KU basketball notebook: Landen Lucas thriving in four-guard lineup

LAWRENCE — To say No. 2 Kansas has expanded its playbook when it comes to four-guard lineups would be a bit of an understatement.

After all, while the Jayhawks (15-1, 4-0 Big 12) spend a majority of their time with four guards on the floor, that hasn’t exactly been the case in years past.

Take it from the mouth of a fifth-year senior, who couldn’t help but let out a laugh after describing the differences in the offense from his junior season to his senior one.

“We definitely have more plays for it,” Landen Lucas said. “I mean before, last year we probably had one.”

From the outside, Lucas’ approximation doesn’t seem to be far off, if at all. The Jayhawks really only went to the four-guard look in a close game once last season, doing so against Oklahoma on Feb. 13 in Norman.

Even then, the four-guard stretch didn’t last very long. The unit shared the court for just about two minutes.

This year, there’s been an obvious difference, which has brought with it a learning curve. KU coach Bill Self admitted early in the year it would take time to tinker with his four-guard looks. But while he continues to work out the kinks with the various plays, he has found constant success with at least one part of the lineup.

“Landen is hard to take out,” Self said, “because (he’s) such a good defender and rebounder. He’s hard to take out, and he’s smart, too.”

Early in the year, dealing with a couple different injuries, Lucas got off to a slow start. But since shedding his walking boot, the big man has looked the part of the perfect complementary piece for the four guards.

Over his last seven games, Lucas is averaging 10.7 points and 10.7 rebounds. He’s posted three double-doubles in four conference games, and has posted fewer than 12 rebounds just once in his last five contests.

“He’s doing what he can do. He’s a great defensive rebounder. He’s an opportunistic offensive rebounder without question,” Self said of Lucas. “Some of the best possessions we’ve had all year is because Landen has kept balls alive and stolen us some extra possessions.”

As for the adjustment to a new playbook, Lucas maintains it hasn’t been all that difficult. He noted he’s usually pretty quick when it comes to picking things up, but even more than that, when there’s only one spot for a big man on the floor, it can make his role a lot more defined.

“Sometimes it can make it more simplified for the bigs,” Lucas said. “Because instead of learning two spots, whether you’re at the five sometimes or maybe at the four when somebody else slides in, you just have to learn one.”

And without the extra potential responsibilities to clutter his mind, Lucas’ creativity has had plenty of time to flow.

While talking to the media about the players’ dialogue with Self in tweaking the offense, Lucas let it slip that his coach will occasionally let the players name plays. The logical follow-up came next. Lucas was asked about his favorite play name, and he began to answer, before making the probably wise decision to leave some things unsaid.

“I just came up with — you know, if I said the play name it might give it away,” Lucas said with a smile. “I did come up with one recently though. I was pretty proud of it too. It’s clever.”

BACKCOURT CLASH — While the KU backcourt of Frank Mason, Devonte’ Graham and Josh Jackson has been touted as one of the best in the nation, KU’s upcoming opponent is one of the few teams that can match its firepower.

Oklahoma State (10-6, 0-4) is led in scoring by Juwan Evans, a dynamic offensive player averaging more than 18 points in his sophomore season. Evans has already had three 30-point games this year and even dropped 42 in a game last year against Oklahoma.

“(Evans) is one of the best players we’ll face,” Self said. “He didn’t beat us by himself last year. Their team collectively whipped us pretty good. But he was by far the best player in the game.”

But it doesn’t stop there. The Cowboys have three guards that rank in the top nine in the conference in scoring, with Evans being joined by junior Jeffrey Carroll (third, 18.4 points) and senior Phil Forte (ninth, 14.1 points).

“(Evans) can get 25 any night,” Self said. “Forte can get 25 in any night; he’s done that. And Carroll can get 25 in any night; he’s done that.

“They have got three guys on the perimeter that really score the ball.”

MASON’S MINUTES — Entering Thursday, Mason’s name was at the top of several Big 12 statistical categories. He was leading the conference in points per game and 3-point percentage. He ranked second in assists per game and third in made 3-point field goals.

However, it’s another one of those categories that seems to be drawing the most attention.

Self has been asked several times throughout the season about Mason’s minutes — he currently leads the Big 12 with 34.9 minutes per game — and if he might be able to find ways to get his point guard some rest.

Self’s answer has remained consistent: There are ways to get veterans off their feet during the week that doesn’t cause them to miss time on the floor.

“I think a lot of it depends on the player,” Self said. “If he was a freshman or a sophomore and needed reps or what not, you’d probably need to get them. But I don’t think that’s any big news that you want to maybe cut back your practice time a little bit for a guy that’s playing 37 minutes per game.”

While Mason has sat for just a combined eight minutes over his last three games — playing 39, 36 and 37 minutes – he isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. He scored 28 points in his last outing against Oklahoma, and has scored at least 22 points in three of the team’s last four games overall.

FREE THROW TURNAROUND — Free throws were an area of concern for the Jayhawks early in the season, but you wouldn’t know it just from looking at the conference numbers. Through four games, the Jayhawks actually lead the Big 12 in free-throw percentage, hitting on 77.6 percent of their shots.

At his weekly news conference, Self was asked if there was something the team was doing differently. He smiled, taking sole credit for the accomplishment in jest.

“Yeah. Really coached up free throws in the last four games,” Self joked.

While the numbers are a bit jarring, especially considering the Jayhawks still rank outside the top 320 nationally in team free-throw percentage, there is a somewhat of a reason for the turnaround. As Self noted earlier in the year, without KU’s freshmen, which at the time included Udoka Azubuike, KU was actually OK in that department.

To some extent, that still holds true. Freshman forward Mitch Lightfoot, who has made just two of 10 free-throw attempts this year, has only shot two in conference play. Azubuike, who made just under 38 percent of his free throw attempts, won’t appear in any conference games after undergoing surgery on his wrist. Jackson, the team’s other freshman, has shown some improvement. He’s been on a bit of an uptick in conference play, where he’s made 11 of his 17 attempts.

Regardless, it’s something Self said he trusts the players to police, and for the time being, it seems to be working itself out.

“Free throws are so much about just being focused on it,” Lucas said. “We’ve been shooting more after practice, doing different things to work on it, but really just as a team stepping to the line with a lot more focus, which then leads to a lot more confidence too.”