The main event between defending national champion Kansas and perennial power Duke at the Champions Classic in Indianapolis didn’t get started until 10;25 Tuesday night because Michigan State’s double overtime victory over Kentucky took three and a half hours.
But Kansas– playing without its Hall of Fame coach Bill Self, who had been suspended by the NCAA for the first four games of the season in the wake of a Federal investigation into recruiting– showed it was going to be a national factor against this season, defeating the young, talented Blue Devils, 69-64.in a prime time showcase game.
Wing Jalen Wilson scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Guard Dajuan Harris contributed 10 assists, but the player who made the biggest impact late was 6-8 freshman Gradey Dick, the Gatorade national Player of the Year from Sunrise Christian Academy in hometown Wichita.
Dick was an unlikely hero when he entered the game at crunch time. He scored seven points in the first half but didn’t attempt a shot in the second half until 2″19 remained. But made three critical baskets in the final two and a half minutes to make the difference.
“We didn’t know where he was at times; we sent out a missing person’s report in the second half,” Kansas interim coach Norm Roberts joked. “But this was his first big boy game he’s played in and I thought he really responded.”
Kansas is 3-0 with Roberts filling in for Self. The Jayhawks took some body blows from a physical Duke team, but they never panicked down the stretch.
Duke, which got 17 pooints and 11 rebouinds from 6-10 freshman center Kevin Fliipowski, built a 59-54 lead with 4:39 to play before the Jayhawks scored the next seven points, taking a 61-59 lead on a three by Dick with 2:21 to play. After Jeremy Roach answered with a three, Dick scored on an alley oop with 1:40 to give Kansas a 63-62 lead, then made a scoop layup to give the lead to 65-62 with 1:01 to play. “Him playing those plalys, that’s big time,” Roberts said.
Dick finished with 14 points.
