The transfer portal in college basketball has introduced significant variance to rosters, as programs must now adapt to unpredictable player movement each offseason. Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks are certainly familiar with this, especially when seven transfers moved away from Lawrence after the 2022-23 campaign.
One of the departures from that squad was Joseph Yesufu, a guard who had previously spent time at Drake. He was a bench piece on the national championship-winning team and saw his playing time increase the next year. Now back in the same conference, the Jayhawks will find themselves competing against a familiar face in the Big 12 opener tomorrow.
Former Kansas guard Joseph Yesufu set to return to Lawrence
While the 2023-24 season was supposed to be his last at the college level, a hip injury limited Yesufu to just six appearances at Washington State. The NCAA granted him a medical redshirt, allowing him to play at his fourth school. He committed to West Virginia in the offseason and has been a solid rotational player, averaging 4.5 points and 1.9 rebounds in eight games.
Yesufu often struggled when donning the crimson and blue. He played in 69 games at Kansas (three starts), averaging 3.1 points and 1.0 rebound on 35.7% field goal shooting. Despite shooting well below 30% from beyond the arc at KU, his numbers have improved to 36.4% this season. All in all, the former Jayhawk should be pivotal down the stretch on a Mountaineers roster that is pushing for a spot in the field of 64.