KU Basketball: Brannen Greene Needs To Fall In Line

The KU Basketball team will be without its junior sharpshooter for six games.

The Kansas Jayhawks suspended junior guard Brannen Greene for six games for conduct detrimental to the team. Later, it came out that the suspension was, in part, related to a dispute over playing time between Greene and coach Bill Self. (KC Star)

Greene, the team’s clear-cut sixth man and a knock-down shooter, needed to keep his mouth shut.

Here’s the problem: it’s mid-November and Greene is going toe-to-toe with his head coach regarding playing time. It’s game two of the regular season, Greene is neither a great ball handler nor a great defender…and he’s going toe-to-toe with Bill Self over playing time.

More from Kansas Jayhawks

• LOOK: First Renditions of David Booth Memorial Stadium and the KU Gateway District
• NBA Draft Prospects to Watch From Kansas, Missouri, and Kansas State
• Where Betting Markets Say Gradey Dick Will Land in the NBA Draft
• Kansas’ Christian Braun Wins Fifth Title in Seven Years, Joins Elite Company with NBA Championship
• The No.8 Jayhawks Get Hooked by the No. 20 Longhorns

It was poorly handled by Greene. During the game and following an emotional loss, it might not be the best time to call out the head coach about your lack of minutes. Greene needed to worry about playing defense, rebounding the ball and outworking his opponent. Instead, he won’t play in a game until Dec. 12 at the earliest, when KU plays Oregon State in Kansas City.

Greene’s parents witnessed some of the events, too, according to The Kansas City Star‘s Rustin Dodd:

"“In hindsight,” Jeffrey Greene said, “he should have kept his mouth shut. He should have kept his mouth shut and got ready for the next game. Because if he would have kept his mouth shut and gotten ready for the next game, he would be playing in Maui.“The coach is always right.”"

For KU basketball, the rest of the bench now gets the opportunity to earn more playing time.

Svi Mykhailiuk is the obvious choice for increased minutes. The sophomore was the second of all bench players with 12 minutes played in last week’s loss to Michigan State. He’s a skilled 6-feet, 8-inch swingman who can shoot, run, jump and continues to improve on the defensive end.

Forwards Hunter Mickelson and Landen Lucas will get regular minutes until the Jayhawks hear some news regarding Cheick Diallo’s eligibility.

Freshman Carlton Bragg Jr. is a combined 5-for-8 from the field with three rebounds and a steal in the first two games of the regular season, and he’ll get a bump in minutes as well. The Jayhawks need all the help they can get in defending the paint, so Bragg will have every chance to earn minutes going forward.

Kansas takes on Chaminade tonight in Maui, Hawaii at the Lahaina Civic Center.

Next: KU Basketball: Free Cheick Diallo

The last the thing the 1-1 KU basketball team needed was in-house drama from its junior sixth-man. Greene should have keep this mouth shut, forced his way into more minutes and found a way to help his team get better.