San Diego — The game was slipping away ever so slightly, Cal-Baptist had cut a 26-point Kansas lead all the way down to six and the Lancers had the ball and an opportunity to pull even closer.
And then they didn’t.
In basketball, there are always five players on the floor for each side. And no one will preach the importance of team defense to you quite like Kansas coach Bill Self.
But in arguably the most critical moment of Friday night’s 68-60 win by the 4th-seeded Jayhawks over No. 13 CBU, the biggest defensive burden fell on the shoulders of one player, who not only rose to the challenge but also asked for it.
After an offensive rebound by Cal-Baptist led to the Lancers calling timeout with 30 seconds to play, the Jayhawks talked in the huddle about how they wanted to guard CBU guard Dom Daniels Jr., who had caught fire in the second half and was absolutely feeling it.
“We were in the huddle in the timeout, and we were trying to figure out what we needed to do to guard him, different schemes, and I said I wanted him,” KU guard Elmarko Jackson told R1S1 Sports in the locker room after the win. “He had got me with two 3s earlier in the game, and I hated it. So I wanted another chance.”
His teammates heard him ask for the task and immediately loved it.
“We was gonna switch our defense,” KU point guard Melvin Council Jr. told R1S1 Sports. “And we said, ‘No. Stay with our principles,’ and Elmarko took the challenge and made an unbelievable stop.”
Added KU big man Flory Bidunga: “During the timeout, coach said he wanted us to switch five and Elmarko said, ‘No. I want the matchup.’ We were confident about it. Nobody doubted it. We trusted him. And, like we expected, he got the job done.”
“It kind of hyped me up when he did it. Because, who am I to not play that hard when I’ve got a guy like him who’s willing to die on that possession. I respect him for that. He’s a great teammate.”
— KU freshman Darryn Peterson on Elmarko Jackson's big defensive stop
Before he did, Jackson’s assertiveness in that timeout sent a charge into the Jayhawks who joined him on the floor.
No one articulated that quite like star freshman Darryn Peterson, who wowed the crowd on the other end for 28 points, a KU freshman scoring record in an NCAA Tournament debut.
“It kind of hyped me up when he did it,” Peterson said of Jackson asking to guard Daniels. “Because, who am I to not play that hard when I’ve got a guy like him who’s willing to die on that possession. I respect him for that. He’s a great teammate.”
Back to the on-court action and how Jackson got the job done.
The KU guard said the earlier triples that Daniels hit on him during Friday's game played a role in him getting the stop on Daniels' mid-range pull-up jumper late.
“I just picked up on his rhythm and understood kind of where he wanted to get to and tried to make it tough on him,” Jackson said, matter-of-factly. “He’s a really good scorer and, early in the game, he wasn’t really trying to force anything. He was just getting other guys touches and making consistent right reads. We were kind of waiting for him to start forcing stuff and we kind of let him get loose. For a really good scorer like that, all it takes is one bucket. We gave him the opportunity and he took advantage.”
Daniels’ stellar second half —20 of his 25 points on 6-of-13 shooting, 4-of-6 from 3-point range — nearly pulled the Lancers all the way back. And, certainly, had he hit another 3-pointer on the possession where Jackson stonewalled him, things might’ve been a lot more interesting the rest of the way.
But Jackson’s defensive grit forced a bad miss — off left, barely even grazing the side of the rim and mostly hitting backboard first — and allowed Kansas to close out the win with a Tre White dunk.
After forcing the miss, Jackson walked back toward the KU bench and yelled toward his teammates.
“Stop playing with me! Stop playing with me!”
Said Council of his teammate’s celebratory screams: “That’s that New Jersey coming out of him. I like it.”
After the victory, Kansas assistant coach Jacque Vaughn, who has seen and played with his share of defensive stalwarts during his college and pro career, called Jackson’s defensive stand, “big time.”
“He has the ability to guard any guard,” Vaughn told R1S1 Sports in the locker room. “It’s about the confidence to do it, the minutes to do it, and I think he’s taken advantage when he’s had the opportunity.”
Vaughn continued: “For Elmarko to give him the chest bump twice, without reaching, and still stay in front and slide his feet, move his hips and still contest (the shot) — big time.”
As for his vantage point of hearing Jackson ask for the chance to make the defensive stand, Vaughn — the former NBA head coach — smiled and said simply, “When you talk about strategy at the end of a game, that simplifies it for a coach when a dude says, ‘Yes, I want that responsibility,’ and takes that responsibility and gets the stop.”
— For tickets to all KU athletic events, visit kuathletics.com
