Kansas basketball coach Bill Self could address two deficiencies on the roster with one fell swoop. It is being reported by both 247 Sports and the Kansas Star that KU is recruiting Brice Dessert, a seven-foot center from France. This would add depth and experience to the KU big man corps.
Michael Swaim updated Kansas’s interest in the big man on 247 Sports. The Kansas City Star KU beat writer Shreyas Laddha also mentions Dessert as a possible backup for returning sophomore Flory Bidunga. Both of these articles are behind a paywall.
Dessert doesn’t fit the typical recruit profile. He’s 22 years old and has been playing in the LNB Elite, France’s highest level of basketball.
According to SI.com’s Joshua Schulman, Dessert offers a lot of length on his 245-pound frame, featuring a 7-foot-4 wingspan.
How would Brice Dessert fit on the Kansas basketball roster
Bidunga is pretty much written in pen as the starting big man for the Jayhawks this year. He performed well as Hunter Dickinson’s understudy last year and put up good numbers when he received more minutes during a four-game stretch when KJ Adams dealt with an injury. He averaged 11.3 points and 9.3 rebounds in 28.8 minutes per game in those four games.
Currently, only freshmen Bryson Tiller and Samis Calderon are backing up Bidunga. Tiller looks more like a stretch four, and Calderon could be a power forward who can play inside. The lack of overall experience on the interior has to be a slight worry for Self, although those players aren’t lacking talent.
It would be great for Kanass, as well as Tiller and Calderon, if they have time to learn the system and can be eased into the rotation instead of being thrust into things against some very stiff early competition.
It’s not clear what Dessert’s goals might be in college. One can assume he wants to showcase his talents in hopes of someday playing in the NBA, but that is pure speculation. Shulman mentioned that Dessert’s eligibility is unclear at this point after playing in a professional league (as if the NCAA wasn’t at this point, too).
Dessert would allow Self more opportunities to throw different kinds of lineups on the floor. The plan is likely to involve running four perimeter players around Bidunga in the interior. Dessert might allow Self to use more traditional two-big-man sets if he wants.
Kansas basketball is thin in terms of bodies and experience in the interior. Adding Dessert would go a long way to fixing both of those issues.