Player by Player Analysis (part 2)

6. Team Inconsistency leader - Dajuan Harris
No one on this team has gone from domination to disappearing than Dajuan. Look at his chart. I need to pull up Frank Mason's chart from a couple seasons ago. Frank was the picture of consistency. He never failed to deliver in terms of player rating. Sometimes he would do it by scoring. At other with plus-minus. Frank was always on and the model of consistency. Dajuan is the antithesis. You will not find a more inconsistent chart, well not until you look at Tyon's. I mean, when Dajuan has a stinker of a game, it is a STINKER!!! It takes some doing to have a negative player rating. Yet Dajuan has done it 4 times and almost 6 times. He burst onto the scene in St. Joseph's and especially Kentucky and we were wowed. Since then it has been feast of famine If there is one player you cannot afford to have feast or famine, it is your point guard. The eye test also supports this inconsistency. He is a redshirt freshman. He is on a learning curve. He may be the answer in 2024 or 2023 or even 2022. I don't think he is the answer in 2021.



7. Team Co-inconsistency leader - Tyon Grant-Foster
Here is the best thing I can say about Tyon. He has justified his minutes the last 2 games. Actually, against TCU he was quite good. Against Tennessee he was adequate for the minutes he played. But my oh my, when Tyon is bad, he is epically bad. And unfortunately, that has been a little all too often this season. I really do not know what to expect from this young man. He is our best athlete and a bundle of energy. Those are great qualities. I am hoping the coaching staff can direct them as the season progresses.



8. Team co-enigma - Tristan Enaruna
Of all the players on Kansas, Tristan is the most difficult to project his future. He has some qualities that give glimpses of a high ceiling. But he does things that make you wonder if he will ever get it. There is reason for optimism with Tristan. He was pretty much a non-factor through the 1st 9 games. Then he was one of the bright spots in an otherwise dark game against Texas. Then against the toughest stretch of games on our schedule, Tristan showed up and played reasonably well. He played few minutes against Tennessee but played reasonably well. I am not sure why he did not get more minutes. Self seems to be married to Braun and Wilson and not so much Enaruna. I am guessing Self was right in that call but one does wonder. Tristan is clearly on a generally positive trend over the last 8 games, albeit, inconsistent just like the rest of the guys this season. I am hoping that Tristan emerges as a surprise contributor down the stretch.



9. Team heart and soul - Mitch Lighfoot
I would love to say that Mitch has been the picture of consistency but that would be only partially true. Over the 1st 11 games, Mitch was hit and miss. But since then he has bee the model of consistency. That is the good news. The bad news is that Mitch's role on this team, the one where he has been wonderfully consistent over the last 6 games, is a 8-10 minute guy to spell David. I love Mitch and want so desperately for him to get massive love from KU. My main reason I am hating the no fans in Allen Fieldhouse this season is because of Mitch. The young man deserves the love from fans. He is everything you want in a student athlete. And he loves KU. Mitch will continue to be an 8-20 minute guy and my guess is, he will delver consistently exactly what we need from him.



10. Mr. tough break - Bryce Thompson
Bryce may be the most talented player on this team at the end of the day. He is a freshman and has a lot to learn. Unfortunately, just as he was blossoming, his season was cut short by a horrible, terrible, egregious non-call on what should have been a clear foul. The timeline is iffy, but there is hope he will return this season. Don't hold your breath. The bad news is, he was really working his way into the 6th man. He was that guy who could spell Marcus but bring some scoring punch with it. If I could trade out Dajuan for Bryce right now, I would do it 100 times out of 100. Losing Bryce was a huge blow to KU. You can see from his chart that he was rounding into a guy who was getting more minutes and always living up to the expectation or better. Sure, there was the Omaha game, but other than that, the data, while minimal, was indicating a good trajectory for a talented freshman.



So all in all, this team has some talent as you can see. It is clear that the the two factors for finishing strong are;

1. Play more consistently - eliminate the egregious letdowns
2. Mental toughness - don't cower when you are hit in the mouth. Play the big boys with swagger and toughness.

Jalen needs to refind his swag.
Christian needs to find mental toughness
Tristan needs to continue on his trajectory
Ochai needs to pretty much keep on but get a little tougher mentally
Marcus needs to be relived of running the offense and let loose his inner disruptor.
David needs to calm down and get really really mean on the boards.
Dajuan needs to not play when he is stinking it up. ( that's on Self)
Mitch - steady on
Tyon - I seriously don't know other than Self needs to tie an electric collar around his neck and if he ever goes to shoot a three, Self needs to buzz that collar.
Bryce - heal quickly my young friend and keep you attitude up.