Kansas basketball: Busting Brackets puts KU in top 5 of preseason power rankings

With college basketball right around the corner, fellow FanSided site Busting Brackets released their preseason top 25 power rankings, listing Kansas basketball as the number two ranking only behind Gonzaga.

This is a well-deserved ranking for the Jayhawks who return a large chunk of their contribution from last season; Christian Braun (Jr.), Dajuan Harris Jr. (So.), Jalen Wilson (So.), Ochai Agbaji (Sr.), David McCormack (Sr.), and Mitch Lightfoot (Sr.).

After the Jayhawk’s disappointing loss to USC in the 2nd round of the NCCA Tournament, head coach Bill Self and staff put in a lot of hard work, adding a number of big-time transfers that look to make an immediate impact. Those transfers are Joseph Yesefu (Drake), Cam Martin (Missouri Southern State), Jalen Coleman-Lands (Iowa State), Remy Martin (Arizona State).

These additions will assist the Jayhawks in strengthening their weakness from last year, which were shooting along the perimeter and having play-makers at the guard position. Marcus Garrett, now with the Miami Heat, was arguably the best defender in college basketball but often was inconsistent in his shooting.

It appears the strength of this Kansas team will be shooting, as they now have seven players that shoot over 33 percent from three. This will make the Jayhawks a dynamic team and open up the paint for big man McCormack to take over.

The Jayhawks did lose a huge part of their defense after Garrett entered the NBA draft instead of using his free Covid year, but they are guard-heavy which will allow them to be quicker on defense and apply a lot of pressure on the opposing team.

If the Jayhawks can shoot the ball well and often while keeping up the intensity on the defensive end, they’ll easily live up to their number two preseason ranking given by Busting Brackets. And with the talent they have this year, it’s clear this Kansas team is focused on winning a National Championship.