute to winning, not just in practice — but he also wanted to be in the games, too.”
Now, Clemence is a redshirt junior who’s looking forward to a season of practice and development against the likes of KU teammate and Big 12 preseason Player of the Year Hunter Dickinson.
Clemence said he’s already seen a big improvement from last season, but don’t just take his word for it: KU coach Bill Self is also raving about his play.
“Zach’s been fantastic,” Self said. “I’d say … he’s one of the guys that’s been most improved. Once we started practicing, I think Zach has been probably as good as anybody.”
Forward Kevin McCullar went into detail about Clemence’s improvement.
“He’s grown so much,” McCullar said. “He’s really taking his game to the next step — not only on the offensive end, just being more comfortable on that end. On the defensive end, he’s taken pride on that end, too, so that’s been great to see.”
Clemence has even shifted his positional focus. He said he’s working on being a mobile wing.
He also didn’t entirely shut down the idea of burning his redshirt this season.
“Well, we’ll just have to find out,” he said.
Self shot down that notion.
“Zach will play against Illinois (on Sunday in Champaign, Ill.) because it’s legal and permissible for a redshirt to play in the exhibition game,” Self said. “Don’t read anything into it. … The plan is still the same.”
Clemence doesn’t know what his future holds. He said he’s focused on “trying to become the best player I can and see how the next few years go.”
For now, let’s just say he’s excited to be part of the No. 1-ranked team in the preseason AP Poll.
“We got some really good players, old, young — everything,” Clemence said. “It’s going to be a fun year.”
