LAWRENCE — Texas basketball coach Rodney Terry prepared as if Kevin McCullar Jr. was going to play Saturday for Kansas.
McCullar had played in the Jayhawks’ previous game, a win Feb. 17 at Oklahoma. McCullar is someone whose toughness Terry respects, in addition to what McCullar can do on both ends of the court. So, when McCullar didn’t play against the Longhorns, that meant Texas had to account for a different type of Kansas team.
But while the Longhorns left open the possibility they would have to face McCullar, the Jayhawks’ opponent Tuesday won’t have to do the same. When BYU arrives at Allen Fieldhouse, to face a Kansas team that just won 86-67 against Texas without McCullar, the Cougars won’t have to worry about stopping McCullar. And from what Jayhawks coach Bill Self said postgame Saturday, it’s unclear when an opponent will have to prepare for McCullar again.
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“My concern is, will he play again this year?” said Self, discussing an injury for McCullar that’s been referred to in the past as a bone bruise. “So, it’s not a day-to-day deal. It’s a week-to-week deal. And he obviously won’t play on Tuesday, and so I’m not going to put him out there because he’s missed so much time.”
Self acknowledged people might look at the number of games McCullar’s missed, which is now four total this season, but to him that’s not the story. He pointed to how McCullar played 35 minutes at Oklahoma and, after tweaking the injury there, hasn’t been able to do anything since. McCullar was present for Kansas’ game against Texas, but watched it from the bench and wasn’t in uniform.
Against the Longhorns, McCullar’s absence didn’t factor in as much as many might have anticipated ahead of tip-off. The Jayhawks established control early on and led by 20 points at halftime, before winning by 19. But while this game had meaning, and the rest of Kansas’ regular season games in Big 12 Conference play will as well, when it comes to McCullar the outlook Self has focuses on something much further away.
Self said he would like to have McCullar back for the postseason, and when that comes around have McCullar in rhythm so the team has a chance to be at its best. Self would also like for McCullar to have practiced for a good week before McCullar takes the floor, so they know McCullar can go and the injury won’t get worse. And that means, for the time being, the Jayhawks (21-6, 9-5 in Big 12) playing the way that helped them top Texas.
“Just trusting each other, moving the ball around,” said junior forward KJ Adams Jr., explaining the key to beating the Longhorns without McCullar. “We have a lot of pieces that we tried to fit in today, so it worked pretty well. Everybody got pretty good shots. So, I think we played well together today.”
Graduate senior guard Nicolas Timberlake, who started in McCullar’s place, had a lot to do with that. So, too, did a pair of freshman guards off the bench in Elmarko Jackson and Jamari McDowell. Kansas didn’t have to rely on its starters to the extent it has had to in the past this season, and the more the Jayhawks can keep that going the more they can continue to enjoy success as McCullar works his way back.
Sustaining that will be easier said than done, but Self is already alluding to attempting to discover a way to do so. BYU at home will be the first test. Baylor on the road, Kansas State at home and Houston on the road are the three tests that will follow before the Big 12 tournament.
“I’m going to figure something out,” Self said, “and get some rotation going where we can play those starters — even though it’s not going to be significantly less, but 33 is a much better number than 36.”
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Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kevin McCullar Jr. won’t play for Kansas basketball against BYU
