Kansas wings can excel with Bill Self’s help
By Chris Stone
Kansas head coach Bill Self has developed a bit of a poor reputation over the past couple of seasons in NBA Draft discussions. After two top five high school prospects, Cliff Alexander and Cheick Diallo, tumbled out of the first round — in Alexander’s case out of the draft entirely — Lawrence, KS has become the town where first round dreams go to die.
Whether or not that’s a fair assessment of Self’s experience with one-and-done prospects is up for debate, but whatever the conclusion, the Jayhawks’ head coach has another opportunity to make a statement this year. Self will start the season with two wing players on his roster currently projected to go in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft.
Ukraine-born Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk is a rising junior who has had flashes of success in his two seasons at Kansas. Svi, for short, has shown some skill as a pick-and-roll ball-handler and his streaky shooting has resulted in a few impressive performances from behind the three-point arc. The problem is that Mykhailiuk hasn’t quite lived up to his billing yet. He came to Lawrence as a potential lottery pick and has seen his draft stock drop while he’s adjusted to the speed of the college game and playing in Self’s offense. What’s intriguing about Mykhailiuk, though, is his age. After joining the Jayhawks at just 16-years old, Svi won’t turn 20 until next June. The 19-year old is actually four months younger than the incoming freshman that he’ll likely play behind, Josh Jackson.
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Jackson is Self’s
, a prospect who
247 Sports’
Jerry Meyer
“the top shooting guard” he’s ever scouted. Jackson is a tenacious competitor renowned for his basketball instincts and playmaking ability from the wing. The 6’7″ guard is a presumed one-and-done at Kansas and is currently projected to be a top five pick in the 2017 Draft.
Still, Mykhailiuk, Jackson, and Self are an odd mix for a couple of reasons. For starters, Self seems committed to playing two point guards and the Jayhawks are returning the starting backcourt of Frank Mason and Devonte Graham who helped lead the team to a 33-5 record in 2016 as Kansas entered the NCAA Tournament as the top-ranked team in the country.
Self has also consistently rolled out an offensive system that isn’t built to feature his roster’s playmaking wings. The head coach’s high-low offense is primarily focused on creating shots by entering the ball into the post or by allowing his skilled power forwards to take advantage of their face up games from the elbow as Perry Ellis, Thomas Robinson, and Marcus Morris have all done in the past.
Wings are often relegated to shooting duty in Self’s offense, helping to space the floor for entry passes and driving lanes for the point guards. The problem is that neither Mykhailiuk nor Jackson are proven outside shooters. While he’s attempted 8.2 three-pointers per 40 minutes during his career, Svi is a slightly above-average 36.1 percent from behind the arc in college and for all of Jackson’s positives, his outside shooting is probably his least polished skill.
So, how can Self make the puzzle pieces fit? One option is to play small by starting Mason, Graham, Mykhailiuk, and Jackson alongside a big man. Self has historically eschewed this approach and this season, it would likely mean that rising sophomore Carlton Bragg, another talented power forward, would be left out in the cold.
The best path for Self might be simply tweaking his offense by allowing Mykhailiuk and Jackson more playmaking opportunities when they’re on the floor. Putting the ball in his wings hands more often would maximize the strengths of both players’ offensive talents while theoretically also opening up the Jayhawks’ top two returning outside shooters (Mason and Graham) at the three-point line.
Kansas will enter the 2016-17 season as a favorite to win its 13th straight Big 12 conference championship and as one of the favorites to win the NCAA Tournament come March, but that doesn’t mean the Jayhawks are free of question marks. Self has an incredibly talented roster returning to Lawrence, though, and if he decides to make a few tweaks, he could add to the trophy case and shed his recent reputation in the process.