Kansas basketball: Where the Jayhawks land in early top 25 rankings

It’s ‘way-too-early top 25’ season already, so let’s see where Kansas basketball lands according to some different publications.

The preparation for the 2020-21 college basketball season came a little earlier than expected due to the cancellation of March Madness. Sadly, Kansas basketball didn’t get a chance to dominate the NCAA Tournament this year, but next seasons’ squad is already being regarded as a top team in the country.

NBC Sports released their way-too-early college basketball preseason top 25 earlier today with the Jayhawks coming in at No. 8. NBC lists one of Kansas’ weakness’ being a lack of a point guard. Frankly, the Jayhawks’ backcourt next year should be solid.

They’ll have Marcus Garrett back, who started at point guard against Oklahoma last season dishing out five assists and scoring 15 points with just a single turnover. As a matter of fact, Garrett led the Jayhawks in assists last season with 4.6 per game while only turning the ball over an average of 1.7 times per game.

In addition to Garrett, Kansas will also have Dajuan Harris, a four-star recruit who redshirted last season and incoming five-star recruit Bryce Thompson. Suffice to say, the Jayhawks’ backcourt and point guard position should be pretty solid next season.

In 247Sports‘ top 21 teams for ’21, the Jayhawks are coming in at No. 8 once again. 247 lists one of Kansas basketball’s biggest needs as a stretch-four, which they’d have to pick up on the grad transfer market.

Another factor listed is how well the Jayhawks’ second-year players play. They’ve got a point since Christian Braun and Jalen Wilson will likely play key roles next season for Kansas. Braun, in particular, showed a lot during the 2020 campaign. If he can outgrow some of the freshman mistakes from last season Braun will have a shot at the starting lineup next season.

FanSided ranked the Jayhawks No. 6 in their early rankings, citing the return of big man David McCormack and the acquisition of Bryce Thompson. Now that Azubuike is gone, McCormack will get the chance to start every game, and take at least five midrange jumpers.

In all seriousness, McCormack should be able to step in and have a great season. He was solid in both his freshman and sophomore seasons, and it’s exciting to think about what he can do with an increase in minutes.

There’s a long time between now and the beginning of next season; however, these rankings can give a glimpse of what to expect from teams. Obviously a lot can change though, so look for the Jayhawks to move a little bit between now and when the AP Poll is released.