Fresh off of an inspiring and resume-bolstering win over the Arizona Wildcats in Lawrence, the Kansas Jayhawks are flying high. Regardless of how KU fares against Iowa State on Saturday, one thing is for certain, the Crimson and Blue are true contenders and Melvin Council Jr. is one of the big reasons as to why. The St. Bonaventure transfer has been insane in crunch time this year.
According to a recent usage chart, showcasing the best crunch time players in terms of workload and points per play, Council Jr. has been a top 5 player when the game matters most:
Crunch Time Usage pic.twitter.com/HL5V33RD55
— JG Trends (@jgtrends) February 13, 2026
Some well-known and familiar faces find themselves at the top of the pyramid, such as Duke’s Cameron Boozer, Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr., and Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz. Up near them in the pyramid is KU’s finest in Council Jr. who is sitting around a 38% team usage in crunch time for Kansas and is averaging over 1.4 points per play at the end of games.
Much of this usage and many of these points likely come from the Jayhawks insane road win over NC State earlier this season, where he had an out-of-body experience, hitting nine threes in the game and carrying Kansas late in regulation and in overtime. Council Jr. has performed in plenty of other games, too, though, including the recent Arizona game.
Who should KU fans prefer to have the ball in their hands in crunch time?
This creates an interesting dilemma for KU fans when Darryn Peterson and Council Jr. are sharing the court at the end of games. While Peterson has not been able to close many games, common sense would suggest that you want him with the ball in his hands as a natural-born scorer and tough-shot maker, proven by his late-game heroics against Texas Tech.
With that being said, advanced stats are very strong indicators of what works well on the court, and it turns out that Council Jr. having the ball in his hands at the end of games is one of the best decisions a coach could possibly make. The way he has put pressure on the rim and pushed the pace in close games has been truly legendary. Overall, Council Jr. is averaging 14.1 PPG, 5.1 APG, and 4.8 RPG.
Come March, Coach Bill Self will have multiple great scoring options in his backcourt to take the Jayhawks over the finish line in close games, which has not been the case since the 2022 National Championship team. On that team, Kansas had Ochai Agbaji, Christian Braun, and even Remi Martin off the bench. In recent seasons, the backcourt has not had nearly the same punch.
Time will tell whether Council Jr. can help lead KU to a special season in the tournament, but he has certainly been a slam-dunk portal pickup for Coach Self and the best insurance possible for Peterson, who has undeniably had a peculiar season. Rock Chalk!
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