LAS VEGAS – Longtime Kansas assistant Norm Roberts gave a motivational speech for the Jayhawks before their game against No. 11 Duke and its freshmen. “Don’t worry about the names on the back of the jerseys,” Roberts said, was his message. “All they care about is the name on the front. This is Kansas vs. Duke.

In this transactional era of college basketball, Roberts usually had a stronger point. But Kansas has two key contributors who spent a combined decade on campus: Dajuan Harris Jr. and KJ Adams. It feels a little more special for the fan base to see players they know almost as well as their family put on that shirt on big stages.

A game that nearly resulted in a punt that led to the ejection of Kansas star Hunter Dickinson ended in a 75-72 victory for the Jayhawks. And the difference?

“Especially Harris and Adams, how many games have they played like this?” said Duke coach Jon Scheyer, who has a group that is still getting to know each other and feeling what it’s like to play in these big games. “I think it showed. Their poise down the stretch, their toughness.”

One reason for Roberts’ message was the concern that Adams would make this game personal. Adams hasn’t played at his level lately since injuring his ankle in a win against North Carolina on Nov. 8 and said he’s operating at about 70-80 percent. November 17 marked one year since his mother Yvonne passed away after a long battle with cancer.

“It’s been a tough week,” Adams said. “It was a tough mental block the last two games.”

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Then came this game and the assignment to guard Duke’s Cooper Flagg, the most hyped player to see college basketball in years. Roberts knew the matchup could decide the game, but he needed Adams to approach the game the right way and avoid foul trouble.

“You kind of want to make it you versus him,” Adams said. “But if you do that and mess up the team’s plan, that’s the last thing you want to do.”

Adams picked up his second foul with 5:50 left in the first half and Kansas leading 30-20. When he checked back two minutes later, the lead had been cut to two and remained there through halftime. Duke was fortunate to be so close, as Flagg took just two shots in the first half and scored one bucket, a pull-up jumper when Adams was on the bench.

Flagg finished with 13 points but scored just once all night on Adams, a tough first for the left with 2:29 to play.

“I think KJ showed a lot of people tonight that you can be an elite player at this level and not be a prolific scorer,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “Because he did it all.”

However, Kansas needed scoring from a broader cast of characters because this wasn’t Dickinson’s night. Dickinson missed five consecutive shots in 80 seconds during a stretch midway through the first half, when Kansas could have extended its lead back to double digits after a hot start.

Then came the stairs.

With Kansas ahead 57-55, Dickinson missed a jump hook over Duke’s Maliq Brown, and the two fell to the ground as Brown tried to take down Dickinson. While on the ground, Dickinson’s right foot made contact with Brown’s face. A lengthy review ensued, during which the officials determined Dickinson’s kick was intentional and ruled a flagrant-2 foul, ejecting Dickinson from the game with 10:26 to go.

Hunter Dickinson was ejected after being assessed a flagrant 2 foul for kicking Maliq Brown. pic.twitter.com/lXR91RTiWX

— ESPN (@espn) November 27, 2024

“I thought it was a good call,” Self said. “I thought maybe the flagrante-2 was a bit serious. I thought it was definitely a blatant-1. It’s a good lesson to learn. But the best thing about Hunter not competing was that Flory (Bidunga) did.”

A year ago, losing any of Dickinson, Adams or Harris would have crushed Kansas’ chances. But Self brought in reinforcements for this season, signing five perimeter players from the transfer portal and a backup for Dickinson in five-star freshman Bidunga.

On possession after Brown made one of his free throws, he tried to attack the basket and Adams met him in the paint and took the ball away from him like a playground bully. Then Brown fouled Bidunga, the second of four straight whistles against the Blue Devils, sending the freshman to the line. Bidunga made both and followed a game-tying 3 by Duke’s Tyrese Proctor with an alley-oop dunk off a feed from Adams to give Kansas the lead again.

From there, there were two more lead changes in the final nine minutes, three draws and action that was almost good enough to make the fans forget about the kick. And every time Kansas needed a bucket late, it was Harris who set it up. Harris, who is often at his best in big games, led the Jayhawks with 14 points, nine assists and three steals. Twice Flagg was switched to Kansas’ sixth-year point guard on defense, and both times Harris got past him and jumped into the air for assists, first finding Rylan Griffen for a go-ahead 3 and then Zeke Mayo for a runner who turned out to succeed. be the game winning basket.

RYLO WHEN WE NEED IT‼️#PayHeed X @GriffenRylan pic.twitter.com/yaDVl1M3Rf

— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) November 27, 2024

Harris had a name for the move where he jumps over the baseline – “the Juando drill” – and explained that the Jayhawks practice it and he knows exactly where he’s going with the ball when it comes off his feet.

“These guys come up with a lot of nonsense that we don’t even know about,” Self said upon hearing his point guard’s explanation. ‘I’ve never heard of a Juando exercise. If he said it, it must be true.”

The truth is, Self trusts his point guard in every situation, whether he leaves a plan or not. There’s nothing Self loves more than seeing his veterans find a way when their backs are against the wall. And while it felt like Kansas was in control for most of the game, Duke did get the ball down in the final minute with a chance for a walk-off victory.

In a similar situation two weeks ago against Kentucky, Scheyer set up an isolation play for Flagg, which failed when the freshman spun and lost the ball. The design was similar this time – a ghost screen to distract the defense and an isolation for one of its best players – only this time the ball went to freshman Kon Knueppel, as Flagg ran past on the ghost, leading to the substitution Adams. on the ballhandler. That was the worst thing that could happen for Duke. Adams cut off Knueppel, who spun and left his feet, seeing both Adams and Bidunga’s long arm in front of him, and lost the ball. Griffen pulled the ball down, was fouled and made both free throws with three seconds left to put KU ahead by three seconds.

It was redemption for Griffen, who also had a key and one bucket in the second half after entering halftime on Self’s bad side when he shot a 3 with 16 seconds left in the first half and the shot clock running out , giving Duke the lead back. ball and setting up a Proctor 3 that cut the lead to two at the break.

These are the hiccups that occur with transfers that are not yet programmed to play how Self wants. Adams and Harris aren’t perfect, but in their coach’s eyes, they’re getting close. And there was Adams again as Knueppel said a final prayer at the buzzer, switching to Knueppel and challenging the shot without fouling.

Self said afterward that it’s too early to call this a pivotal moment, but he felt like he had a team without an identity until now and that his guys might have one now. The Jayhawks can get ugly and win without Dickinson running the offense, which he did in the Champions Classic against Michigan State.

Adams echoed Self, saying it’s still early and the Jayhawks can’t get too high because a lot of things could change. But later that evening, away from the microphone after visiting his family, Adams admitted that this moment mattered.

“To have a game like this, the script has been flipped,” he said. ‘I know she’s watching over me. And just to get my emotion back, today felt great.

(Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)