Kansas basketball climbs to No. 1 in transfer rankings

The transfer portal has forever changed college basketball. It’s become arguably the most important recruiting tool for teams who wish to have success year in and year out.

No one has identified the importance of the portal more than Kansas head coach Bill Self – who now has the top-ranked transfer class in the country, according to 247Sports.

The recent addition of Parker Braun, younger brother of former Jayhawk and national champion Christian Braun, lifted KU ahead of fellow Big 12 rival West Virginia in the rankings.

Although Braun is unranked as a transfer prospect, he becomes the fourth player to commit to KU along with point guard Arterio Morris (No. 36-ranked transfer prospect), shooting guard Nick Timberlake (No. 29-ranked prospect) and the No. 1-overall-ranked transfer prospect, center Hunter Dickinson.

It’s also likely that the transfer class will grow as the Jayhawks currently have two open scholarships available.

Of the four current additions, all but Braun are likely to be starters on the 2023-24 Kansas team – joining KU’s lone returning scholarship players Dajuan Harris Jr. and KJ Adams Jr.

They’ll all be counted on to make big impacts this year though with the roster having a very inexperienced bench made up of mostly incoming freshmen due to the departures of eight players from last year’s squad. It’s a talented group of incoming high school recruits, ranked top 10 in the country, but it’s an inexperienced group nonetheless.

Perhaps more than any Kansas team since the transfer rules were altered a few years ago will be dependent on the success of the transfer prospects they’ve brought in.

Having the distinction of the No. 1-ranked class is great now but means nothing if the players can’t fit together in Self’s system and bring home wins.

Timberlake needs to be a reliable outside scoring threat. Morris needs to show more of his pre-college potential and solidify that guard spot alongside Harris. Braun needs to be productive off the bench. And Dickinson needs to be every bit of the Preseason All-American and National Player of the Year candidate he’s likely to be.

It’s almost an entirely different Kansas roster this year that’s suffered a lot of turnover from last season, and these new faces will have to live up to the hype if KU hopes to make a run at another national championship.