As those who watched last night’s win over Howard probably noticed, the 2024-25 Kansas basketball team is incredibly deep. It isn’t often that a Bill Self-led team has this much talent stacked from the top to the bottom of the roster.
Unfortunately for some of the rotational pieces, that means minutes will be hard to come by. This is one of the reasons why the Jayhawks will redshirt sophomore combo guard Jamari McDowell. Coach Self confirmed the decision during his postgame press conference following KU’s season-opening victory.
Jamari McDowell will redshirt this season #kubball
— JayhawkSlant (@JayhawkSlant) November 5, 2024
Bill Self confirms that Kansas basketball will redshirt Jamari McDowell
"Jamari is going to redshirt. He actually wants to. That’s our plan as of today."Bill Self
After playing sparingly his freshman year, McDowell will spend the upcoming season looking on from the bench and serving as a practice player. He will be college-eligible through the 2027-28 campaign.
A former 4-star recruit who was ranked the 88th-best player in the Class of 2023, the Houston native was a candidate to redshirt last season. However, the Jayhawks quickly found out that they did not have enough depth to justify losing a scholarship player. McDowell averaged 1.8 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 0.5 assists in 31 games, with notable performances coming against Tennessee (seven points in 27 minutes) and Cincinnati (seven points in 24 minutes).
He had an up-and-down freshman year. Despite looking undisciplined and overmatched at times, McDowell showed flashes of his outside shooting ability and defensive intensity.
McDowell’s willingness to stick around the program and wait for his chance is a testament to the kind of player he is. Self has cited him as one of the team’s hardest workers on numerous occasions, and he clearly believes there will be a spot for him in the rotation when the time is right.
Kansas has enjoyed recent success with guards who spent an extended period of time with the program. Look no further than Dajuan Harris, who redshirted in 2019-20, or four-year players Frank Mason III and Devonte’ Graham. McDowell might not live up to those hefty expectations, but he should eventually become an important piece to the roster.