Kohl Rosario's freshman season at Kansas has been a rollercoaster ride. He could still be in high school, but he reclassified this summer and joined the Jayhawks.
His athleticism and shooting skills helped build up some buzz around him leading into the season, and he started the first six games of the year for the Kansas basketball team. He scored 16 in the third game of the season against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, but he was inconsistent with his three-point shooting. If it wasn't a dunk, Rosario struggled to score.
Add in that his defense wasn't where head coach Bill Self wanted it, and Rosario's minutes dwindled. After the Player's Era event in Las Vegas, he played only 16 minutes total over the next three games. Then he seemed to have played himself out of Self's figurative doghouse, playing 17, 19, and 19 minutes in the next three games.
He scored 13 in one of those games, against Davidson, but he shot poorly from beyond the arc. He made just four of 16 three-pointers in that stretch and found himself buried on the bench when KU entered the Big 12 schedule.
Since then, he's only played as many as 10 minutes in any game, until the Houston disaster in the Big 12 tournament.
Kansas needs Kohl Rosario to contribute during March Madness
Over the Jayhawks last four games, Rosario saw a slight uptick in his playing time. Against Houston in the Big 12 tournament, after the Jayhawks went 14 minutes of game time with only one made field goal, Self tried something different.
He sent Rosario into the game, and the freshman was the only bright spot for the Jayhawks in the game. Rosario played 11 minutes, scored eight points, and pulled down four rebounds. He also tallied one assist against no turnovers, though he did commit three fouls.
More importantly, Rosario made both of his three-point attempts and has now made each of his last three attempts from deep. If Rosario is finding his range and getting more confident in his shot, he could be an important X-factor for the Jayhawks in the NCAA Tournament.
Rosario can add more than just shooting. At times, he is a good rebounder. Occasionally, it seems like he forgets to rebound, but he has the athletic ability to be a good rebounder as a guard. Against a terrific rebounding team like Cal Baptist, that skill set could be beneficial.
Kansas desperately needs more help from the bench than Elmarko Jackson and Jamari McDowell. While both have areas where they excel, they are also limited. Having a dependable third player come off the bench and make significant contributions would be a big boost for the Jayhawks.
Hopefully, Self will have more trust in Rosario and give him a few more minutes going forward. The Jayhawks need another option off the bench, and Rosario has the skills to be that player. Hopefully, he will help KU make a good run in the tournament.
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