The Kansas Jayhawks are finally nearing the end of their roster rebuild after an offseason that was anything but smooth sailing.
It came all the way down to just Kohl Rosario and Paul Mbiya as the only two players from last season’s roster who were guaranteed to be with the team next season.
However, after a couple of sharp portal moves, the Jayhawks were able to bring in four-star center Christian Reeves, four-star guard Leroy Blyden Jr. and four-star guard Dennis Parker Jr.
Combine that with a freshman class that holds two five stars in the nation’s No. 1 and No. 13 players in Tyran Stokes and Taylen Kinney, along with four-star center/forward Davion Adkins, four-star wing Trent Perry and four-star shooting guard Luke Barnett and all of a sudden the Jayhawks look stocked with talent.
Who controls the point guard spot next season?
This is one of the most intriguing questions, as Kansas could use the Radford transfer Parker or Blyden as next season’s starting No. 2, with the two and Rosario fighting for minutes and Parker and Rosario with the ability to rotate into the small forward role if necessary.
This creates an interesting scenario where Blyden either takes minutes at the point and goes against Kinney, or fills in as shooting guard against Rosario and Parker in an off-ball role, something he often played at Toledo, according to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello.
How Blyden competes for point
It is rare for a school to reel in two such promising prospects. Kinney is a McDonald’s All-American who shone on the OTE circuit, averaging 18.8 points per game and 6.1 assists on a 40.6% from the field.
"Taylen's one of the best point guards in the country," head coach Bill Self said via a press release after landing Kinney in mid-November.
"He's a scoring point. He can shoot. He's got great vision. He can create for himself and create for others. Taylen's transition to college ball should be seamless. He's prepared to run a college basketball team."
Meanwhile, the sophomore Blyden, who played his freshman season with Toledo, averaged 16.4 points, 4.5 assists, and four rebounds on a 46.1% mark from the field. According to John Hollinger’s Game Score metric, Blyden notched a 13.6 average. For reference, a score rated 10 is labeled as “average,” with a 40 tabbed as “outstanding.”
Blyden finished his sole season in the Mid-American Conference with a Third-Team nomination, while also winning Freshman of the Year.
“We felt Leroy was one of the very best guard prospects in the portal, period," Self said. "He had a great year at Toledo and was the freshman of the year in his league. He can score, he shoots it with range, and he's efficient. He can be the lead guard and a scoring guard. His ability to make plays and get his shoulders past you is something we really need."
Both Kinney and Blyden are going to be NBA hopefuls in the coming years, meaning it will be interesting to see how Self and his staff balance the minutes between the backcourt entirely, as everyone will be thinking they deserve starting minutes.
No matter where who lands, Self has to balance this situation perfectly for a team looking to get beyond the second round of March for the first time since winning the title in 2022.
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