Kansas basketball scrimmage ends in defeat for short-handed Jayhawks

Kansas basketball entered the 2024-25 season with lofty expectations after opening the year ranked No. 1  in the AP Poll. While the buzz in Lawrence hasn’t changed yet, yesterday’s 85-69 loss to Arkansas in a charity scrimmage certainly revealed some of the Jayhawks’ flaws.

Head coach Bill Self knew KU would be short-handed heading into the exhibition. Regardless, it wasn’t a pretty scrimmage from the nation’s top-ranked squad. Meanwhile, John Calipari and the Razorbacks looked like a team in midseason form. It was anything but encouraging for Jayhawk fans.

Kansas basketball looked overmatched by the Razorbacks

Arkansas jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. They led by 12 at halftime. Freshman guard Boogie Fland and Kentucky transfer DJ Wagner led the way with a combined 46 points on an efficient 16-for-27 shooting.

Kansas didn’t look too comfortable on the offensive end, turning it over a concerning 17 times while shooting 4-for-10 from the charity stripe. It is still early in the campaign, but it hardly looked like the offense the No. 1 team in the country should have.

Highly touted newcomers AJ Storr and Zeke Mayo were underwhelming. Storr only played 18 minutes after missing a barrage of ill-advised shots throughout the contest. Coach Self called Mayo KU’s best player on multiple occasions, but his seven points and three turnovers hardly displayed that.

Of course, the absence of Big 12 Preseason POY and All-American center Hunter Dickinson impacted Kansas significantly. He was held out of the contest due to a foot sprain he sustained during Late Night in the Phog. The Jayhawks hope he will be at full strength by the season opener. Alabama transfer Rylan Griffen (hip flexor strain) was also sorely missed on the sidelines. 

The only players who finished in doubled figures were Dajuan Harris and Rakease Passmore, who was a pleasant surprise off the bench. Harris scored a game-high 26 points, sinking four 3-pointers in an offensive clinic. Freshman center Flory Bidunga posted six points and seven rebounds in an impressive showing, though he did get into foul trouble early.

Kansas kicked off the 2023-24 season with a scrimmage loss to Illinois in Champaign. This game showcased many of the same flaws last year’s team had. Coach Self and the Jayhawks have one more chance to tune up for the regular season on Tuesday against Washburn.