Chris Johnson decommitting from Kansas basketball opens a spot for soon-to-be-freshman Jamari McDowell to shine.
The outlook of the Kansas Jayhawks roster seemingly changes each week, as they have had plenty of unexpected shifts in the offseason. The most recent news regarding KU’s roster shake-up was 4-star guard Chris Johnson requesting a release from his National Letter of Intent.
Four high school recruits were expected to arrive in Lawrence this year, but Johnson’s departure cuts that number to three. 5-star combo guard Elmarko Jackson and 4-star forward Marcus Adams Jr. are both highly touted and have lofty expectations coming into college.
Meanwhile, 4-star guard Jamari McDowell is more of a wildcard, as his path to playing time is not as straightforward as the aforementioned players.
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McDowell is a 6-foot-4, 180-pound player out of Manvel, Texas. He has a smooth jump shot, offers considerable size at the guard position, and is a terrific shot-creator. He also has tremendous defensive potential with his long wingspan.
Kansas’ guard room is stacked, consisting of Dajuan Harris, Nick Timberlake, Arterio Morris, and Jackson. Johnson and McDowell would have hypothetically competed for minutes, but now McDowell immediately moves up the pecking order.
Granted, Bill Self recruited over McDowell by acquiring Morris and Timberlake in the transfer portal. However, he was given some stability in his role as the team’s second or third guard off the bench.
He might be the best pure shooter in KU’s recruiting class and has the potential to become the next great Kansas guard under Bill Self. Although McDowell’s playing time will be limited this year, he will gain invaluable experience from Jayhawk veterans.
It is wishful thinking to assume he will sit around waiting for his opportunity, especially in the new age of college basketball. The transfer portal is as prevalent as ever, and some kids would prefer to transfer out of a tough situation rather than work for their spot. With that being said, if McDowell is dedicated to his craft and does not mind waiting a year or two to become a consistent contributor, big things could be in store for his future at Kansas.
In an ideal world, McDowell learns from the upperclassmen this season, serves as a backup in 2024-25, and can take over for Dajuan Harris as a junior. It’s far too early to guess what will happen in the next few years, but Kansas basketball fans should be extremely excited to watch the development of Jamari McDowell.
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