Bill Self shares message to Kansas players about shorthanded rotation

After 10 players saw minutes in Kansas‘ previous matchup against in-state rival Kansas State, the undermanned Jayhawks played just seven in their hard-fought 64-61 win against Baylor on Saturday night.

Kansas head coach Bill Self and his squad were surely tested on their home court in Allen Fieldhouse over the weekend, and after the game, Self was asked if the discussion or preparation was different with his team given the circumstances or if their lack of depth went unsaid.

“No I talked about it, I talked about it’s a great opportunity for somebody to step up and get some confidence and it’ll be the best thing for us come March,” Self explained. “We talked about it, I put every positive spin on it I possibly could.”

Self was asked if his positive reinforcement worked for his shorthanded team and was brutally honest given his mood after the game.

“The way I feel right not? Hell no,” Self said getting a laugh out or reporters. “But I thought at the moment it was actually — I’m hoping they believe it, that’s what I was thinking at the moment.”

Given their lack of depth, Self led off the press conference by revealing that he was hoping the game would have a slow pace and would be a muddy matchup. Which it did end up being, but not for the right reasons in his eyes, revealing it was the least happy he’s been after a win all season because of the way his team played.

The Jayhawks forced 21 turnovers on the night, but were drastically out-rebounded on the glass 42-25. Holding onto their lead that was once at 13 points despite making just one field goal attempt in the last six minutes of the game. As Self continued breaking down how he managed his seven-man rotation on the night with all five of his starters playing over 30 minutes.

“I told them that Wilder [Evers] and Jank [Michael Jankovich] if we needed to they were gonna play. So what I tried to do was six for one, one for two, two for three, three for four, and so that way — and then Parker and Hunt be the two subs. So that’s what I tried to do and I didn’t do it was well, but probably got KJ [Adams] and Juan [Dajuan Harris] at least out for times for a minute. Which is probably more than they’ve been out in some of the other games,” Self smiled and said.

Leading scorer Kevin McCullar missed the Baylor game and Harris injured his ankle on Saturday as well. Making the Jayhawks’ lineup and rotation surely something to keep an eye on ahead of their Monday night matchup on the road against Texas Tech. Which tips off at 9:00 p.m. ET and airs on ESPN.