Another top executive exits from race track

Svi Mykhailiuk needed only one word to summarize what will go down as one of the nastiest KU dunks in recent memory.

“Damn.”

That reaction, which came in the first half of KU’s 114-71 drubbing of Texas Southern on Tuesday, was probably restrained given the play that preceded it.

Udoka Azubuike caught the ball in the post with 7-foot-2 Trayvon Reed on his back. Azubuike took a dribble, faked toward the middle of the lane and then went up with an intense, even angry glare as he powered the ball through the net.

Reed, who Azubuike bulldozed his way through on the play, fell into the arms of a teammate. Azubuike landed softly on his feet, staring down the camera under the hoop before jogging back on defense.

“That was crazy,” Mykhailiuk said with a smile.

No kidding.

While the Delta, Nigeria-native stood two inches shorter than his Texas Southern counterpart — that might explain how Azubuike lost the jump ball at the beginning of the game — Azubuike had a definitive advantage in girth. He routinely was able to back down the more wiry-framed Reed, who had not yet been matched up with a player of that size in a man-to-man setting.

“That was probably the best big I’ve played so far,” said Reed. “Big player.”

Azubuike’s final line was impressive. He tallied a career-best 20 points and came one rebound shy of a double-double.

He also picked up a pair of blocks, though he was officially credited with one block and one steal on the stat sheet.

The play in question came midway through the first half. Texas Southern’s Derrick Bruce spun past Malik Newman and got all the way to the rim. Bruce went up for a shot, switching hands in an attempt to avoid the big man, who instead clubbed it back at him with both forearms, if not his elbows.

“He’s a really big dude,” Mykhailiuk said.

Of that he’ll find no disagreement.

Where he might find some resistance, though, is on his overall view of the big man.

While Mykhailiuk said Azubuike played great, his coach wanted to see a little more.

Specifically, Self brought up how Azubuike could be a much better defender and indicated that his 9-of-12 shooting night — which actually dropped Azubuike’s field goal percentage from 90.5 percent to 84.8 — wasn’t quite what it seemed.

“We did a better job of throwing him the ball,” Self said of Azubuike’s 20 points. “It’s a little misleading. Of his 12 shots, how many of those were catch it in the post and make a move? Maybe three or four.”

Self ribbed Azubuike for one play, which came with just under 12 minutes to play in the second half.

Azubuike caught the ball on the left block, took a pair of dribbles and shot a right hook. The ball kissed off the glass and in — Self joked afterward that the backboard saved it from going into the crowd — while Azubuike tumbled to the ground.

The crowd at Allen Fieldhouse gasped, at least until Azubuike waved off the coaches. His right shoe had simply come untied.

“He’s not exactly (Bill) Walton in the low post yet,” Self joked.

Still, asked about the big man after the game, Self agreed there were signs of progress. That being said, even in the midst of a compliment, the 15th-year KU coach couldn’t help but note another area Azubuike needed to improve.

“His footwork has gotten better, his balance is better,” Self said. “But he’s got to become at least an average free throw shooter. That’s real important for us.”