Bill Self will be one of the first people to tell you that if he could return all five starters from last season and they could each score 15, he would much rather have that than have to rebuild from an NCAA Transfer Portal-demolished squad.
He iterated that exact sentiment when speaking with the media Thursday afternoon. But that isn’t the way college sports work anymore and Self and his staff were forced to delve into the same portal that demolished their squad to compile what is considered by 247Sports to be the nation’s 27th-best portal class and the No. 3 recruiting class out of high school.
There has been a lot of talk around the quality of the transfer class in particular. While fans certainly appreciate the depth added, the highest-rated transfer comes in at No. 48 in Keanu Dawes, marking the second straight portal class that Self has compiled with a major heavy hitter.
Self fights back on this narrative
“I think this year is new, exciting, but having arguably as talented a kid as in the country again, and then the other guys that we've recruited, to me, are far better than what a lot of people had projected them to be. We got some guys that maybe have some chips on their shoulder,” quoted Self.
Of course, the addition of Tyran Stokes will always go down as the highlight player of any class. Yet this is something eerily similar to last season, when the Jayhawks reeled in Darryn Peterson, another No. 1 player in the nation, and things never really felt connected. Is Kansas putting itself into the same position?
That’s a question that won’t be answered until the season is reaching its peak. The best thing fans can realistically ask for now is whether their new team on the eye addresses the problems from last season.
For example, last season, the Jayhawks tallied the nation’s 339th-worst scoring bench in the nation at just 13.09 points per game. With the additions Self made, that looks like something that will be remedied.
Below will be every incoming player, their ranking, class and their per-game averages from last season if available.
Small Forward, Tyran Stokes, No. 1 HS, Freshman, 31 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals (Rainier Beach High School)
Point Guard, Taylen Kinney, No. 20 HS, Freshman, 19.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.75 steals (OTE)
Power Forward, Davion Adkins, No. 75 HS, Freshman, 11 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.3 blocks (NBPA Top 100 camp)
Small Forward, Trent Perry, No. 98 HS, Freshman, 6.9 points, 5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.0 steals (Nike EYBL Scholastic West District)
Shooting Guard, Luke Barnett, No. 124 HS, Freshman, 21 points, 3,7 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.4 steals (junior year at Mater Dei High School)
Center, Grant Mordini, N/A HS, Freshman, 12.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.8 steals (Avon Old Farms School)
Small Forward, Atticus Richmond, N/A HS, Freshman, 9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists (Newman School)
Small Forward, Dennis Parker Jr., No. 144 Tr, Senior, 18.3, 5.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.4 steals (Radford)
Center, Christian Reeves, No. 156 Tr, Senior, 11.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.4 blocks (College of Charleston)
Point Guard, Leroy Blyden Jr., No. 93 Tr, Sophomore, 16.4 points, 4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.8 steals (Toledo)
Power Forward, Keanu Dawes, No. 48 Tr, 12. 5 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists (Utah)
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