Arkansas transfer, who was once recruited by the Kansas Jayhawks, re-enters the portal

Two years ago, Eric Musselman was on top of the world, ripping off his shirt and celebrating with his squad after taking down the top-seeded Kansas basketball team in the Round of 32. However, the transfer portal guru had a down year in 2023-24 and recently bolted for the vacant USC head coaching job yesterday.

Even before he officially left for his new school, there was a mass exodus in Fayetteville, with six players transferring last month. Yesterday, one of the Razorbacks' best players went portaling, and he previously had connections to the Kansas Jayhawks. Could Bill Self and his coaching staff pursue this graduate transfer as he searches for his fourth school to play at?

Could the Kansas Jayhawks pursue Khalif Battle in the transfer portal again?

Khalif Battle is the transfer in question, a 6-foot-5 guard who averaged 14.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists on 40.6%/35.3%/87.3% shooting splits this year. He previously played at Butler and Temple before his stint at Arkansas and now has one year of eligibility remaining.

The Jayhawks were once interested in Battle, who was down to Arkansas, Kansas, and UCF last year before eventually choosing to play for Musselman. Now that his head coach is gone, he could be looking to play for someone who he is familiar with, and that might be Self.

Battle is an ultimate bucket-getter who can create his own shot with ease. He is capable of hitting shots even when they are contested well due to his quick first step. Battle moves well for his size and could start at shooting guard if he were to commit to Kansas.

Some of his best performances include a 42-point outburst against Missouri in which he shot 11-for-15 from the field, 6-for-10 from 3-point range, and 14-for-14 on free throws. Getting to the charity stripe is one of Battle's best qualities — he took 6.7 attempts per game from the line.

There have been no sources linking Battle to the Jayhawks yet, but his past connection with the KU coaching staff suggests that there could at least be some contact between the two parties. We will continue to keep everyone updated if Battle considers Kansas this go around.