Every successful team needs at least one pure shooter, and the Kansas basketball team might have its guy in freshman Luke Barnett. The Jayhawks never seem to have enough shooters on the roster, so Barnett might have a path to playing time when KU needs to stretch a defense.
It will be challenging to break into the KU rotation, considering the quality of transfers and freshmen on the Kansas roster. Barnett will probably battle returning Jayhawk Kohl Rosario for the shooter's minutes, though the latter struggled from three-point range last season.
Last week on the radio show Hawk Talk, assistant coach Jeremy Case mentioned how good of a three-point shooter Barnett is and how he can score on the perimeter. Jayhawk Slant had the tweet.
Coach Case said Davion Adkins will rotate between the 4 and 5. Said he's a better shooter than the staff thought and is very athletic. Also said that Luke Barnett is a great shooter. Can really score from behind the arc. He also mentioned that Trent Perry is a glue guy, and they…
— JayhawkSlant (@JayhawkSlant) June 24, 2026
Where might Luke Barnett fit in on this Kansas basketball roster?
Shooters shoot, and if they can knock the shots down consistently, there usually are minutes for that player. With Bill Self as your coach, however, you have to be able to play defense too.
Last season, Rosario started the season with the shooter label, but he never found his comfort zone through most of the season. He wasn't great defensively either, and he saw his minutes dwindle throughout the season. Toward the end of the season, his athleticism and hard work allowed him to find his way back into the rotation, and he even finished the season strong from behind the arc.
Barnett could be in for a similar season this year. In his scouting report for 247Sports published last summer, Adam Finkelstein notes that Barnett is an effective shooter, but that he needs some work defensively.
"Barnett is a shooting specialist. He has deep range and a quick, compact release that he hops into...He has extreme gravity as a floor-spacer and understands how to leverage it by utilizing the deep corner, instinctively finding open space around the arc, and just generally understanding spacing and offensive structure...Defensively, he can be flat-footed guarding the ball and struggle to get around screens at times, but he closes out hard, is disciplined contesting shots, and covers ground pretty well when he’s forced to scramble. He’s never going to be the most gifted defender, and undoubtedly has to improve, but the overlap of his motor and IQ should prevent him from being too much of a liability."
Self is going to love that Barnett is a floor spacer and that the ball won't stick in his hands. Self hates when the ball isn't moving offensively. If he is quick and efficient with his shot, he will be a positive piece of this roster on the offensive end.
From this report, you can see where he might struggle in Self's defense, though Finkelstein allows that Barnett can improve on that end of the floor. If Barnett can make strides with his development, then he might find a place at the end of a deep rotation.
It would be surprising if Barnett sees many minutes this season. It seems as if there are parts of his game that need work, but being able to shoot the ball is always a massive positive. Minutes at the guard and small forward spots will be difficult to come by for Barnett, but he looks like a player who can grow and expand his role as his game fully develops.
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