Kansas basketball: Kyle Cuffe Jr.’s decision to stay or transfer is uncertain

Bobby Pettiford and Joseph Yesufu transferring from the university could bring about playing time for Kyle Cuffe Jr. as the team’s backup guard. Will that be a strong enough reason for the redshirt freshman to return to Kansas basketball for another year?

Kyle Cuffe Jr.‘s time at Kansas has not been ideal. He has played just two contests throughout his two seasons with the Jayhawks. Cuffe redshirted in KU’s 2021-22 national championship run and needed to medically redshirt after tearing his MCL and PCL.

Although he has struggled to stay on the floor, Cuffe still has four years of college eligibility. He has not scored a single point with Kansas, but his two seasons of experience could be advantageous for Bill Self’s squad.

His father, Kyle Cuffe Sr., played at St. John’s while Norm Roberts was at the helm for the Johnnies. Roberts likely had a considerable influence on Cuffe’s commital to Kansas.

Cuffe was ranked the nation’s 117th-best player in the 247 Sports Class of 2021. He excels at getting to the rim and scoring inside despite being just 6′ 2″, 185 pounds. A spot in the starting lineup would not unlock unless something happened to Dajuan Harris, yet he could be a dependable contributor off the bench.

It must be frustrating for the Harlem native to have problems finding minutes with the Jayhawks. Transferring from the program could be beneficial, but after already having spent two years under the system, he has a slight edge over new guards like Elmarko Jackson and Chris Johnson.

Because we have not seen what Cuffe is capable of yet, his situation is more of an unknown than Pettiford’s or Yesufu’s were. Coach Self seems to think highly of him, so a spot in the rotation is certainly possible in 2023-24.

Before the past season began, it seemed that Cuffe had a strong chance to crack the rotation. His injury derailed any hopes of this happening, but none of KU’s backup guards were appealing this year, so perhaps he would have stole some minutes from the other two.

If Cuffe decides to enter the transfer portal, it will be disappointing for fans that were excited to see him grow as a player. However, after doing nothing for the program for two seasons, nobody should be surprised if he chooses to go to school elsewhere.