What Bill Self’s Kansas Jayhawks expect (need) from athletic hoops guard AJ Storr

AJ Storr is still adjusting to life under Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball coach Bill Self.

The athletic KU transfer guard from Wisconsin hasn’t quite figured out his role on the court, the coach said this week.

“I think that I have AJ messed up at the moment,” Self said Monday, “because he doesn’t know what aggressive looks like. Like, ‘Be aggressive; move the ball.’

“You know that contradicts two things — be aggressive, but (there’s the) 5-second rule — ‘You’ve got to pass it or shoot it or drive it within 5 seconds, but you want me to be aggressive?’ That kind of stuff is not on him as much as it is on us, getting him to understand that you can do both.

The Jayhawks are the most talented team for which Storr has played. Last season, the 6-foot-7 guard’s usage rate for the Badgers was 29.5%, which ranked No. 70 in the nation. In Big Ten games he ranked even higher — No. 3.

He likely won’t see that much action this season. As a point of reference, former KU star Kevin McCullar had a usage rate of 27.2% last season.

Although the Jayhawks have competed in just two exhibition games thus far, Storr hasn’t looked like the player he was with the Badgers. Last season, he averaged 16.8 points on 43.4% shooting (32.0% from 3-point range).

With the Jayhawks, so far, he has appeared hesitant. He’s struggled to shoot the ball, and his greatest strength — driving to the bucket — hasn’t been showcased enough. He’s also been a work in progress defensively.

Storr scored eight points on 4-of-11 shooting against Arkansas last Friday, and things didn’t get much better against Washburn, either: eight points on 2-for-7 shooting. He shot 3-of-6 from the free-throw line and had one rebound in 19 minutes against the Ichabods.

“I thought he was OK,” Self said after Tuesday’s exhibition. “I still think the ball has the tendency to stick sometimes, and sometimes he bails out the defense by shooting soft jumpers rather than trying to get to the hole and get fouled.

“When he did take it to the hole and got fouled, he just didn’t make his free throws. I thought he was better, but I certainly think there’s still a big jump that he can take.”

That jump involves finding consistency on both ends of the court. One of McCullar’s best attributes last season was his ability to play stellar defense even if his shot wasn’t falling. He was also a good rebounder, averaging six per game.

Storr averaged 3.9 rebounds per game last season, a mark that will need to improve this year. KU struggled to rebound last year, and that was with generally better rebounders in the starting lineup.

With McCullar and Johnny Furphy competing in the NBA now, KU projects to have an even tougher time in that department this season. The Jayhawks desperately need Storr (and others) to step up.

As Storr tries to help fill the scoring and rebounding void, he’s also re-calibrating his game to the way Self wants him to play.

“It’s still taking him a little bit of time to figure me out and figure out how we want to do things,” Self said. “I think he makes shots and all that stuff, but he’s got to play downhill.”

Storr’s role is perhaps the most important of all the transfers Self brought in this offseason. In late-game situations, when KU needs a bucket, it’s likely that Storr will have the ball in his hands.

As one of a few current Jayhawks who can create his own shot, he can’t afford to hesitate in his decision-making on the court, no matter what he decides to do with the ball.

Self tightens his rotation in crunch time during games — and more generally once the NCAA Tournament nears. That’s why this process of figuring out Storr’s role matters.

He will likely be relied upon to play an important role, and his teammates believe he’ll figure it all out.

“AJ is a great player,” guard Rylan Griffen said. “He needs to keep doing what he did and attack the rim. He can shoot the ball and can do everything on the court.

“I wouldn’t really read too much into how he’s playing right now or how he played or anything. He’s a great player. We all know that.”