KU Sports

Kansas forward KJ Adams Jr. (24) goes in for a bucket against Kansas City during the second half at Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023. Photo by Nick Krug

Fayetteville, Ark. — Throughout the preseason, Kansas men's basketball coach Bill Self has mentioned his ongoing efforts to figure out how the Jayhawks' disparate pieces fit together.

Playing without several key pieces of that puzzle — preseason All-American center Hunter Dickinson and transfers Rylan Griffin and Shaquille Moore, all of whom sat out with various minor injuries — KU didn't look consistent on either side of the ball Friday night and in a charity performance at Budd Walton Arena. Lost 85-69 to preseason No. 16 Arkansas in the exhibition.

“It wasn't our team at first,” Q coach Bill Self said. “But I didn't learn very well. I found out that three of their guards kicked our three guards in the butt. I learned that their older boys kicked our older boys' ass. I think it will be a different team when some of the other guys come in there.”

With the Razorbacks missing one of their own offseason acquisitions in Tennessee transfer Jonas Idu, new head coach John Calipari started five players who committed or played for him at Kentucky, and several rewarded him with strong performances. Sophomore DJ Wagner led the Razorbacks with 24 points, while freshman guard Boogie Fland scored 22 with 6 steals.

“They're supposed to be professional for a reason,” KU guard Dajuan Harris Jr. said.

Harris, KU's sixth-year point guard, used his natural mix of acrobatic layups and pinpoint 3-point shooting to score a game-high 26 points, which would have been a career high when the game counted on 11-for-17 shooting. .

“I've been able to score, but I try to be aggressive for my team,” Harris said. “It still wasn't enough.”

The Jayhawks trailed by double digits the entire second half, but thanks to Harris and freshman Ruckes Passmore, their only other double-digit scorers, before late fouls and turnovers.

“I had a lot of unforced turnovers, and that's something I have to work on and the team has to work on,” KU senior KJ Adams said. “But other than that, they just played harder than us, I think, this game, and I think we're going to work on that in the next few practices, trying to get ready for the season.”

KU fell behind 8-2 thanks to a pair of 3-pointers by Wagner before Jake Mayo helped stem the tide with one of his own, followed by a slick transition assist to fellow transfer AJ Store.

The Razorbacks led by seven points on an off-the-backboard alley-oop to Trayvon Brazile, their lone returner from Fland. However, a key offensive rebound by Adams turned into a five-point possession due to an off-ball foul by Arkansas freshman Carter Knox (a 3-pointer by Harris and a dunk by Adams).

Arkansas held a slight advantage throughout the first quarter and widened it to 25-17 at the end of the period after a three-minute scoring drought for the Jayhawks.

The drought continued into the second quarter until a putback by freshman Flory Bidunga gave the rookie his first points. He then scored twice more in quick succession, including a long-range lob by Harris, but the Razorbacks kept KU at arm's length. They extended their lead to double digits at 35-25 when Passmore fouled Wagner on a jump shot, making it a three-point game. A self-called timeout after Zach Clemence and Passmore weren't on the same page, leading to a turnover that yielded a transition layup by Knox.

The Jayhawks looked significantly improved defensively out of the timeout, forcing four straight stops and cutting the deficit to a pair of Harris baskets. But an Arkansas timeout prevented them from building any additional traction, and Fland continued to torment KU on both sides of the ball with a steal and five straight points. By halftime, Fland had a game-high 14 points with three assists and three steals, and a late second-chance bucket by Johnelle Davis gave the Razorbacks a 45-33 halftime lead.

“He blew every screen, he blew every passing lane as a point guard is supposed to,” Harris said of Fland.

The gap doesn't seem to have done KU any favors. The Jayhawks saw their deficit balloon to 18 points midway through the third quarter, and they continued to struggle from the field. KU didn't make a field goal for nearly four minutes before Jamari McDowell's layup, and Arkansas immediately responded with a 3-pointer by Davis.

On the bright side for the Jayhawks, Passmore found his stride a bit late in the third quarter and managed to total eight points in the period. Harris said postgame that Self called Passmore the Jayhawks' best player of the night.

Harris continued his lights-out display deep into the fourth quarter, but Knox responded with an immediate three-point play via Clemens' foul. However, Harris rallied on drive after drive to pull KU to within 73-61 before Arkansas scored on a pair of transition layups off turnovers by Adams to extend its lead.

The Jayhawks return home for a second exhibition against Washburn on Tuesday at 7 p.m., by which time they expect their injured players to begin practicing.

Box score

wrote Henry Greenstein

Henry Lawrence is the sports editor for the Journal-World and KUsports.com, and serves as the KU beat writer while directing daily sports coverage. He previously worked as a sports reporter for The Bakersfield Californian and is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis (BA, Linguistics) and Arizona State University (MA, Sports Journalism). Although a native of Los Angeles, he's often been told that he doesn't give up the “California vibes,” whatever that means.

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