The Kansas Jayhawks were faced with a roster rebuild to surpass all other rebuilds after last season.
Following the drama around Bill Self’s future, a mass exodus took place, where all but center Paul Mbiya and shooting guard Kohl Rosario left the program for a variety of different reasons. Meaning KU had to do a platoon swap that has so far seen four incoming transfers and seven incoming freshmen.
One of the most intriguing battles has been in the frontcourt, where either transfer Christian Reeves or the sophomore Mbiya will be tasked with filling in for the departing Flory Bidunga.
Reeves hails from the College of Charleston, with stops at Clemson and Duke beforehand, but Reeves doesn’t come without injury concerns.
Earlier this offseason, Self revealed that Reeves had undergone shoulder surgery following Self’s first introduction of Reeves to KU faithful, where Self had revealed that Reeves was playing with a hurt shoulder “all season long.”
When speaking with the media earlier Monday, the coaching legend spoke on how long it will take for Reeves to get back to full fitness, saying, “I think he’ll be in a sling for another week, maybe, or a half a week, and then it may come out on Thursday, so they'll start doing a lot more range of motion and rehab.”
“But the reality is, it's not gonna be contact with him until the 1st of October, something like that…But he won’t be able to get hit in this area [points to back of the shoulder] until probably early, mid-October.”
Self’s latest comments set up interesting situation
Self was immediately asked what that meant for Mbiya’s role heading into next season, where Self relayed, “It's there for Paul to take, at least initially. Or we can play small, but the reality of it is I'd rather not do that.”
Now, while Kansas’ schedule is far from revealed, it is worth noting that the Jayhawks' first exhibition last season against Louisville was on Oct. 24th, and their first game of the regular season was Nov. 3rd, meaning if they follow a similar timeline, Reeves will have just about a month to get as close as possible to full match sharpness.
In Mbiya’s lone season with the Jayhawks, the former four-star struggled to get consistent minutes, having to be a calling card off the bench, as his 26 points, 30 rebounds, and five blocks across the season prove.
Mbiya’s best performance by far came in Kansas’ 68-60 win over Cal Baptist University in Kansas’ round of 64 win over the Lancers in last season’s NCAA Tournament. With Bidunga in a pinch with four fouls to his name, Mbiya stepped up and added eight points and three rebounds in a game that turned way too close for comfort for the Jayhawks.
Mbiya followed that matchup with 13 minutes against St. John’s, where KU fell on Dylan Darling’s buzzer-beater layup. Against the Johnnies, Mbiya mounted four points, six rebounds and one block.
Mbiya then hit the portal soon after but, at the last minute, withdrew his name to fight for his spot next season.
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