Kansas basketball: Bench remains biggest question mark heading into 2023-24 season
By Dillon Davis
The Kansas Jayhawks are the No. 1 team in the country according to most preseason college basketball polls heading into the 2023-24 season – and for good reason.
Their projected starting five appears as lethal as can be.
They have an experienced, national championship winning point guard in Dajuan Harris Jr. A fifth-year senior, veteran wing in Kevin McCullar Jr. who has all the makings of a great team leader. A junior forward in KJ Adams Jr. who drastically improved his game from freshman to sophomore year and should continue to do so this year. A sharp-shooting guard in Nick Timberlake who averaged 17 points and nearly 42% from 3-point range last year at Towson. And to top it all off, they have one of the best players in all of college basketball at center in preseason AP All-American and preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Hunter Dickinson.
With three seniors and two juniors in that rotation, KU’s experience will also give them a leg up on nearly every team they face, and it will be a huge advantage for the team come March.
Simply put, you likely won’t find a better starting five this year in college basketball.
But while the starting rotation appears to be in strong working order, the same cannot yet be said for KU’s bench – which remains the biggest unknown heading into this upcoming season.
As experienced as KU’s starting five is, the opposite can be said for the Kansas basketball bench.