It’s a dunk show for Kansas in the round of 64
The Kansas Jayhawks aren’t wasting anytime putting together a highlight reel during their opening round matchup against the UC Davis Aggies. Freshman Josh Jackson already threw down a big alley-oop early in the first half, but this time it was sophomore Lagerald Vick getting in on the action:
Vick’s dunk is oddly similar to Jackson’s coming off of a back cut from the right wing with Frank Mason delivering the pass. The only thing different is the Aggies’ defense. They were playing man-to-man against Jackson and a 2-3 zone on Vick’s dunk. That’s an important distinction because this is a favorite play of Kansas head coach Bill Self against that zone.
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The idea is pretty simple: swing the ball to the other side of the floor and as the backside wing watches it move, cut in behind him. Then, the only defender left who can disrupt the play is the big man in the middle of the paint. That’s where Landen Lucas comes in. Watch closely as Lucas jumps bumps up against the defender, setting a screen to keep him from turning around to deny the lob. It works nearly every time.
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Vick’s dunk was the latest in a series of highlights that came after Kansas got off to a rusty start. The Jayhawks have played just three games in 18 days after getting upset early in the Big 12 conference tournament by the TCU Horned Frogs. They’ll hope to avoid something similar as they look to make their first Final Four since 2012 and win their first national title since 2008.