Something hasn’t looked quite right with Bill Self’s offense, and it’s not all that easy to put a finger on just what has been amiss, other than the obvious: Darrell Arthur on the bench with foul trouble.

A rare young, skilled big man smart enough to know it’s wise to hang near the hoop because that’s where the easiest buckets can be found, Arthur is the best option. When he plays, things look better, but still not great.

Generally speaking – which is the only honest way to speak here since, as is the case with 99 percent of those who love to watch basketball, I’m not literate in the X’s and O’s nuances that keep basketball coaches busy adjusting to each other – there appears to be some hesitation.

Too often, it seems as if the player with the ball in his hands is asking himself: Is this a good shot or isn’t it? The easy answer is no because a player is less likely to be removed from a game for passing up a questionable shot than taking one. So the ball moves on to the next guy, not always in a purposeful way.

The players appear to be a little gun-shy at times, a defect for which there is no easy solution. Maybe the answer lies in Self stepping outside his comfort zone and living with the occasional bad shot in order to let the offense grow. If he can force himself to bite his tongue and let things breathe more than his instincts tell him is the right way to go, scorers might respond by playing looser.

Self always has stressed getting the ball inside, and in Arthur he has a player who rewards that approach. Still, Mario Chalmers needs to take more shots. Self agreed, saying Chalmers should get 12 shots a game. He’s averaging 8.6 shots.

Chalmers has the look of a player on the verge of making a breakthrough as a scorer. He also has the look of a guard who knows when to shoot and when to pass when driving to the hoop. Upon his arrival at KU, Chalmers looked more interested in scoring and making the great pass than in making the simple, productive plays.

Self successfully broke Chalmers of his selfish tendencies, and now it’s time to go in the other direction, time to let him loose, live with the bad shot here and there and watch his confidence grow.

Why isn’t Chalmers getting enough shots?

“A lot of it is us executing better and knowing what we’re looking for,” Self said. “We’re not a good play-running team. When we’re running our best offense, it’s out of whatever our base is, as opposed to quick-hitters.”

Quick-hitters?

“Coming down and saying we’re going to run this, this and this and get this guy a shot,” Self said. “We’re not good at that yet, and we never were last year. The year before, we were great at it, and that’s why Wayne (Simien) got so many shots. No team is good at everything, and that’s something we need to get better at.”

Against DePaul, Chalmers went 5-for-8 from the field, 3-for-5 from three-point land. Does the motion offense allow for feeding the hot hand?

“We have a lot of freedom within the offense,” Russell Robinson said. “I personally try to feed the hot hand.”

If Robinson can step out of his comfort zone and become the leader Self desires, the point guard will demand everyone else on the court also feeds the hot hand. And if Self can step out of his comfort zone, he’ll let the hot hand toss up a bad one or two.