KU Basketball: Svi Mykhailiuk Needs To Stop Shooting

The KU basketball team suffered their second straight road loss on Tuesday. The shooting of Svi Mykhailiuk is one of many reasons the Jayhawks are in a mid-season slump.

Just a few days ago, the Kansas Jayhawks were the number one team in the nation. If you have watched their last three ball games, which include losses at West Virginia and Oklahoma State, with an unimpressive win at home against TCU, you will know why the Jayhawks have struggled.

Over the last three contests, KU shot 42.4 percent (70-165), and 33.9 percent from three-point range (21-62). This includes ten of 20 from three against West Virginia. The last two games, they have shot just 26.2 percent from behind the arc.

YIKES!!!

One of the biggest culprits in these games has been sophomore Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk. The question begs to be asked – why is this kid shooting so much?

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According to the KU Athletics stat page, in those last three games, he is two-for-11 from three-point range for 18.2 percent, and four-for-19 overall for 21.1 percent. You think this is just a slump? Think again.

This season, Mykhailiuk is by far the worst shooter on the team. He has connected on just 32.8 percent of his three-point attempts, yet only Wayne Selden Jr. and Devonte’ Graham have taken more threes.

Mykhailiuk also has the worst overall shooting percentage on the team at 39.2 percent. Only Perry Ellis, Frank Mason III, Selden, and Graham have attempted more shots.

So, why is Mykhailiuk allowed to chuck the ball toward the basket, seemingly every time he touches it in the half court offense? Usually, if a guy is this bad, he would have the red light. Yet, Mykhailiuk is allowed to shot without condemnation from the bench.

This is nothing new. Last year, he was even worse, if you can imagine. He shot 30.6 percent overall, and just 28.8 percent from deep. We have seen nothing at all that indicates Mykhailiuk should be shooting as often as he does.

During the ESPN 2 telecast at Oklahoma State, the announcers mentioned that Mykhailiuk was a good shooter in practice. That may be true, but how long can this team afford to wait for him to get over the hump in game situations?

Why is Bill Self so comfortable with Mykhailiuk taking so many shots? Does Self believe the light will come on, and his guard will suddenly become a lights-out shooter? For fans, that wait in exhausting.

Has Self been wasting Legerald Vick on his bench like he wasted Cheick Diallo and Carlton Bragg Jr. for most of the season thus far? In very limited action, Vick is hitting 67% of his shots (10-15) and half of his three-pointers (5-10).

Vick can’t be any worse of a defender than Mykhailiuk and Brannen Greene, the two guards who play in front of Vick off the bench. Neither Mykhailiuk and Greens are strong rebounders either, totaling just 53 combined caroms for the season.

The pop-a-shot mentality is not working for this KU basketball team, nor is it working for Svi Mykhailiuk. Something needs to change.

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The Kansas Jayhawks are still a talented team, but they need to snap out of this slump. Basketball is an easy game when you are hitting shots, and Svi Mykhailiuk and the Jayhawks are not hitting shots right now. Hopefully, they will get on track soon.

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