This morning, Kansas basketball coach Bill Self spoke with the media to discuss a number of bigtime topics. One of the first? The Jayhawks possibily adding another player to the mix.
"I would actually be open to adding another. And we're in the process of definitely looking into another. In my opinion, [he] needs to be a guy that can at least run a team, play the point, maybe have some experience of shooting the ball, but you know, if something were to happen, [if] somebody were to go down, you know, [we could use] an insurance policy as well. So we're looking [to], hopefully get something done with that."
After last season's disappointing end, which saw Self's side drop out of the NCAA Tournament in just the first round, questions were asked about what Self has focused on this offseason and what changes were made in comparison to last season in terms of teambuilding.
"I don't know if there was a big shift at all." Said the two-time national champion coach. "It seemed to me that this year we emphasized more on not what other people thought...Not that that's our emphasis before...But I think the emphasis was more on what we needed to do to allow us to play as athletic and as to play the style that best suits us and best fits me for winning. And I think we were actually able to do that."
A linchpin of the conference was always going to be freshman guard Darryn Peterson. Peterson was ranked by 247Sports as the best player in the class of 2025, and with that comes high expectations for the new Kansas player.
"He's ultra talented." Marked Self. "You know, the thing about Darryn is we gotta have a team...That understands where the talent is and [ensure] we can play to his talent. He's also got to learn how to raise the level of other people's talent around him. He's gifted, I mean, there's. No denying that. He's gifted, with the ball in his hands."
One of the most exciting additions from the portal this offseason was Tre White, a shooting guard from Illinois who averaged 10 points and five rebounds last season for the Illini, before transferring to the Jayhawks, who will be White's fourth stop in his collegiate career.
"He committed in 9th grade. So we recruit him, I never seen him play. He commits and decommits two months later. That's a little bit of an exaggeration" laughed the media "We couldn't even call back then, you know, it was illegal to call. So we had no relationship, but it was nice to see it kind of come full circle."
White started his career at the University of Southern California, before transferring to Louisville and last season to Illinois. "People can talk about...Well, they've been in so many different schools, this and that. The positive with that is that he has been coached in three different systems by three different guys, that has added to his IQ, and he's a ridiculously bright player. He's a good basketball player. He's been a very pleasant addition and surprise."
Towards the latter end of the press conference, Self spoke with the media about this offseason. Self openly discussed the stresses of the offseason and how he turns it into a good thing.
"To me, it's probably been as stressful of an offseason [in] putting the team together that Kansas deserves, but it's also been kind of rejuvenating and fun in its own way. Because usually people that work in a pressure profession actually enjoy the pressure a little bit...It's like, when you go through problems, you never like it when you're going through it. But, there's nothing better than getting through it when you get to the other side. And that's kind of what I thought the roster management was like for us."
When rebuilding said roster, recruiting better athleticism appeared to be a massive point for Self.
"Definitely [the] top priority. How do you get guys that get their shoulders past people? How do you get guys that can make plays you can't coach? I think last year, we probably had to; this isn't a knock to our players, our players are good players," emphasized Self. "We probably had to manufacture plays and points as opposed to just, you know, there's a loose ball, we jump a little bit higher to get it, which creates a deflection to an uncontested three. We didn't get near as much stuff like that last year."