Kansas basketball is nearly underway. With scrimmages running through the country combined with next week’s media days, now is the last time for the fine-tuning to be done before a long trek of basketball gets underway.
Now it is clear this is a Kansas team that will have its doubters. The preseason Big 12 poll puts Kansas as the 6th-best team, the famous KenPom slots Kansas in at 21st, and the AP Poll ranked Bill Self’s squad at No. 19. All fringe positions compared to the usual upper echelon we have seen Kansas basketball typically touted.
Last season, the Jayhawks compiled their worst season in recent history. Their 61.8% winning rate was the lowest since the 1988-89 season, when Kansas went just 19-12 in Roy Williams’ first season with the program.
With Kansas’ 21-13 2024-25 record, Self and his team massively underwhelmed their No. 1 preseason AP Poll ranking and spent a lot of the season undergoing waves of up and down play, with a near mid-season 14-11 stretch that capped off the regular season. Quick exits in both the Big 12 tournament (88-77 loss to Arizona) and the NCAA Tournament (79-72 loss to Arkansas) spelled that a rebuild was necessary. Cameron Salerno of CBS Sports believes they have the tools to complete that rebuild.
“...What makes this version of Kansas (potentially) different is five-star Darryn Peterson, who profiles as the projected No. 1 pick this summer and one of the best guard prospects in recent memory. Peterson alone raises the ceiling and floor of this Kansas team. The Jayhawks haven't had a player like Peterson in the Self era. There's a reason why the Kansas coach has labeled him the best player he has recruited at the school. I'm buying all the hype around Peterson bringing Kansas' program back to glory.”
Peterson is joined along with two other 247Sports top-100 recruits in Kohl Rosario (No. 72) and Samis Calderon (No. 84). Kansas also reeled in Corbin Allen, Paul Mbiya (Intl), and Nginyu Ngala (Intl).
Self has enlisted the help of transfers Melvin Council Jr. (St. Bonaventure), Tre White (Illinois), and Jayden Dawson (Loyola-Chicago). Each of the three were rated as four-star transfers.
The Jayhawks also have a slate ahead of them that will quickly test their steel. On November 7th, Kansas takes on UNC at the Dean. E. Smith Center. 11 days later, they travel to Madison Square Garden to face Duke in a matchup a part of the State Farm Classic, and on December 2nd, Kansas takes on UConn at Allen Fieldhouse.
Make sure to bookmark Through the Phog and follow us on X and Facebook with the username @Throughthephog