Now that Darryn Peterson is playing, Kansas basketball head coach Bill Self has streamlined his rotation to a seemingly unnecessarily tight seven players. This should have come as no surprise since he seldom likes to go deeper than seven or eight guys most years once the Jayhawks get into their Big 12 schedule.
One of the players who played a prominent role early in the season but now is buried on the bench with a few others is freshman Kohll Rosario. He started the first six games of the season but has barely been on the court over the last six contests.
What has happened to Kohl Rosario's playing time?
Through the first seven games of the season, Rosario played at least 19 minutes. Since then, he hasn't played more than that. One of the biggest reasons has got to be his three-point shooting.
So far this season, Rosario is just 13 out of 51 from beyond the arc, for a paltry 25.5 percent. He's only had two games where he shot it relatively well. Against North Carolina, he was 2-for-4, and against Davidson, he was 3-for-7. Take out those two outings, and he's hitting just 20 percent of his attempts.
He's also been inconsistent as a rebounder. At times, he's aggressive on the boards. In four games this year, he has five rebounds. In the other 13 games, he has just eight. He needs to learn to maintain that aggressiveness he's displayed at times.
It wouldn't surprise anyone if he also fell out of the rotation because he hasn't been terrific on the defensive end, and Self does stress this aspect.
Rosario's playing time has dipped significantly since the Big 12 opener, a road loss to UCF. His line that game wasn't great. He was 0-for-2 from three, grabbed three rebounds, and had a steal and an assist. He also committed three fouls but didn't score, all in 19 minutes. Since then, he's played just 14 minutes, including none in the blowout against Iowa State and two minutes of mop-up duty against Baylor.
There is no reason to panic about Rosario's future with the Jayhawks. Keep in mind, he should be in high school right now, as he reclassified into this class this past summer. Freshmen often struggle within Self's system.
One big positive for Rosario is that he is shooting 93.3 percent on two-point attempts, albeit most of these are dunks. Even those show his athleticism. When he's been aggressive on the boards, he's been good. Even on his long-range shots, his form looks good. He just needs a few of those to drop for him, and he'll gain confidence.
As the Jayhawks get deeper into the grind of the conference schedule, they will need Rosario. If he keeps working in practice and can be more consistently productive in those areas where he's shown flashes, he will get a chance to contribute again.
The talent is obviously there with Rosario. He's not playing much right now, but there is a chance he can earn more minutes in the future. The Big 12 slate is too rugged for Self to stick to his current seven-man rotation forever.
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