Tobacco Road Report

November 11, 2006. Kansas came out firing from the opening tip, defeating a respectable Northern Arizona squad 91-57 in front of a packed Allen Fieldhouse.

The game was never really in doubt as the Jayhawks used pressure defense and their advantage inside to open up a 14-7 lead in the first four minutes. The lead was 51-25 at half, with the Jayhawks shooting a sizzling 61% while holding the Lumberjacks to only 33%. Offensive production was well balanced for the Jayhawks, led by Brandon Rush (11), Russell Robinson (9), Sherron Collins (8), and Darnell Jackson (8).

Northern Arizona tried to get it all back in the opening minutes of the second half, launching three straight attempts from behind the arc. The strategy backfired, however, as the missed shots produced long rebounds which fueled the Kansas break leading to nine second-half layups.

The Jayhawk Offense
Offensively the Jayhawks like to use a 3-guard, double-post offense. Outside firepower is the responsibility of Brandon Rush, who led the Jayhawks with 15ppg last season and is being asked to up that this season. Head coach Bill Self is asking Rush to be more selfish offensively (no pun intended), to look for his shot more often rather than wait for the game to come to him.

Rush is a natural shooter who can nail the jumper off the dribble or from a stationary position. He elevates well and does not float when he rises up off the dribble. The ability to jump-stop and elevate vertically, as opposed to floating left or right, is one of the hardest techniques for younger players to learn. The result is a smooth, soft jump shot that seems to look for ways to fall in the basket.

Rush is not the type of player defenses can stop outright. Defenses, however, will be focused on slowing him down and making him work for his shots. Defenders that can get up on Rush and bump him off his rhythm will have the most success.

Inside, the Jayhawks are led by a trio of bigs: Julian Wright, Darrell Arthur, and Darnell Jackson. The fourth big, 6’11” Sasha Kaun, is recovering from a knee injury and will make the Jayhawks scary on the inside when he returns. The Lumberjacks were never able to solve the high-low looks that Kansas favors. The most successful combination seems to be Jackson down low and either Wright or Arthur up top. Jackson has more of an inside power game then and has a nose for finishing around the basket. He’s comfortable using a power dribble left or right and has enough touch on his short-range jump shot to keep defending post players off balance.

Julian Wright runs the floor well for someone his size and is a quick leaper. He’s a good shot blocker who contested nearly every inside attempt by the Lumberjacks. Darrell Arthur has more of a finesse game from the post, preferring turn around jumpers and jump-hooks over power moves. Arthur apparently has range on his jump shot since he attempted a three in the second half. We’ll see if Self continues to give Arthur the green light on this in the future.

While the high-low was very effective, the Jayhawks could have had much more efficiency. The high-low works best when the defense is fronting the post or playing topside, which the Lumberjacks were, and when the high post has good passing skills. The low post must hold position and present a good target, sealing off the defender and opening the lob pass. Jackson was respectable here, but may struggle against bigger players.

The key to the high post pass is not to throw to the player directly, but lead the low post by throwing to a target near the basket. The high post should toss the lob pass between the painted box above the rim and the edge of the backboard. The pass should be below rim height, and should graze the bottom of the backboard if left untouched. This allows the low post to disengage the defender and catch the ball going to the basket. Arthur and Wright would benefit from learning this technique or else the Jayhawks will have to live with too many turnovers.

The Jayhawk Defense
Defensively the Jayhawks prefer man-to-man, and employ significant backcourt pressure both on and off the ball. Chalmers, Collins, and Rush smother the ball and play the passing lanes. The effect is to force the opposing offense to start from well behind the three point line, making for long entry passes to initiate offense. This type of defense is a Bill Self trait and Jayhawk faithful should get used to it. Players who don’t bring intensity on the defensive end of the floor won’t play.

In sum, this is what opponents can expect from the Jayhawks:

• Kansas pressure defense is effective. The Jayhawks pressure the ball and sit in the passing lanes, disrupting the flow of the opposing offense. Teams should use backdoor to keep the defense honest. This can be done directly from point to wing, or by bringing a big man to the post and employing the UCLA high post offense.


• Offensively the Jayhawks don’t force much and are content to go into the post and use dribble penetration as opposed to the three pointer. The inside-out focus should help them be a better three point shooting squad. Defenders have to deny the pass to the high post and pressure the high post to prevent accurate lob passes into the low post. Big men don’t like the pressure and are unaccustomed to facing the basket and making decisions. Defenses need to exploit this.


• Brandon Rush is excellent offensively and will give opposing defense fits. He looks to have taken his game up one level. Slowing Rush down with pressure defense is the only option. Otherwise opponents must hope Rush falls back into a less aggressive posture than Self is asking for.


• The strength of the Kansas offense may come from inside. Pounding the ball inside and drawing fouls will help the Jayhawks control tempo and set their defense. There is room for improvement here, though, as the bigs need to improve their efficiency to avoid turnovers.


• It’s hard to find a weakness at this stage given the level of competition. The Jayhawks may have problems with turnovers and their free throw shooting was suspect. Both these aspects could improve with time. TRR will be watching.