Which teams were far less talented and had more success? There's probably one NBA player on the roster, and he's a raw freshman playing behind Dickinson. Teams don't even guard Adams or Harris, and it's hard for Dickinson to consistently dominate when he's triple teamed. A lot of these guys are okay individually but don't complement each other well. Harris and KJ would be bench role players at best on a vintage KU roster, and Storr was vastly overrated.
That said, they've shown they can compete with anybody at their best. When they try to sleepwalk through a game, it doesn't end well.
It's no secret that something was off. Players were pissed about their roles and favoritism, and the staff's been struggling to get Storr to buy in all season. The Utah trip was supposed to be a bonding experience and it turned into a complete disaster, with players blowing up on coaches. Result was a dysfunctional situation that led to two bad losses.
After the BYU debacle, Self had some talks, and the day before the next game he announced it's a "new season." 0-0. The OSU game was maybe their best of the year. They played with more energy and cohesion than they have all season. Followed it up with another win but they'll have a much bigger test on Saturday.
