Kansas basketball: Three reasons Jayhawks will repeat as Big 12 champs
Reason No. 1: Kansas basketball has a lot of depth
The Kansas Jayhawks might have one of the deepest benches in college basketball next season. While we aren’t sure who’s going to be starting or not, we can make some predictions based off of last year:
- Marcus Garrett
- Dajuan Harris/Bryce Thompson
- Ochai Agbaji
- Christian Braun/Jalen Wilson
- David McCormack
Another possible starter is JUCO transfer Tyon Grant-Foster who’s versatility would allow him to play just about anywhere on the floor. Even if Grant-Foster comes off of the bench, he’ll certainly play an important role for Kansas.
Another one to keep an eye on is Jalen Wilson who was injured and out for the season after playing just a couple of minuets of the Jayhawks’ first game. If he doesn’t start immediately, Wilson could be a solid contributor off the bench.
The highly-anticipated return of Mitch Lightfoot should be a nice boost for Kansas’ frontcourt which includes McCormack, Silvio De Sousa, Lightfoot, and incoming freshman Gethro Muscadin. Hopefully, what the Jayhawks lost in Azubuike can be made up with depth.
At the guard position, Dajuan Harris will finally have his shot to play after redshirting last season. Harris and will probably be competing with incoming freshman Bryce Thompson for a starting guard spot, but you can’t really go wrong with either one.
Finally, Tristan Enaruna could find some more playing next season after seeing a slight dip in minuets last season. Enaruna has great athleticism, and he could easily provide some good minuets for Kansas next season.
Without a doubt, Kansas will probably win at least a couple of games next season based on the contributions from somebody that didn’t start. The question is: who is Bill Self going to trust to come off of the bench and play big minutes?