Kansas basketball: 5 biggest roster needs for the Jayhawks in 2023-24
By Kyle Jones
1. Shot creation
Not only were Ochai and Jalen two of the best wings in the country the past two seasons, but they were also great shot creators. Whenever the shot clock ran down, the last-ditch option was to get it to Ochai/Jalen and let them go to work. They were big enough and athletic enough that they could pull up and shoot from wherever they wanted while posing a major threat to drive to the basket. That type of player isn’t on the roster at the time of me making this list.
Dajuan Harris is a tremendous facilitator and great leader, but he isn’t a significant scoring threat in one on one situations. KJ Adams is a versatile defender with a solid feel for finishing in the pick-and-roll, but he isn’t a scoring threat in one on one situations. Ernest Udeh may become one of the best inside-out defenders in recent history for KU, but he isn’t a big scoring threat in one on one situations.
Notice a trend? When a team doesn’t have someone who can get a shot at any time from anywhere, it makes them much easier to defend. Timberlake, while a great shooter, doesn’t do quite enough in the way of taking his defender one on one and creating shots for himself. The need for scorers on this team is still immense.