Kansas basketball has one of the most well-built rosters in the sport, but it is a far from perfect squad. What are the team’s strengths and weaknesses?
A college basketball roster with as much turnover as the Kansas Jayhawks have had this offseason is a rarity, even in today’s game. Considering the Jayhawks won the Big 12 and earned a one-seed in the NCAA Tournament, for them to only return three scholarship players (assuming Udeh doesn’t return) is wild to think about. One and dones, transfers, and the still looming “Covid year” are all factors for nearly every team, and they will certainly play a huge role in how KU does this upcoming season and probably beyond that.
These are the strengths and weaknesses of the Kansas basketball roster heading into the 2023-24 season.
Strength — Guard Play
The amount of viable options that Bill Self will have in the backcourt for the coming season is almost absurd. Dajuan Harris returns and will likely be one of the top point guards in the country (again). He will be joined by all new faces and, assuming at least a few of them live up to expectations, will only help Harris be more effective during his time on the floor.
Nick Timberlake transferred in from Towson for his final season and might be the key to this offense performing at its peak. He shot over 40 percent from behind the arc in both of his previous two seasons, which will be greatly needed for a starting lineup that may be lacking in the floor spacing department. With how hesitant Self is to play young guys early, he would be my pick to start alongside Harris in the backcourt.
Arterio Morris will likely be his main competitor for the starting spot, at least early in the season. Morris came in from Texas after a rather uninspiring freshman season. However, he was a top-20 recruit coming out of high school and was the second-ranked true point guard in the class. If anyone can get the most out of Morris, it’s a program that features an already elite point guard and a coach who many consider to be the best in the country.
Elmarko Jackson has a chance to become the much-needed bench scorer that the successful KU teams have had in the past (Remy Martin in 2022, Sherron Collins in 2008, etc.). He may even become the best scoring guard on the team, as Harris is certainly a facilitator at heart. If he can be a productive scorer as the season goes on, this team’s ceiling is a national championship.
If those four aren’t enough, the Jayhawks also have two more freshmen coming in, both of which are four-star recruits. Jamari McDowell and Chris Johnson may have an uphill battle for playing time this year, but it certainly wouldn’t be the first time that a lower-ranked recruit outplayed someone ahead of them on the preseason depth chart. Just look at the 2019 class, which featured 64th-ranked Tristan Enaruna, 94th-ranked Dajuan Harris, and 127th-ranked Christian Braun. It wouldn’t surprise me if one of these guys ends up redshirting this season, but it also wouldn’t surprise me if one of these guys ends up making a positive impact on the team. Either way, the Jayhawks will have no shortage of guards to throw at their opponents.
Weakness — Outside Shooting
The Jayhawks have had their fair share of elite outside shooters under Coach Self, including six players in the top 10 for most three-pointers made in school history. Having good outside shooting is crucial in today’s game, as it allows you to space the floor for the players that like to drive and attack inside (i.e. Dajuan Harris and Hunter Dickinson). It is an area that KU may have trouble with in the upcoming season.
Timberlake is an elite shooter and will absolutely carry a majority of the load in this particular area of the offense (I personally think he can have a season similar to the one Gradey Dick had last season). However, after him, there are significant questions as to who will be able to put the ball in the basket from the perimeter.
Harris has shown that he can make shots when left open, but he still hesitates to even look at the rim when there is a defender within reach of him. He may be asked to be a bit more aggressive with his shot this season due to the lack of other options around him.
Morris shot just 33 percent on a couple of attempts per game as a freshman at Texas, and it’s never a great idea to rely heavily on freshmen to be consistent shooters. One or two of these guys will need to step up and become at least a threat from the outside, or defenses will begin to face guard Timberlake (like they started to do to Dick towards the end of last season) and will feel much more comfortable doubling down on Dickinson in the post.
Strength — Veterans
The transfer portal, while controversial, does do one thing for certain. It allows older players to go somewhere they think will get them the best chance to succeed. What it has done for KU this offseason cannot be overstated. It took their roster from an extreme question mark and turned it into perhaps the best collection of talent in the country. On top of that, KU is now one of the more experienced teams among the title contenders, especially at the top of the depth chart.
The Jayhawks will have six players with two or more years of experience coming into this season. Those six have started a combined 440 games in their careers. Adams is the least experienced of the group, and even he started all 36 games last season. While freshman sensations have become the talk of the town in the past couple of decades of college basketball, there is still something to be said for the leadership and the “been there, done that” mentality that older players bring. Coach Self has always preferred a team with plenty of experience, and his starting lineup will have that in spades this coming season.
Weakness — Bench Reliability
While the starting lineup will be chock-full of experience, the bench will be chock-full of bright-eyed, bushy-tailed youngsters. Assuming Timberlake begins the season in the starting lineup, there will be just two players on the bench that have college basketball experience.
Arterio Morris and Parker Braun will be the only bench players that have seen live game action at the college level, and thus could be relied on heavily early in the season. Coach Self likes to ease freshmen into the game, meaning that Morris will likely be the first guard off the bench, with Braun likely serving as the first big man off the bench. This helps the young players figure the game out without taking on as much of a workload and immediate expectation to succeed.
This year though, that could be tough to do. With only two non-freshmen in the reserves, Self will likely have to give significant minutes to at least a couple of freshmen. My guess would be Elmarko Jackson and Marcus Adams, the two highest-ranked recruits in this year’s class. Self loves experience, and while he has it in the starting unit, it could be a slight issue with the bench.
Strength — Big Man Versatility
Coach Self used to make a living off of having two big men on the floor at the same time (Withey/Robinson, Arthur/Jackson, and Aldrich/Morris, just to name a few). However, he hasn’t had the personnel to do so in recent years. In order for that strategy to work, you need to have a big man who is capable and comfortable playing away from the basket (Robinson, Arthur, Morris). He may very well have that again this year.
While KJ Adams has spent nearly all of his time at KU near the basket or finishing pick-and-rolls at the rim, he should be more than capable of stepping out a little bit to make room for Hunter Dickinson. In high school, he showed much more of a perimeter in his time at Kansas. While he isn’t much of a shooter, he has already shown flashes of being a capable dribbler and facilitator. If he can expand on that and develop at least a consistent mid-range jump shot, he will make Dickinson’s life much easier.
On the defensive end, his playing away from the basket is likely preferred. He is more than capable of keeping up with guards and wings on the perimeter, and his lack of height is largely negated when he isn’t asked to guard the opposing center. If he can figure out the offensive side of things, this move could make Adams an even more dangerous weapon than he already was.
As for Dickinson, his offensive game is one of the best in the country for a big man. He can hurt you from anywhere on the floor and take over a game seemingly whenever he wants. He shot 42 percent from deep last season, meaning he can spread the floor for Harris and Adams to run their pick-and-rolls. He also has one of the better “back to the basket” offensive games in the country, which is something we haven’t had in a few years.
On defense, his 7-foot-1, 255-pound frame is much better equipped to guard centers than Adams, who comes in around 6-foot-7 and 225 pounds. Dickinson is already one of the best big men in the country, and this position change could be a revelation for Adams’ game. They could become a very potent duo in a short time.
Weakness — Cohesion
If you’ve made it this far in the article, this one should come as no surprise. With just three scholarship players returning from last year’s team (granted, it is three starters), the ability of this group to gel and play as a team will be one of the biggest factors in determining how successful they are.
Let’s be honest — if success were based solely on talent, Kentucky and Duke would play each other in the national championship nearly every year. Clearly, that doesn’t happen, and a lot of that has to do with how well the talent plays as a team (along with the complete unknown that is March Madness). Those teams often have just a few returning players mixed in with a handful of highly-ranked freshmen. While that looks great on paper, there is more to the game than pure talent.
That may very well be the biggest question for this KU team. Harris, Adams, and McCullar will be vital in bringing some continuity to this team while allowing the rest of the group to come together as a whole. Both of KU’s National Championships under Self have come from teams that played together for a long time. In 2008, five of the top seven players were juniors and seniors who spent their whole careers at Kansas. In 2022, Remy Martin was the only player in the top seven of the rotation that wasn’t a career Jayhawk, and Jalen Wilson was the only non-upperclassman. Needless to say, the team’s success will rely heavily on their ability to come together and play as a cohesive unit.
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