Right now, the feeling around the Kansas basketball program can best be described as “mixed?”
It was always going to be like that as Dylan Darling’s game-winning layup in the round of 32 left a sour taste in an already sour season.
It didn’t help that legendary head coach Bill Self’s future was up in the air way too long, and right when he announced he would be returning for his 24th season, a mass exodus occurred across the squad, leaving only Kohl Rosario and Paul Mbiya remaining, and even Mbiya was teasing an exit until the last possible second.
But throughout all the uncertainty over Kansas’ roster, the Jayhawks were able to reel in four transfers in Keanu Dawes (power forward), Christian Reeves (center), Leroy Blyden Jr. (guard) and Dennis Parker Jr. (shooting guard), along with the nation’s No. 1 recruit in the class of 2026 small forward Tyran Stokes.
Stokes joins a class with fellow five-star and the nation’s No. 13 player, Taylen Kinney, along with four-stars Davion Adkins (power forward/center), Trent Perry (wing) and Luke Barnett (shooting guard). Yet despite all this, there is no clear gauge on Kansas’s current talent level and its possible ceiling, which is, at the very least, a slight concern.
Of course, there is still time before the NCAA Transfer Portal closes. Still, it feels unlikely that the Jayhawks are going to snatch one of the few remaining great players available, making it safe to assume that the team you see in front of you in late May will likely be the same team you see in late October.
Kansas given low ranking in CBS Sports’ latest poll
In Gary Parrish’s latest top 25 and one piece, Self’s squad was selected as the nation’s No. 25 team. According to Parrish, the biggest reason for Kansas being planted so low was because of the painful fact that Kohl Rosario is the only one of the Jayhawks’ top returning seven scorers from last season.
For reference, Rosario averaged just 3.4 points per game and finished his freshman year with 98 points, and a high of 16 in the Jayhawks’ third game of the season, a blowout win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The potential upside of the Jayhawks for better or for worse is unknown
While it is impossible to argue against Parrish, it is worth considering that according to other metrics like the famous Bart Torvik, Kansas’ “projected effective talent” ranks No. 14 in the entire country, pointing that Kansas did recruit well through the portal and high school ranks.
For those wondering, Torvik’s overall rating of the Jayhawks stood at a .9460, meaning that 94.6% of the time, Kansas faced an average opponent on a neutral court, they would come out on top. That 94.6% ranks No. 6 in the country, and only behind Houston (No. 4) in the Big 12. Of course, both Parrish and Torvik are just estimates that won’t be fully played out until the start of the regular season, and even then, Kansas fans know all too well just how important it is to be playing your best basketball late in the season.
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