Kansas basketball missing out on Christian Bishop is a lost opportunity

Kansas basketball extended an offer to Creighton transfer Christian Bishop, however it seems the senior forward will be taking his talents to Big 12 neighbor Texas.

Among the factors surrounding his departure from Omaha, Bishop will be moving to a larger stage in the Big 12, which will give him decent exposure to the NBA.

Narrowing his interest down to North Carolina, Texas, and Kansas, Bishop was either going to wind up in the ACC or the Big 12. His decision was influenced by the fact that wherever he chose, would facilitate his growth in what could be his final year at the collegiate level.

While his goals may be in professional basketball, he still has plenty of talent to contribute on the college court. It appears he’ll be moving his efforts down south, but that doesn’t mean Kansas won’t be seeing Christian anytime soon.

Considering the growth both Texas and Kansas have seen over the past decade, they’ve become two of the strongest contenders in the Big 12 conference.

Most Jayhawk fans might be a little sore still from the back-to-back losses to the Longhorns this past season, not to mention the conference tournament semifinal matchup that was halted due to pandemic concerns within Kansas’ program.

Now, the Longhorns will be adding a strong skillset with Christian Bishop. Under new leadership from Chris Beard, it’ll be interesting to see what kind of transition Bishop makes during the new era of basketball for Texas.

Kansas could’ve had a special combination downstairs with both upcoming seniors David McCormack and Christian Bishop running the show. Having that kind of force on the glass would be beneficial for both protecting the rim and finding more insurance inside to recover from perimeter mishaps.

While Bishop may have passed on Kansas, it should give head coach Bill Self and his staff some room to re-organize and think about where they should direct their efforts next.