The Kansas basketball program has a lot of work to do ahead of next season.
Fans should now be fully moved on from the Jayhawks’ gut-wrenching 67-65 loss in the round of 32 to St. John’s, and instead be focused on how Bill Self is going to prepare next season’s underclassmen-laden squad for a trip past the first weekend of March for the first time since 2022.
So far, in an attempt to get some seniority on the team, the Jayhawks have brought back the likes of center Paul Mbiya and reeled in Keanu Dawes and Leroy Blyden Jr. Blyden will only be a sophomore by the time next season rolls around, like Mbiya, but Blyden's explosive freshman season at Toledo earned him this chance.
Blyden averaged 16.4 points per game last season, along with 4 rebounds and 4.5 assists, all while doing it on a steady 46.1% field goal rate.
When Blyden entered the portal, he was quickly tipped as one of the nation’s best young guards and earned a spot as the country’s 90th-best transfer according to 247Sports.
Blyden will be a gamechanger for the Jayhawks
Following Blyden’s commitment, Self relayed this quote on Blyden.
"We felt Leroy was one of the very best guard prospects in the portal, period," Self said.
Blyden finished last season as the MAC Freshman of the Year and was also nominated to the All-MAC Third Team.
"He had a great year at Toledo and was the freshman of the year in his league. He can score, he shoots it with range, and he's efficient.”
Blyden finished the season with a stellar 2.43 assist-to-turnover ratio, while also adding a stellar 61 steals throughout the season.
“He can be the lead guard and a scoring guard. His ability to make plays and get his shoulders past you is something we really need,” finished Self.”
According to John Hollinger’s Game Score metric, which is meant to measure a player’s production through a given game, Blyden averaged a 13.6 game score, which is well above the average 10.
Blyden will likely not be the last incoming transfer, but he is by far one of the most promising from the entire class. If Self can keep Blyden and develop him over the next three seasons, there is no doubt that there will be a budding new star for the Kansas Jayhawks.
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