McCormack staying positive, making most of limited minutes

LAWRENCE — David McCormack gave Kansas basketball a much-needed shot in the arm off the bench Friday night, an effort not forgotten by Bill Self following the top-ranked Jayhawks’ victory.

Still, the KU coach couldn’t help but attach one asterisk to the freshman forward’s performance.

“I was real pleased with David’s energy and what he gave us,” Self said following his team’s 89-76 victory over Louisiana. “He got six rebounds in 10 minutes and four of them were offensive rebounds — although one of them was a Dennis Rodman-type effort where he missed the bunny and got the quick rebound. But I thought he did good.”

Worm references aside, McCormack certainly made the most of his first official minutes inside Allen Fieldhouse.

With starters Udoka Azubuike and Dedric Lawson battling early foul trouble and forward Mitch Lightfoot struggling, Self turned to McCormack with 10 minutes left in the first half, and the decision paid dividends. The Jayhawks (3-0) outscored the Ragin’ Cajuns (1-2) by 10 the rest of the period, with McCormack blocking a layup attempt in the final seconds to preserve KU’s 44-41 halftime advantage.

While McCormack didn’t play in the second half, KU never again trailed in the contest.

“I’ll be honest: David won the game for us the first half, Doke (Azubuike) won the game for us the second half, and Lagerald (Vick) won the game for us the entire game,” Self said. “And everybody else was just average or whatnot.”

McCormack’s spurt was the first significant action this season for the 6-foot-10, 265-pounder. The former four-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American played five minutes in the Jayhawks’ season opener against Michigan State and sat for the entirety of the team’s home opener Monday against Vermont, with the effective Azubuike playing a team-high 34 minutes in the latter contest.

Matchups, Self indicated, have slowed McCormack’s integration into the KU rotation, though he has stated multiple times it isn’t a situation anyone should read into too much.

“The problem when we play a team like (Louisiana) is, how do you play he and Doke together if you play man-to-man,” Self said of the undersized, 3-point-happy Ragin’ Cajuns. “(If) Doke’s not in foul trouble and he’s playing well, there’s really not a huge reason to sub him out. But tonight, (McCormack) was definitely our best big in the first half.”

A player Azubuike said always sports “unbelievable energy,” McCormack acknowledged adjusting to his limited early-season role has been “a little struggle” at times, but added he’s just looking to make the most of every opportunity he gets.

“When you have a positive mindset and knowing that you’re willing to do whatever you can do to help the team in whatever minutes you have, that goes through the back of your mind and you don’t even think about it,” McCormack said. “... I mean regardless of the game, whether it was two minutes in Vermont, or a minute here or however many minutes I played I was going to play the same way, as hard as I possibly could."

Conversations with Self have also helped McCormack put his situation into perspective. After Friday's game, McCormack said Self told him he appreciates the forward's energy and work ethic.

“He’s definitely talked to me a couple times, just saying it was really unfortunate with the matchups, and Doke, you know, like I said, he had his hot streak, but I was very understanding,” McCormack said. “I know it’s part of the game. And being a freshman, coming in and to have to play behind Doke, that’s just going to have to be something I do.”

Up next for McCormack and the Jayhawks is the NIT Season Tip-Off, which begins with a 6 p.m. Wednesday contest against No. 24 Marquette at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. From the sound of things, the Bronx-born McCormack should have more than just his head coach in his corner.

“It’s definitely going to be a massive turnout," McCormack said in a postgame radio interview, "for the McCormack family."

LAWSON STILL FINDING WAY — Dedric Lawson finished with 19 points on 6-for-11 shooting and brought in six rebounds in 27 minutes, but Self said the preseason All-American still hasn’t gotten into the flow of things three games into his redshirt junior campaign.

“Dedric, he got 20 (points) against Michigan State and it felt like he should’ve gotten 30, and he got 19 tonight and it should’ve (been) 30. And he knows that,” Self said. “But still though, you’ve got to be a pretty good player to put up numbers like that and not have obviously a good offensive game."

Lawson was held scoreless for the first time in his collegiate career in Monday's victory over Vermont.

“He can finish better, and he’ll play better," Self said. "He just didn’t have a great week, but I’m glad we’ve got him.”