Could This Be Joe Yesufu's Moment? ⏰
Could This Be Joe Yesufu's Moment? ⏰
The numbers aren't good for Yesufu. The PG must be due for positive regression.
Bill Self scooped me this week. I had HEARINGS ready to go about Joe Yesufu taking on a bigger offensive role, but Self apparently mentioned it at Hawk Talk ahead of today’s game vs. Kentucky.
Shout out to Lane Stanberry in the comments this week for catching it.
I've HEARD Yesufu shows flashes of being a high-caliber offensive player in practice but is just inconsistent. Confidence is a big piece of that. Maybe the biggest part.
Look at some of the advanced stats (see below) and you'll see why Yesufu's playing time has been limited. He needs to be more efficient. To me, Yesufu is the classic case of a player who can only get rhythm with steady playing time and no fear.1
The Jayhawks can’t really be patient after today’s game. The next two are against Kansas State and Iowa State. If Yesufu steps up now, he can earn the kind of trust that will keep him in the rotation the rest of the season.
KU recruited him to be a scorer. He has a proven record of scoring at a high level. Now is his chance to make it happen.
YESUFU NUMBERS:
The following shows how Yesufu compares to the rest of KU's roster. 1 means you rank first. 11 means you rank last.2
Yesufu is better than this. I think it's a problem with confidence. I hope he's due for positive regression. The upside is clearly there. The staff recognizes it, too.
Note: I’ll be back later today with KU’s plan to stop Oscar Tshiebwe and a betting breakdown.
Most college players seem to be like this.
I removed Cam Martin, Michael Jankovich, Kyle Cuffe, and Dillon Wilhite for simplicity.