Bill Self Struggling to Establish His Starting Lineup

Posted by Chris Stone on November 11th, 2014

On Monday afternoon, Bill Self announced his likely starters for Tuesday’s exhibition game against Emporia State. Four of those players — Frank Mason III, Wayne Selden, Perry Ellis, and Jamari Traylor — also started in Kansas’s first exhibition last week against Washburn University. However, the third guard spot has been in a bit of disarray for Self and the Jayhawks in recent weeks. Initially, the final spot in the starting lineup against Washburn was supposed to be filled by sophomore Conner Frankamp, but his decision to transfer threw a wrench in those plans. Self then had planned to start sophomore Brannen Greene before a bad practice on the defensive end caused him to settle on freshman Devonte’ Graham instead. The Kansas head coach will now turn to his fourth potential starting guard after naming freshman Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk the likely starter for Tuesday’s final tuneup against Emporia State before the regular season starts on Friday.

Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk has been named a likely starter for Tuesday's exhibition. (Rich Sugg/The Kansas City Star)

Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk has been named a likely starter for Tuesday’s exhibition. (Rich Sugg/The Kansas City Star)

The construction of Self’s starting lineup is particularly important given the looming match-up against #1 Kentucky as part of the Champions Classic a week from today. The Jayhawks will need all of their players on the same page if they hope to pull off an upset over the talented Wildcats, and the cohesiveness of their starting lineup will be a necessary component. During the past three seasons leading up to this event, Self has only made alterations to his starters because of injuries and suspensions. His continued fiddling with the guard position clearly suggests he has not yet solved the problem.

Self has publicly expressed optimism about the potential of all of his available options, noting that Graham is comfortable coming off the bench but will likely battle with Mason for the starting point guard role. He has also mentioned that freshman Kelly Oubre still has to “figure some things out,” specifically pointing to the freshman’s tendency to hang on to the ball too long. Greene has been described by his coach as “knowing what we’re trying to do,” but he has experienced hiccups on the defensive end and was limited in practice this week due to a concussion suffered against Washburn. Self also recently said that Mykhailiuk can be “hit or miss,” but commented further: “I do see his minutes going up. He needs to be out there because he can do some things from an offensive standpoint and from a position-defender standpoint that he’s a little bit ahead of some other guys.”

Certainly Self and his coaching staff have numerous talented options at their disposal, but it does not appear that he is yet confident in any particular player to fill the final spot in the starting lineup. His team is behind in learning the offensive playbook and young players struggle to do the simple things, but maybe he will see something in tonight’s game that will signal to him that one of his guards is ready to prove that his trust in them is warranted.

Chris Stone (136 Posts)

Chris Stone is a contributor to the Big 12 microsite. You can find him on Twitter @cstonehoops.


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3 responses to “Bill Self Struggling to Establish His Starting Lineup”

  1. Mat P. says:

    When will Cliff Alexander make it into the starting lineup?

  2. Chris Stone says:

    Good question and one without a clear answer. Self did not start Joel Embiid until 8 games into the season in 2013-14. He seems to like to rely on his more experienced players to start the year while the freshmen learn more of the playbook, something consistent with his comments made this week. Alexander, in particular, got into some trouble during the Washburn game after making a mistake on an inbounds play and then drawing a five second call. However, if Alexander continues to adapt to the college, he will likely have an opportunity to start by the time conference play rolls around given his immense talent.

  3. amac says:

    Any word on Svi’s dunking skills?

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