Bill Self told the media on Friday that KJ Adams will miss some time with a separated shoulder. Adams is considered week-to-week. Self talked about what the Jayhawks will need in his absence, what he sees from Kansas State, and the improvements of Kansas’ defense.

Other Jayhawks get opportunities to step up in Adams’ absence

Kansas will have a spot in the starting lineup open for at least Saturday’s game against Kansas State, if not for an extended period of time. Self didn’t say who he would start against the Wildcats, but he mentioned players that will have an opportunity at an increased role.

“Obviously AJ, Flory, Rylan, Rakease will have significantly bigger roles than what they’ve had thus far,” Self said.

The Jayhawks will also have to play four guards around Hunter Dickinson and Flory Bidunga more than they have this season. Self said Kansas will have to be tough enough to play small.

“Can we rebound well enough to actually play small?” Self said. “Could we even play Rylan or Rakease at the four some, and AJ is gonna certainly play there some.”

Griffen and Storr could be the two biggest benefactors of Adams’ injury. Both are currently averaging under 20 minutes per game and could benefit from increased spacing and more run time to figure things out. Self said, “We need to have some guys step up and I’m sure they will.”

“It’s a blow [losing Adams], but it’s also a great opportunity,” Self added. “Hopefully somebody can develop through this as well.”

Kansas State could pose problems for Kansas’ depleted frontcourt

The Wildcats start two “bigs” with 6-foot-10 Coleman Hawkins and 6-foot-9 David N’Guessan. The two have skills that resemble wings or guards which could make them difficult to guard. With Adams and Zach Clemence hurt, Kansas will only be able to play two true bigs.

“You’ve got two bigs that are basically three-men skills, that are playing basically the fours and the fives,” Self said. “So that makes it a harder guard in some ways.”

Kansas State also stretches the floor well. Self said that the Wildcats can make shots at a high level but have been inconsistent this season.

“To me, they’re a scary team offensively because they can shoot and haven’t shot it well consistently,” Self said. “When you have five guys that can stretch it and you have some guys that are obviously gonna take a significant number of perimeter shots… They can make shots, and to me, that’s what stands out as much as anything.”

Kansas’ defense continues to play at a high level

Despite the loss to Iowa State on Wednesday, Kansas jumped from four to three in KenPom’s defensive efficiency. The Jayhawks have turned into an elite defensive team since Shakeel Moore was inserted into the starting lineup.

Self said they’ve done a pretty good job defensively, but there are some areas where the Jayhawks can improve. He mentioned rebounding, grabbing 50-50 balls, and ball screen defense as areas that can get better.

“Ball screen defense was so good the last three games and it was poor in this particular game guarding the short roll,” Self said. “There was technique reasons why it was poor in my opinion, but the ball screen defense wasn’t poor actually containing their guards for the most part… There are some things that we did from a technique standpoint that I think can be corrected.”

Currently, Kansas’ biggest issues lie on the offensive end. The Jayhawks have struggled to find consistent scoring outside of Zeke Mayo, and the halfcourt offense has often looked stagnant. Self said Hunter Dickinson’s activity can help the offense improve.

“We need to have a big guy play to his size and play to his ability,” Self said. “In my opinion, a lot of that’s on us, but I also think Hunter could be much more active.”