Kansas basketball transfers show promise early, but have room to improve

Kansas basketball head coach Bill Self wanted to have at least eight players capable of starting this season after last year's roster lacked depth in talent and numbers. After beating Michigan State in the Champions Classic to stay undefeated, Self appears to have completed his task.

The Jayhawks added five frontcourt players to the roster this year, including senior Zeke Mayo, senior David Coit, senior Shakeel Moore, junior AJ Storr, and junior Rylan Griffen. So far, four of the five have played significant minutes in KU's first three games. Only Moore, who is out with an injury, hasn't played.

Mayo, a Lawrence, Kansas native, has played the best early on. He's averaging 15.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. He's shooting 47.1 percent from the field and 40 percent from behind the arc. Against early, top tier opponents like North Carolina and Michigan State, he's emerged as the second-best scorer after holdover Hunter Dickinson.

Storr and Griffin have produced similar numbers - Storr is averaging 8.0 points, Griffin 7.0. Both have five assists, and Griffin averages 2.7 boards to Storr's 2.0.

Coit hasn't shown up as much in the scoring column but has seven assists and 10 rebounds. He started the season's first two games but came off the bench against the Spartans. His role going forward will probably be to spell Dajuan Harris Jr. when necessary and to provide energy off the bench.

Considering that the Jayhawks are still in the learning stage on both offense and defense, these transfers seem to be progressing well.

In what areas do the Kansas Jayahwks new transfers need to improve?

On offense, there hasn't been nearly as much side-to-side ball movement as we are used to seeing with the best of Self's teams. When the ball does move around the periemter crisply and quickly, it usually results in a basket.

At times, the ball is "sticking," as Self calls it. That means the perimeter players hold the ball too long or dribble too much. As the season progresses, we'll see less and less of this.

We should also see more driving from Storr. He looks like the one guy who can drive and draw contact at the rim. He can also spot up behind the 3-point line; he just needs to start knocking down those opportunities.

Griffin has one of the quickest releases we've seen in a while on 3-pointers. He hit a couple of crucial threes against Michigan State in the second half, keeping the Jayhawks in control. If he finds consistency, he will be a dangerous weapon in Self's arsenal.

Mayo has looked good offensively so far. He has range and quickness and can create his own shot. He is well-rounded on offense and it will be interesting to see if he maintains that average as Storr and Griffin improve within the offense.

Defensively, Mayo was a beast against Jase Richardson in the second half, holding him scoreless. He did miss some rotational assignments under the basket when Dickinson had to help out on screens up top. He wasn't the only one; Storr and Griffin sometimes didn't rotate to help either. That will come over time.

Another concern, especially with Storr and Griffin, is their getting back on defense in transition. Both the Tar Heels and Spartans caught KU off guard by pushing the ball upcourt quickly, even after made baskets. The new Jayhawks need to get back quicker and stop the ball when it's being pushed in transitions.

The Kansas basketball program is 3-0 and has played as hard of an early schedule as one can imagine. The blend of returning players and transfers is working well enough, but it will need to improve. The Jayhawks are not shooting well and have had lapses on defense, but they still played well enough to win. As long as positive progress continues, KU will remain among the elite teams this season.