KU junior David McCormack does enough, inside and out, to help Kansas survive, take top spot in ratings

By Matt Tait     Jan 28, 2021

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Kansas forward David McCormack (33) turns to put up a shot in the paint over TCU center Kevin Samuel (21) during the first half on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021 at Allen Fieldhouse.

**1 – David McCormack -** Even if that late-clock 3-pointer had not gone in, this was a pretty solid outing for McCormack. He missed a few too many in close early on, but recovered nicely and did work on the boards, as well, grabbing six rebounds total and four on the offensive glass to go along with a team-high 15 points.

**2 – Tyon Grant-Foster -** Coughed it up a couple of times on careless plays, but there’s no downplaying the spark he gave this team as a second-half starter off the bench after not playing a single minute in the first half. It will be interesting to see what this does for his confidence — and KU coach Bill Self’s confidence in him — the rest of the way.

**3 – Marcus Garrett -** He still turned it over far too often (4), but it’s clear that putting Dajuan Harris on the floor makes Garrett a better player. Chipped in eight points, seven rebounds and two assists in 34 minutes of tough-minded basketball.

**4 – Ochai Agbaji -** There’s nothing pretty about his shooting line — 5-of-14 overall and 2-of-9 from 3-point range — but Agbaji hit a couple of tough shots when no one else in a Kansas uniform was making them and he played tough defense and dished four assists.

**5 – Dajuan Harris -** Played 12 minutes in the first half and made a clear impact in the game. He started the second half and put an even bigger mark on things with seven points, three assists, three steals and no turnovers.

**6 – Mitch Lightfoot -** You know Lightfoot will battle. And he did that plenty of times in this one, both as a scorer and on the glass, even if he didn’t wind up with any points or the ball. Two points, four rebounds, four fouls and a few blocks in 14 minutes is the quintessential Mitch Lightfoot line.

**7 – Christian Braun -** Was pretty quiet offensively for most of the night, but hit a big 3-pointer in the second half and finished with five points and five rebounds in 27 minutes. Not the kind of production KU wants or needs from one of its primary options. But the line at least shows he did not check out.

**8 – Jalen Wilson -** Wilson continues to struggle shooting the ball. In this one, he missed all six field goal attempts, including three from 3-point range and a few in close on hard drives to the rim. Those were going in earlier in the season. And even though the aggressive mindset to take the shot is clearly still there, Wilson needs something good to happen sometime soon.

**9 – Tristan Enaruna -** Played just four minutes, yielding most of his time to Grant-Foster and Harris.

**Season Standings**

1 – Ochai Agbaji – 135

2 – Jalen Wilson – 118

3 – Marcus Garrett – 114

4 – Christian Braun – 111

5 – David McCormack – 104

6 – Mitch Lightfoot – 82

7 – Dajuan Harris – 76

8 – Tyon Grant-Foster – 53

9 – Bryce Thompson – 50~

10 – Tristan Enaruna – 48

T11 – Latrell Jossell – 7

T11 – Gethro Muscadin – 7

~ missed 3 games with a back injury and is out another 3-6 weeks with a broken finger

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.