This season did not exactly start out the way J.R. Giddens planned.

The sophomore guard entered the season with expectations of a lottery pick in the NBA Draft and a chance at ending up as an all-Big 12 Conference selection.

Until recently though, Giddens had the dubious distinction of being the season’s biggest disappointment.

Dating back to overtime against Georgia Tech, through the game against Texas A&M;, and then through the beginning of the game at Kentucky, Giddens endured a 59-minute dry spell. He wasn’t shooting, he wasn’t rebounding, and he certainly wasn’t defending.

In fact, Giddens was in the middle of a pronounced sophomore slump.

His play earned him more and more time on the bench, time which he used to focus on what was wrong.

“When you’re playing playground ball, you can play like you don’t care,” Giddens said. “I don’t think I was thinking too hard. I’d say I was thinking too much.”

On the advice of coach Bill Self, Giddens relaxed and just played. So far, it’s working. Judging from both Saturday’s demolition of Texas and last night’s triumph against Missouri, Giddens has turned the corner.

In last night’s game Giddens had the second-most points, 15, and the second-most minutes, 36. He also pulled down four boards. With Giddens’ height and jumping ability, he shouldn’t have had the rebounding problems he endured through early January.

Not only is Giddens working harder to grab the loose ball, he’s also making the extra pass. Early on, the team could rely on Giddens for mostly one thing: putting up the three. But lately he’s discovered the pass and the pivot.

Several times last night he spun past his defender, stepped inside the line and shot up a two, instead of a way-too-long three. Even beyond that, Giddens is dishing assists. While he didn’t wrack up any against Missouri, he did accumulate five assists, a season high, against Texas.

The last two games represent a new Giddens, one who is playing a big part in his team’s victories.

Giddens has also made night-and-day improvements on defense.

“Nick Bahe tried to drive on me to the hole, and he said, ‘J.R. you’re sliding your feet good,’” Giddens said.

Sliding out to cut off open lanes and force extra passes is an area of defense in which Giddens has made an effort to improve. This extra work has made him more valuable on the floor and helped him carry the load when the team was trailing hated rival Missouri.

Of course, any piece on Giddens wouldn’t be complete without at least some description of the acrobatics that fans have come to know and expect of the sophomore from Oklahoma City.

With 10:24 left on the clock in the second half, the Jayhawks moved down the court after successfully defending a Tiger possession. As senior guard Aaron Miles moved the ball up court, Giddens saw his chance. Telling himself to “just run J.R.,” Giddens took off for the basket.

As he streaked along the baseline, Miles fed him an alley-oop, which Giddens slammed home, giving Kansas its first lead of the second half, 52-51.

Yes, I’d say it’s safe to assume J.R. has turned a corner on his season, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for the Jayhawks.