Kansas basketball needs to prove how wrong Gary Parrish is about the Jayhawks

The Kansas basketball team now has something to motivate them going into the 2026-27. Gary Parrish, the college basketball pundit for CBS Sports, doesn't think the Jayhawks are one of the top 26 teams in the country. Kind of difficult to believe, right?

Preseason rankings are the epitome of worthless, but they do provide fodder for discussion. In Parrish's recent Top 25+1 rankings, Kansas basketball is nowhere to be found. If head Bill Self wants to stir things up with his team, this should do it. Self will pay lip service to the thought that these rankings have no meaning, and in reality, they don't, but he can use this one to show his players that they aren't being respected on a national level.

Kansas has the top freshman in the country in Tyran Stokes and a top-five incoming freshman class that also includes exciting point guard Taylen Kinney. Up to four of those first-year players have a good chance to be starters or carve out rotational minutes. This alone should put KU in the top 26. Oh, that and a Hall of Fame coach running things.

Why is such disrespect being shown to the Kansas basketball team?

This lack of respect is more about how far Bill Self has fallen recently in the eyes of the national media. After winning the national championship in 2022, Self failed to capitalize on that success, and the team the following year lacked star power.

For the 2023-24 season, Self grabbed the top transfer in the portal in Hunter Dickson, but he failed to keep talented players on the roster. He failed in adding the right fits to the program. Despite being ranked as the best team in the preseason, KU struggled for much of the year and exited early from March Madness.

In 2024-25, the Jayhawks were once again picked number one early, but again, Self failed to surround Dickinson with enough talent. Yet again, the team fell way short of expectations and exited the tournament early.

Last year had a different feel. KU landed a top-two prospect in Darryn Peterson. Self went a different way in adding lesser names from the transfer portal but better fits for his system. The experts weren't impressed, and KU was ranked just inside the top 20.

As the previous three years, last year did not go as planned. Peterson was hurt early and often, and the team never learned to play with him. The team led by Flory Bidunga, Tre White, and Melvin Council Jr. actually played better without their superstar. When Peterson returned full time, the team lacked cohesion, played poorly, and for the fourth straight season, didn't make it past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

Still, Stokes alone should earn KU a decent ranking. Again, Self has surrounding the star with players with tough mental games and specific skill sets. The team as a whole looks to be one of Kansas' deepest teams in many years, and Self still has two more roster spots to fill once the NCAA eligibility mess gets cleared up.

While it is understandable, the pundits like Parrish may be wary of KU because Self hasn't been quick to figure out how best to manage the NIL era, but he can still recruit and coach. He still has an exciting freshman class, and there are some intriguing transfers like Keanu Dawes, Leroy Bylden Jr., and Dennis Parker Jr.

Self needs to prove to everyone that Kansas basketball is still the power it has always been, and this roster may surprise plenty of people, including Gary Parrish.

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