Kansas basketball, being the blue blood that it is, is fortunate to constantly have elite five-star players on its roster. This season, the star has undoubtedly been Darryn Peterson, who, coming out of high school, was ranked the No. 2 player in the country and the No. 1 shooting guard in the Class of 2026, according to Rivals.
Peterson has been the focal point of the entire Kansas team, but he hasn't always been a reliable player to have on the court due to multiple injuries throughout the season. Others have had to step up at times, some older players like Flory Bidunga or Melvin Council Jr.; however, there is one other redshirt freshman who has recently stepped up that could be a huge difference maker come March.
Bryson Tiller is quiety having an amazing freshman season
Freshman Bryson Tiller, who has at times been the counterpart for Bidunga when he needs a break on the court, has recently stepped up his game in a big way. Coming out of the Class of 2024, Tiller was rated as a four-star power forward coming to Kansas as the No. 76 player in the country and the No. 11 power forward, according to Rivals.
Tiller redshirted his freshman season and now ont he court with the Jayhawks, he is showing what he really brings to the table. Overall, Tiller is only averaging 8.7 points a game on the season, but his recent breakout shows his improvement as the season has gone on.
When Peterson was out against rival Kansas State, Tiller really stepped up with a season-high 16 points and was a real problem for the Wildcats to deal with. Then, Tiller stepped up his game yet again against No. 13 BYU when he dropped another season-high 21 points. In both of those games, TIller aslo had a total of 14 rebounds.
Now, against Texas Tech, Tiller wasn't as big a scorer, but it was a low-scoring game in general. However, he did reel in 10 rebounds and was big for setting up other shots for his teammates.
With so much focus on Peterson, Tiller could be the silent weapon that Kansas can use come March. He is a powerful presence in the paint and can certainly get it done on the boards, averaging 6.0 rebounds a game so far this season. Tiller can easily slip in and be a difference-maker for the Jayahawks that teams may not think about.