Here Come the Jayhawks

Sustained success. This is the Kansas way. Faces change but expectations do not whenever you're talking about basketball in Lawrence, Kansas. Us Jayhawks fans tend to be a little (very) spoiled when it comes to this success. The 2018-19 and 2020-2021 teams were disappointing years if you ask any fan of Kansas. Both teams were booted from the NCAA tournament in the 2nd round including a 35 point blowout loss to USC in last years dance. Of course we were robbed of a National Title in the 2019-20 season as the Jayhawks were 28-3 including 17-1 in Big 12 play and poised to be the #1 overall seed in March Madness that was of course cancelled. Albeit super early, the Jayhawks have looked impressive thus far through two games. Beating a Michigan State team pretty handedly out in New York for the Champions Classic, and taking care of business in the home opener against Tarleton State. Coach Bill Self has concocted a roster loaded with talent here in his 19th season. It is a nice mixture of seasoned vets, younger underclassmen, and the utilization of the transfer portal. Let's take a look at the roster.

Seasoned Vets

David McCormack

Big Dave started off slow last year and had done the same this year. However, I am not worried about it. Often times last year the Jayhawks had to rely heavily on McCormack for his offense. This year they have so many weapons offensively that you'd expect a smaller workload or reliance on him on a nightly basis. This is not to say the big man from Virginia won't get his. We all know Bill Self loves his big man and wants a touch in the post most of his possessions. After that aforementioned slow start Dave posted 13 points an 6 rebounds a year ago. This was enough to get him voted by the coaches as the conferences most improved player. Watch out for him come conference play time.

Ochai Agbaji

The Kansas City native is truly the x-factor for the year in my eyes. He is now a senior and if you ask any Jayhawk fan they'll tell you they've seen flashes of greatness from him. Consistency is key for this guy and he looks like a man on a mission so far this year as he looks to climb the NBA draft rankings. Ochai went off at Madison Square Garden against a formidable opponent in Michigan State. You know he has the shooting ability from the outside but the way he was taking to the rim with conviction was impressive. This is what the NBA scouts are looking for. Him to round out his game. He has 29 and 25 points in the two games thus far while shooting 46% from behind the arc. It might be fair to say the Hawks will go as far as Agbaji takes them.

Christian Braun

Here is another guy who can shoot the rock. We've seen him explode for a career high 30 points last year against St. Joseph. The talent is there but again its just a matter of consistency. After a pedestrian game against MSU, Braun picked up 15 points at home against Tarleton State. One thing to note is that he is an above average rebounder for his size and position. He's grabbed eight boards in both contest so far. This will be huge for Kansas to have their guards crash the glass as if they do have one weakness its a slight lack of size. It's hard to tell how much they'll ask out of Braun because of the deep roster but 10-12 points a night would be awesome.

Underclassmen

Dajuan Harris

This Sophomore point guard is not going to wow you. He just makes the right plays. It feels like Dajuans role is mainly to distribute. Additionally he plays good defense and seems to hit a timely three ball every now and then. The defense will be key as they look for a guard to replace the former NCAA defensive player of the year in Marcus Garrett. Based on his role, Dajuan was nearly perfect in the first game against Michigan state. six points and four assists won't jump off the stat sheet of course but the big thing.... zero turnovers. While he had three of them against Tarleton look for this guy to get better and better under Bill's system and most importantly take care of the basketball.

Jalen Wilson

Huge get for Kansas when he backed out of his commitment to Michigan amidst a coaching change. Jalen has not played yet this season as he is currently serving a three game suspension which will conclude after tonight's game. Jalen was pretty solid last year for the Jayhawks and provided some much needed scoring at times when they were struggling offensively. He'll also be able to give Kansas some much needed size when he returns in the next game. Bill Self has high praise for this young man as he said that Wilson could be their best player when he's right. Coming off averaging almost 12 a game last year I'm sure he'd be the first to tell you he can pump that number up. Should be a huge lift for Kansas who has already shown to have a deep roster in his absence.

Bobby Pettiford

This is a Freshman that Jayhawk nation is excited about. While you don't anticipate getting consistant minutes as a freshman under Bill Self, Pettiford has performed well in the minutes he does get. The point guard from North Carolina has seemed like a guy who can do it all. Tallying five points to go along with two assists and rebounds in only 11 minutes during the opener in New York. My favorite part about watching him was that he utilizes his speed to get to the rim and can attack and finish in the paint. I wouldn't mind another Frank Mason around these parts. He should be a great four year player with a bright future ahead

Zach Clemence

Another Freshman here who may struggle to get minutes this year but he looked real good in the opening game as well. His first basket was a pick and pop three in which he looked super confident in his stroke. The 6 foot 10 big from Texas finished with seven points in just four minutes of play. He also made some plays on defense collecting two steals which will always help your case when it comes to minutes. Clemence could be a stud in the future.

Transfer Portal

Remy Martin

Ah yes, the coveted transfer who Jayhawks fans knew awfully well after he took us down not once but twice during his time at Arizona State. Along with Ochai coming back for another year this was the marquee move during the offseason. Remy should be able to provide them with instant offense. The biggest thing is that he can create his own shot. This was an issue at time for the Jayhawks when nothing was going offensively. Remy averaged 19 points a game last year for the Sun Devils. I dont expect him to average quite that much in Self's system but he should be able to carry the offense in games where they may struggle and save a few wins for Kansas. He also can rebound fairy well for a guard grabbing six of them in both the first two games. Remy just adds another dimension to this stacked offense.

Obviously I couldn't include the entire roster in my breakdown but the future looks bright in Lawrence. Not only this year but with the freshman mentioned and those left off the list they are loaded for the next several years. Special Shoutout to "super senior" and future Dr. Mitch Lightfoot. Mitch won't fill the stat sheet but he's good for a couple buckets and a taken charge most nights. And who knows, maybe he'll need to play a larger role in a game where Big Dave gets into foul trouble. Kansas looks to go 3-0 tonight as they take on the Stony Brook Seawolves tonight at historic Allen Fieldhouse.