Now that the Tyran Stokes drama is done and dusted, it's time for the Jayhawks to figure out how they will use the nation’s No. 1 player to catapult themselves into the second weekend of March for the first time since 2022.
Finding scoring options was probably Kansas’ biggest struggle last season, as when Darryn Peterson had finally gotten himself healthy towards the end of the campaign, the Jayhawks struggled to find effective ways to get their best player the ball, leaving them to rework the chemistry they had built when Peterson was struggling to stay on the court.
In high school, Peterson was touted as a great playmaker, but when he got to Kansas, he had to become their one and only consistent scorer, making it hard for him to keep up a playmaking reputation.
Next season’s Kansas team will have to find a way not to take that creative side away from Stokes, who was recently compared to the Portland Trail Blazers’ Deni Avdija in ESPN’s “Breaking down No. 1 boys' basketball recruit Tyran Stokes to Kansas,” where Paul Biancardi stated that Kansas will use Stokes as a secondary ball-handler and point forward.
How else can Stokes impact the offensive end?
Biancard compared Stokes to the likes of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards as someone who is “virtually unstoppable” at getting to the rim.
Last season, the Jayhawks were able to employ transfer guard Melvin Council Jr. as a prototypical slashing guard.
When Council was at it, his ability to glide to the rim and make mid-air movements took the ait out the arena, yet, as the season wore on, and Council grew more and more tired, his effectiveness at running through defenders worsened.
Biancardi compared Stokes' ability to draw fouls to that of Toronto Raptor Scottie Barnes. Currently, Barnes has drawn the NBA’s ninth-most fouls per game through the NBA Playoffs at a stellar 6.5 personal fouls drawn per game.
Last season, the Jayhawks ranked as one of the worst teams in the nation at getting to the stripe, averaging just 19 free throws per game, numbers that planted them 240th in the nation.
For a Kansas team that found itself falling flat on too many occasions last season, bringing in the likes of Stokes, who can be a threat on the offensive side of the ball, will be a massive boon for a team that scored just 75.1 points per game, which ranked No. 161st in the country last season.
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