photo by: AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez

Kansas guard AJ Storr knocks the ball away from TCU guard Vasean Allette, right, in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Fort Worth, Texas, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025.

Fort Worth, Texas — Kansas coach Bill Self doesn’t think his team has dramatically over the last couple months.

In November, he said, the Jayhawks were playing with a better pace. They also had a defensive edge at first, before they “went soft,” and they’ve had to fight to regain it since.

When KU beat TCU at Schollmaier Arena on Wednesday, though, the performance of key reserves suggested the Jayhawks might be close to making a leap.

“I haven’t seen a substantial increase,” he continued, “because we have gotten inconsistent production from a couple of key guys which really played well tonight … In order for us to be really good, AJ Storr needs to come through. Rylan Griffen needs to come through. So maybe this’ll be the first step tonight.”

Griffen didn’t stand out as much against the Horned Frogs; Storr, though, played what he said was probably his best all-around game as a Jayhawk.

The junior wing from Rockford, Illinois, a transfer from Wisconsin who has struggled to find his place in KU’s lineup, looked vastly more comfortable on offense as he scored 12 points — matching his second-highest total of the season — on 6-for-10 shooting. His real breakthrough, though, was demonstrated by his peripheral stats: six rebounds, three steals.

“It was good, just being active on that side,” Storr said. “It was really communicating with my teammates on that side and just reading the offense, (to) see how I can jump passing lanes and stuff like that.”

In doing so, he played a pivotal role in the Jayhawks’ comeback from down 14 points. At halftime, when KU trailed, he had just two points and two rebounds on 1-for-4 shooting. Down the stretch, though, he caught fire.

It started with just under 15 minutes to go, when he read an ill-advised pass by Noah Reynolds and embarked on a one-man fast break for a dunk. It continued with another steal from Vasean Allette in which he set up Shakeel Moore for a bucket, and then was there at the hoop to clean up Moore’s miss and give KU its first six-point lead of the night.

He eventually scored another second-chance layup off a missed 3-pointer by Dajuan Harris Jr. to cap off the 14-2 run that effectively won KU the game.

The only thing Storr didn’t do was make 3s, as he went 0-for-2 from beyond the arc, though he did hit the long-range stepback 2-pointer that put KU ahead 49-48. The Horned Frogs never led again.

Freshman center Flory Bidunga said Storr was not just “a big part of why we came back” but “the reason why we won.”

“We know what he’s capable of,” Moore said, “and it’s all part of figuring it out, and once he does that, it’s over.”

Storr owes his increased playing time — his 22 minutes on Wednesday were his highest total since Dec. 4 at Creighton — in part to the absence of KJ Adams, who is out with a separated shoulder. Self has already said on his “Hawk Talk” radio show that he doesn’t expect Adams to play against Houston on Saturday either.

But in Adams’ second game out, Storr did much more than he had on Saturday against Kansas State to take advantage of the minutes he was given. Self called him “terrific.”

“He was more aggressive driving the ball, and everything else, and scoring the ball,” Self said. “And that’s probably the longest stint he’s been able to play through mistakes. So I thought he was really good tonight.”