Kansas sophomore combo guard Joseph Yesufu answers to various versions of his first name.
“I hear everything. My teammates call me Joe. My mom calls me Joey. (At) my high school it was Jo Jo,” Yesufu, a 6-foot, 180-pound native of Bolingbrook, Illinois said with a smile in a recent interview.
Yesufu, who submitted the name “Joseph” for KU’s official 2021-22 KU men’s basketball roster, is comfortable being called any of the above-mentioned monikers.
“Joe’s not a pretty good kid or a good kid. He’s fabulous,” KU coach Bill Self said of the easy-going transfer guard from Drake University who arrived at KU via the portal last spring.
It has turned out to be somewhat of an adjustment year for Yesufu, who after a slow start has played 13 or more minutes in six of the past nine games heading into Thursday’s game against TCU.
Tipoff between the Jayhawks (23-6, 12-4) and Horned Frogs (19-9, 8-8) is 7 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse with a live stream on ESPN+. It’s a rematch of Tuesday’s KU-TCU game, one which KU lost, 74-64, at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
Primarily a defensive-minded player in his first season at KU, Yesufu in 11 conference games has averaged 3.2 points a game with 15 total assists versus seven turnovers.
He hit two threes in four tries and scored nine points — tying for his high as a Jayhawk — in an 102-83 home win over Kansas State on Feb. 22. It was the first game of the season in which he’d hit more than one three.
Yesufu had just one rebound and one foul while playing four minutes in Saturday’s 80-70 loss at Baylor. His minutes were cut following the return of Remy Martin to the rotation after a seven-game absence due to injury. Martin scored five points in 11 minutes versus the Bears.
Yesufu went for four points and one assist in 10 minutes in Tuesday’s 10-point loss to TCU. Martin had two points and one turnover in 12 minutes.
“Joe gave us some good minutes. Joe was the best of the three without question,” Self said of the play of point guards Yesufu, Dajuan Harris (seven assists, no points, 26 minutes) and Martin in the TCU setback.
Yesufu is 24-of-67 (35.9%) from the field overall — 9-of-37 (24.3%) from three — overall for the Jayhawks. In Big 12 play, he’s cashed 6 of 24 threes (25.0%).
“This is (the real) me,” Yesufu said after the win over K-State referring to returning to be a scoring threat. He averaged 12.8 points per game last season at Drake. “I didn’t have confidence in my shot early in the season. Now I’m starting to get real comfortable at this.”
Yesufu — he played double-digit minutes in just three of KU’s first 11 games — acknowledged that it’s taken longer than he planned to become a confident player at KU.
“At the beginning of the year I wasn’t playing,” Yesufu said. “The past two or three weeks I’ve been ready, playing hard, controlling what I can control. When I’m needed I’m ready.
“It’s definitely helped my confidence,” he added of converting two threes in four tries against K-State. “My teammates have always been confident in me and the coaches have been confident in me.”
Yesufu, who Self believes is more a natural combo guard than a pure point guard, was one of the team’s primary backup ballhandlers with Martin (bone bruise, right knee) and Bobby Pettiford (abdominal strain) sidelined. His role could be changing a bit upon Martin’s recent return. Pettiford is out for the season following recent abdominal surgery.
“I love the pace we play, the sharing of the ball. I just love it all,” Yesufu said of KU’s offense.
He’s hoping to finish strong this season, considering he averaged 23.2 points a game in his final nine games of the 2020-21 season at Drake.
“He was a great scorer lat Drake and even though it’s a little bit of a different level, Drake had an unbelievable year last year,” Self said.
“It’s a little bit different for him because of the competition in your own gym (at practice) as much as anything. He hasn’t played as much (this season) but his attitude is great and he certainly can do a lot of things to help us win.”
As far as running the point on occasion, Self said: “If you told Joe, ‘OK, run our team,’ that’s really not what he would do. He would think too much. He just needs to play and pressure (on defense) and do those things. And when he does that and isn’t locked in on just trying to do the right thing.and he’s just playing he’s pretty athletic and pretty quick.”
Yesufu had a big play on defense in KU’s 71-58 victory over West Virginia on Feb. 19 in Morgantown, West Virginia.
After a KU bucket gave the Jayhawks a three-point lead early in the second half, he stole the inbounds pass and scored to give the Jayhawks a five-point advantage.
“I was just looking to be aggressive. I try to learn to read my opponent,” Yesufu said of anticipating the pass which led to the steal and bucket. “The inbounder wasn’t paying attention so I read the situation.”
“I thought he played great,” Self said of Yesufu’s 13 minutes versus West Virginia, a game in which he scored four points with two assists and the one steal. “Great energy and he really guarded. That steal he made was big and also, he got a rebound and a pushout that was about as good as defensive rebound a little guard can make. I thought he played great and I was really happy to see it.
“We needed it,” Self added. “Juan (Dajuan Harris) was cramping a little bit, at least that’s what they told me. We needed every minute.”
Yesufu says starting point guard Harris has given him pointers.
“He’s been a huge help since he ran the point last year too,” Yesufu said. “He’s a great point guard. A lot of people don’t see it. He does stuff that doesn’t pop up on the stat sheet. I try to emulate what he does and do what I do best.
“We both play hard. I feel we play well together.”
At practice Yesufu and Harris sometimes guard each other.
“I’m always talking stuff (trash), I’ve got to,” Yesufu said with a laugh. “He uses his arms. He has the wingspan. I have to be careful with the ball with him. We both can defend.”
Playing defense all the time and contributing what he can on offense is what Self wants from Yesufu.
“He can really guard which is what he could be just terrific at (in future),” Self said. “Now he can score the ball. He’s a good shooter. He’s a little streaky but he’s a good shooter.”
After Thursday’s 7 p.m. rematch against TCU, the Jayhawks will conclude the regular season against Texas at 3 p.m. Saturday at Allen.
