It wasn’t the news Kansas Basketball fans wanted to hear early on Tuesday when it was announced that star freshman Darryn Peterson would miss the Champions Classic battle against No. 5 Duke. National pundits were quick to write the Jayhawks off in the wake of the news, and while Kansas ultimately fell to a star-studded Blue Devils team, 78-66, the Jayhawks were far from inadequate.
Kansas made it clear immediately that they have a lot of guys worthy of wearing the Crimson & Blue. Powered by strong individual performances from Tre White and Flory Bidunga, the Jayhawks found themselves (surprising to many) leading 26-20 with 6:40 remaining in the first half. Kansas was causing havoc defensively, which led to transition offense, and Duke appeared somewhat shell-shocked.
The tides turned at that 6:40 mark when Bidunga picked up his second foul. Sitting the rest of the half, Kansas’ big man watched the Jayhawks go minus-14 on the scoreboard, which ultimately led to Kansas trailing Duke at the break, 41-33. White was a major positive for KU – he was incredibly active on both ends, pouring in 15 points and adding a block and a pair of steals.
While Duke had the momentum after the break courtesy of the strong first-half finish, Bidunga returned for Kansas. Additionally, KU guard Melvin Council, Jr., who struggled mightily from the field in the first half, completely flipped the switch in the second. Council had a speedy driving dunk, three takes off the bounce and a crucial end-of-clock three – his first of the season – which cut the Duke lead to three at 67-64. KU’s offense would unfortunately go dry down the stretch with no field goals in the final 4:59, and the Blue Devils eventually got separation at the end, winning by a dozen.
Despite the loss to a fellow blueblood and an inordinate 3-2 overall record, the Kansas team and we as fans should be proud of the effort sans Peterson. While there are no moral victories in Kansas Basketball, this team showed fight, grit, and confidence despite not having their star.
While it would’ve been great to see a few three balls fall from Kohl Rosario and Bryson Tiller, who will undoubtedly be heavily relied upon in that category moving forward, I loved what I saw from Bidunga, White and Council. Add in future contributions from Rosario and Tiller, young players who will certainly improve as their respective careers go on – and oh yeah, the return of a generational player in Peterson – and Kansas really has something. This team is fun, fast, athletic, and full of “dogs” – the type of players loved by Coach Self and KU fans alike. KU has some guys.
While the wins need to start stacking up – particularly against quality opponents in Vegas next week and further in the non-con against teams like UConn and NC State, it’s shrewd to be excited about this team’s potential. Let’s see the ‘hawks go 3-0 in Sin City – with or without DP – and continue to build their confidence before they’re the best version of themselves come March. Rock Chalk!
Sean Kellerman