Kansas basketball: 3 ways Parker Braun reinforces the Jayhawks depth

2. He replaces Udeh in the sense that he can eat up minutes and keep Dickinson out of foul trouble.

When a team like Kansas has one of the best offensive big men in the nation, what will opponents try to do? Get him into foul trouble. There’s a good chance that Dickinson has to sub out before half because he has two or three fouls in some games. That’s where Braun comes in.

Anyone who watched games last season can tell you Ernest Udeh Jr. did not know how to foul. It seemed as though half of the ball screens he set were offensive fouls. But with Braun being a fifth-year player, he should be experienced enough to not foul as often.

In 29.3 minutes per game, Parker averaged 2.2 fouls in 2022-23. He might average more fouls because he will be playing limited minutes and being more aggressive on the defensive end. That’s totally fine, because Bill Self will have a 20/10 big playing in front of him and he will not be needed too often.