Kansas may have come away with a win over NC State, but head coach Bill Self isn’t sugarcoating what he saw from his team. Outside of one electrifying performance, the Jayhawks looked sluggish, disjointed, and far from the polished product Self expects this deep into December. And now, the message from the Hall of Fame coach is clear: it’s time for Kansas to pick up the pace.
The lone bright spot in Saturday night’s narrow win? Melvin Council Jr.
The senior guard didn’t just lead Kansas-he carried them. Council poured in 36 points on 27 shots, drilling nine threes, grabbing seven boards, and dishing out four assists in a marathon 43-minute effort.
Simply put, he was everywhere. The rest of the Jayhawks?
Not so much.
“Being totally truthful, you take Melvin out of the equation, and who could you turn to say, ‘They really had a nice game the other day?’” Self said postgame. “It wasn’t very good.”
He’s not wrong. Flory Bidunga, who’s been a force inside at times this season, was limited by foul trouble and managed just eight points.
Tre White struggled from deep, going 0-for-6 from beyond the arc and finishing with an inefficient 12 points. Even Darryn Peterson, who returned to the lineup and dropped 17 points on 50% shooting, drew criticism from Self-not for his stat line, but for playing below his full capability.
That’s been a recurring theme for this Kansas team: flashes of energy, but a lack of execution. Self has been vocal about the Jayhawks’ offensive issues, particularly when it comes to movement-both of the ball and the players.
And while they’ve had moments, like their gritty win over Tennessee in the Players Era Festival, those stretches have been few and far between. Since then, KU has struggled to string together consistent offensive possessions.
Against UConn, they made just five field goals in the second half. That’s not going to cut it in Big 12 play, let alone March.
“We tried our ball and body movement; our cutting, our spacing, our screening,” Self said. “The ball sticks.
There are a lot of things that we can try to do better. There really hasn't been a time I felt like we have moved the ball well.”
That stickiness becomes especially apparent when Peterson is on the floor. The freshman guard has the talent to create his own shot, no question.
But when the offense stalls around him, it becomes too one-dimensional. Self’s message to the rest of the team?
Don’t stand and watch.
“When Darryn’s out there, he can hold it, it can stick, and he can get his own,” Self said. “Everybody else has got to be a ball mover or shooter or a passer immediately, or screener.
Can’t be a stander. And we’ve got way too much of that going on.”
It’s not just about execution-it’s about tempo. Self was blunt in his assessment of the Jayhawks’ pace against NC State: “ridiculously slow.”
That’s a problem, especially for a team still working out the kinks in its half-court offense. If the execution isn’t sharp, speed can be a pressure valve.
It can create mismatches, force defensive breakdowns, and generate easier looks in transition. Right now, Kansas isn’t doing enough of that.
“If we’re not an execution team, at least play with pace,” Self emphasized. “Do some things that we have to get better at. And when I say we’re not, we’re not yet.”
That “yet” is doing a lot of work. Self knows the ceiling for this team is still high.
Council’s breakout performance is proof of that. Peterson is still rounding into form.
Bidunga and White have shown flashes. But if Kansas is going to live up to its potential-and contend when it matters most-they’ll need more than flashes.
They’ll need movement, urgency, and a collective commitment to playing faster, smarter, and more connected basketball.
The Jayhawks are 10-1, but the record doesn’t tell the whole story. Self isn’t chasing wins in December-he’s building a team for March. And right now, there’s still a lot of work to do.