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Notebook: Self on Kansas’ shooting, mindset, play of offense and defense

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Notebook: Self on Kansas’ shooting, mindset, play of offense and defense


Kansas will embark on a two-game Utah road trip, taking on the Utah Utes and BYU Cougars. Bill Self met with the media on Thursday to preview the trip and discuss various aspects of where the Jayhawks stand. He talked about getting Kansas’ shooters going, the team’s mindset, and what he sees out of the offense and defense.

Kansas’ shooters need to be less reluctant

The Jayhawks’ three-point rate sits near the bottom of all Division One teams, with 33% of the team’s shots coming from beyond the arc. Kansas hasn’t shot it great from downtown (34.2%, 147th nationally), but Self thinks the shooting issues lie with the shots that his team isn’t taking. He said that when guys are struggling to knock down shots, they can become reluctant.

“A lot of times it’s them being reluctant, and I think that what I would want to eliminate from that is them being reluctant,” Self said. “So you don’t have to shoot more, but you got to shoot it when the situation requires you to shoot it.”

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Self said Kansas turned down “between 8 and 10 wide-open looks” in the game against Colorado. The Jayhawks have struggled from three, but Self values shot selection more than whether they are made.

“I’ve always taken the approach that it’s a good or bad shot when it leaves your hand, not if it goes in or not,” Self said. “If this is the shot we want you to shoot and we’re telling you to shoot it, why would you ever hesitate shooting it? If it doesn’t go in, that’s my fault. I’m the one telling you to shoot it.”

Self’s current message to his team

Self has often described the 2024-25 Jayhawks as inconsistent. On Thursday, he once again reiterated that message.

“The thing I would probably say to them as much as anything is, you know, you’ve teased us all, and we’ve all known what your ceiling is. Anything operating under that ceiling is not good enough,” Self said. “It’s an impossible standard to live up to always be at your ceiling. But it is more probable that you get closer if you have the intangibles that allow you to get there in the first place. And we just haven’t been operating with those same tangibles consistently.”

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His current motivation is getting to the root of who Kansas is as a team. Self said it’ll take a collective group effort to stay at a high level.

“We have to get to the core root of who we are and what we do, and this is what we believe in. And we have to all be at this level,” Self said. “And hopefully, collectively they want to do that as a group because the best thing about competing is winning. And winning is, you know, obviously something that brings as much joy or more joy to anybody that’s participating. And what allows you to win should be the motivation on what we all try to get to.”

Defense has been limiting factor in Kansas’ losses

Kansas remains in the top five in KenPom’s defensive efficiency. However, when you look at most of the Jayhawks’ losses, defense has been the main factor why they’ve faltered.

The Jayhawks allowed 60 points in the second half to Baylor and gave up a lot of easy looks against Kansas State. On the other hand, Kansas has been at its best this season when it puts together strong defensive performances.

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“The problem is in the games in which we haven’t been successful, defense has been really the reason why we haven’t been,” Self said.

Self mentioned a couple of areas that can make the Jayhawks a better defensive team – shrink the floor on ball screens, tighter switches, better one-shot defense, and better on-ball defense in late-clock scenarios.

“I think that will have as much to do with us playing better moving forward as anything,” Self said.

Kansas struggling to finish possessions, but patience has been a positive

Self said the Jayhawks have struggled to finish off great possessions. In years past, Self’s teams have been able to cap off possessions about “80 percent of the time.” However, that changes when things aren’t going well.

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“It seems like to me when things don’t go well, that same way to cap it off, we miss a wide-open three or something happens where it doesn’t cap it off the same way,” Self said. “I think we’ve had many more of those this year than what we’ve had in years past, which doesn’t mean our offense sucks, it means we just got to finish the dang possession.”

One positive Self mentioned is Kansas’ poise in late-clock scenarios. He said teams often panic with under 10 seconds on the clock, and it’s easier to defend, but the Jayhawks have remained patient.

“in many situations, I think what we’ve actually got better [at] is not panic in many situations,” Self said. “Okay, it may be late in the clock, but we may get Juan to turn the corner and shoot an uncontested layup with three left, which in many ways isn’t bad offense – in many ways that’s actually patient enough to give the offense a chance to work.”



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Kansas City man sentenced for cocaine trafficking, possession of illegal firearm

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Kansas City man sentenced for cocaine trafficking, possession of illegal firearm


KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A Kansas City man was sentenced in federal court for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy and possession of an illegal firearm.

According to the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, 22-year-old Antoine R. Gillum was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole.

His sentencing stems from a June 2024 incident in a metro gas station. KCPD investigators contacted Gillum inside and found that he had discarded a 9 mm pistol in an aisle between the merchandise. He also discarded a pill bottle containing multiple illegal substances: cocaine base, oxycodone/acetaminophen and oxycodone.

Officers searched the vehicle Gillum had arrived in and found approximately 32 grams of cocaine base.

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On May 6, 2025, Gillum pleaded guilty to one count each of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Jennings. It’s a part of ‘Operation Take Back America,’ a nationwide Department of Justice initiative to eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations.

No further information has been released.



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Deadly 4-car crash kills 2 people, injures others in Kansas City

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Deadly 4-car crash kills 2 people, injures others in Kansas City


KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A crash near a busy highway killed two people and injured two others.

Emergency crews responded to the crash at U.S. 71 Highway and Meyer Boulevard around 12:40 p.m. on Monday, March 2.

When crews arrived they determined four cars were involved in the crash.

Police are investigating how the crash happened.

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Homegrown Jayhawk stars ready to shine at Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City

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Homegrown Jayhawk stars ready to shine at Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City


LAWRENCE, Kan. (KCTV) – As Kansas women’s basketball prepares to enter the postseason at the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, they’ll be led by two Overland Park natives who have been two of the most electrifying players to watch in the country this year.

Junior guard S’Mya Nichols and freshman forward Jaliya Davis have played integral roles in the recent growth of the program. Both cite the desire to help grow the Jayhawks into something special as reasons for committing there.

“Where we wanted to take Kansas women’s basketball, I wanted to be a part of that growing evolution,” Nichols told KCTV5.

“We [my family] were also really big Jayhawk fans. We came to a lot of games,” Davis said about her childhood.

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The two were both 5-star recruits in high school, and their commitments marked historic recruiting victories for the KU women’s basketball program.

First came Nichols in the Class of 2023, picking KU over Tennessee and Oklahoma.

“I genuinely wanted to go to Kansas,” she said.

Then Davis became the highest-rated player to ever commit to KU as part of the Class of 2025.

“When you go back to S’Mya Nichols being a local, Kansas City, Overland Park product, a nationally respected player, Jaliya was really the next one that was very important for the Jayhawks to keep home,” said head coach Brandon Schneider.

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Now as a junior, Nichols has established herself as one of the most consistent scorers and physical guards in the nation.

But it’s the Shawnee Mission West’s alum’s leadership that defines her legacy in Lawrence.

“The team leader, the quarterback,” Coach Schneider described Nichols. “I think oftentimes the player that everybody looks up to off the court.”

“I mean it means everything. Knowing that I’m important to the team, and that they see me as that as well,” said Nichols with a smile.

Both Nichols and Davis were recruited by the Jayhawks for years, going all the way back to seventh grade.

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“Well, we offered her in middle school,’ Coach Schneider said with a laugh about Davis.

“Oh he put in a lot of work,” laughed Davis. “I mean, obviously, seventh grade, that’s a long time.”

It was that dedication from Coach Schneider that led her to choose the Jayhawks over Texas, South Carolina, Baylor, and Oklahoma – where he dad played ball.

“I think it really was the relationship we had and grew. He was always there, every single one of my games,” Davis said about Schneider.

After just one practice as teammates, Nichols voiced a big belief about Davis into existence – and it’s probably going to come true.

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The Jayhawks are the 11-seed in the Big 12 Tournament, and will face 14-seed UCF in the first round on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m.(KCTV5)

“I saw her first practice, and I sent her a text, and I’m like ‘I think you can win Freshman of the Year’, and I still stand by that,”

Davis is averaging 21.0 points per game, and has been named the Big 12 Freshman of the Week for eight weeks in a row. That sets a power conference all-time record.

“I think it’s really cool. I mean obviously it’s a team effort, they’re always looking for me,” Davis said about her historic accomplishment.

“Just a phenomenal stretch of basketball for her, and so well deserving,” said Coach Schneider.

Now these two homegrown stars are at the forefront of a late-season push to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Right now, CBS Sports bracketology has them as a ‘First Four Out’ team.

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But a few wins in the Big 12 Tournament could certainly help seal their invite to the big dance.

“Obviously we’re not in the position that we were hoping to be in, but I think we can make the most out of it, and get to where we want to be,” Davis said about the opportunity at hand in the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City.

The Overland Park kids are especially fired up about starting the postseason in their own backyard.

“I have a big support system. So I bet my family will take a big chunk of that area during that tournament,” Davis laughed.

“I remember being younger, and the College Basketball Experience is right next door. So I felt like at one moment that was the big stage, when I got to play my little AAU tournaments in there. And then all of a sudden I’m literally in T-Mobile Center on the actual big stage, so it’s pretty cool,” said Nichols.

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The Jayhawks are the 11-seed in the Big 12 Tournament, and will face 14-seed UCF in the first round on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m.



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