2024 Kansas Hoops Preview by Lawrence Journal-World

2024-25 KANSAS HOOPS

A new season & a new leaf. The Jayhawks struggled a lot last year. But now they’ve got a new look — and so does the Big 12 conference.

KJ ADAMS

DAJUAN HARRIS Jr.

HUNTER DICKINSON

Nick Krug/ Journal-World Photo

COMMON SENSE BANKING STARTS HERE

File Photo KANSAS COACH BILL SELF, CENTER, AND HIS STAFF LOOK ON DURING KU’S GAME AGAINST GONZAGA IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT IN SALT LAKE CITY ON MARCH 23.

By Henry Greenstein l hgreenstein@ljworld.com

“I will tell you this: Our shortcomings this year will be addressed,” he said, “and we’ll be as good as we’ve ever been in the very, very, very near future.”

It won’t be clear for months whether this year’s Jayhawks deliver on their promise — unlike last year’s squad, which began the year as the expected top program in the country and finished among the worst teams of Self’s two-decade tenure. But while the 2023 transfer class ultimately ended up consisting of two bigname players — one of whom, Hunter Dickinson, fulfilled his All-American-level potential, with the other, Nick Timberlake, struggling almost all season — the 2024 group features five transfers who figure to compete for significant minutes this season.

Off-ball scorers Rylan Griffen, Zeke Mayo and AJ Storr will hope to space the floor more than KU ever did in 2023-24 and create opportunities for Dickinson, while late-arriving backup point guards David Coit and Shakeel Moore figure to take some weight off the shoulders of Dajuan Harris Jr., particularly once Moore returns from a foot injury. KJ Adams, Zach Clemence and Jamari McDowell also return from last season’s team, while freshmen Flory Bidunga and Rakease Passmore could vie for minutes early in their careers.

Granted, there were some unforeseen losses, as happens with increasing regularity in college basketball. Florida transfer Riley Kugel, who initially looked like the first acquisition of the offseason, never made it to campus and instead signed with Mississippi State; long-committed freshman Labaron Philon flipped to Alabama; and young guard Elmarko Jackson, who looked set to break out after an underwhelming freshman campaign, tore his patellar tendon in a summer scrimmage and will miss the entire 2024-25 season.

I will tell

this: Our shortcomings this year will be addressed, and we’ll be as good as we’ve ever been in the very, very, very near future.” — Bill Self

Despite that, though, the Jayhawks expect to have a dozen healthy scholarship players to open the campaign, when last year they only had nine in the absolute best-case scenario (a scenario that rarely manifested due to an injury to Kevin McCullar Jr. in particular).

Exactly how all those pieces fit together, however, remains to be seen.

W ho W ill start and W ho else

W ill play ?

Self asserted all offseason that he wanted to ensure the 2024-25 team could field eight startingcaliber players, and after saying in June (before losing Jackson to injury and gaining Moore and Coit) that he still wanted one more, in a recent interview with Bleacher Report he said he had accomplished the objective.

KU returns three literal starters from last season in Adams, Dickinson and Harris, and it would be easy to immediately slot in the five transfers to fill out the group of eight, except for the fact that it would leave the Jayhawks without any real secondary post option besides Dickinson. Clemence, who took an unusual mid-career redshirt during the 2023-24 campaign, dominated in practice last year by all accounts and has become a more physical and threatening player, but Self views him more as a power forward after previously using him at center. Then there’s

could be battling for one spot in the rotation.

Then again, Self also said in the same interview — and Passmore has mentioned this as a pitch they gave him during the recruiting process — that he views Passmore as a potential “Ochai Agbaji-type kid that will develop into a terrific player.”

Bidunga, a center by trade who has measured a bit shorter than his listed 6-foot-9 and will be very raw as a freshman; however, KU does have experience using undersized big men to great effect, such as with Adams in 2022-23.

Considering Self said in the Bleacher Report video that he expects to use nine players, it’s possible Clemence and Bidunga

That’s the edge of the rotation, but what about the starting lineup? Storr, one of the best scoring wings in the portal, figures to slot in nicely, but then it’s difficult to imagine Self saying no either to Griffen, a starter on a Final Four team last year who both greatly values and has more of a reputation for defense than most of this year’s players, or to Mayo, a hometown product whom he described at the end of August as the team’s “best player so far.”

Of course, as Self likes to say, he thinks who finishes a game is more important than who starts it.

NOW’S THE TIME TO PLAN AHEAD WITH LIFE INSURANCE

They depend on you. Feel good knowing you’ve taken steps to protect what matters most, no matter what tomorrow holds.

Let’s talk about securing your loved ones’ ﬁnancial future with life insurance that ﬁts you.

2420 Iowa St, Lawrence (785) 843-6591 jennyhuber.com

JAYHAWKS’ WAY ON MARCH 21 IN SALT LAKE CITY.

And even with his team-high rating and his flashes of rim-protection ability, Dickinson has a lot of work to do developing his agility against ball screens, as was frequently on display last season, and as Self him-

On the plus side, Harris has at times in his career been one of the best defenders in the country, and that’s unlikely to change in his sixth season of college basketball; if anything, he could be poised to bounce back after a down year in some aspects last season. And Griffen has already demonstrated a willingness to embrace the opportunity of building a new defense, telling JayhawkSlant, “Kevin left, so guarding the team’s best player, that’s a role that’s open and I need to step up to

Nick Krug/ Journal-World

TALENT

from PAGE 4

Considering that its mid-major foes like Oakland and UNC Wilmington aren’t exactly cupcakes (both beat Kentucky last year), it’s hard to envision the Jayhawks handing out an excessive number of garbage-time minutes to help their young players find their footing. Not to mention that even a game that looks trivial (like last year’s Eastern Illinois match up after the Maui Invitational) can become a near-disaster (as the Panthers cut KU’s lead to one point late in the second half and were in contention inside of two minutes to go).

H ow KU commemorate milestones

After the Independent Accountability Resolution Process ruling and a slightly low er-than-usual 2023-24 win total delayed his progress toward the accomplishment, Self is now just two victories away from tying Phog

Journal-World File Photo TRANSFER ZEKE MAYO TALKS TO THE CROWD DURING A SCRIMMAGE AT HOREJSI FAMILY VOLLEYBALL ARENA IN LAWRENCE ON JUNE 4.

Nov. 8 at alleN Fieldhouse • • •

These two storied programs have met just four times since Roy Williams left KU for UNC in 2003, but will do so twice

By Henry Greenstein l hgreenstein@ljworld.com

more in the next two years, thanks to a home-and-home series they signed up for in July 2023.

Unlike past battles on the biggest of stages, such as in the 2008 Final Four and 2022 na tional title game, this matchup will serve as more of a measur ing stick for

Nick Krug/ Journal-World

Photo FORWARD K.J. ADAMS JR. PUMPS HIS FIST AFTER A BUCKET AGAINST MISSOURI ON DEC. 9, 2023 AT ALLEN FIELDHOUSE.

Highlights

from PAGE 6

The Tar Heels also bring back Elliot Cadeau, whose 7.2 points and 4.1 assists as a freshman point guard were indeed a gift to UNC, and several of last year’s key reserves. Cade Tyson, one of the best shooters in the portal, arrives from Belmont, where he averaged 16.2 points and 5.9 rebounds, and forward Ven-Allen Lubin will join from Vanderbilt to bolster the frontcourt.

If KU beats Howard in its opener, this could then be the game in which Bill Self ties Phog Allen as the Jayhawks’ all-time winningest coach.

K ansas vs . D u K e nov. 26 at t-Mobile arena in las vegas

The Jayhawks decided against a conventional tournament during Thanksgiving week this season after spending the last three

years in the ESPN Events Invitational, Battle 4 Atlantis and Maui Invitational. That doesn’t mean they couldn’t find a challenge to tackle ahead of the holiday, though. Even though KU already faces Duke every third year as part of the Champions Classic — and will therefore do so during the 2025-26 season as well — the Jayhawks set a date with the Blue Devils as part of the Vegas Showdown (which also features a KU home game against Furman the following weekend and one for Duke against Seattle).

The game allows KU to complete its nonconference circuit of the three big North Carolina schools, between its home-and-homes with UNC and N.C. State, and more pressingly provides another opportunity to judge the Jayhawks’ progress three weeks into their season.

This game will be particularly intriguing because, much like last year’s Kentucky game, it pits KU against a group of potential future stars in the earliest days of their college basketball careers. Duke had the consensus top recruiting class in the country for 2024, in large part because it nabbed No. 1 recruit Cooper Flagg, a 6-foot-9, 205-pound

wing from Newport, Maine. But the Blue Devils’ six-man class also includes three other five-star recruits in wings Isaiah Evans and Kon Knueppel and center Khaman Maluach.

Duke has also successfully counterbalanced that youth with experience in the form of transfers like guard Sion James (Tulane) and forwards Maliq Brown (Syracuse) and Mason Gillis (Purdue). And while the Blue Devils lost four of five starters from last season, two to the draft and two to the portal, it does get back a double-digit scorer at guard, Tyrese Proctor.

K ansas at C reighton

DeC. 4 at Chi health Center in oMaha, nebrasKa

The Big East-Big 12 Battle has generated several thrilling games for the Jayhawks over the years, as they lost by one point to Villanova on a last-minute 3-pointer in 2019, then escaped against Creighton by the same margin the following season.

> HIGHLIGHTS, PAGE 8

as that opponent missed his final free throw — but also for the 2022 NCAA Tournament second-round matchup in Fort Worth, Texas, that saw KU escape with a key steal by Ochai Agbaji and solid free-throw shooting on its way to an eventual national title.

As for this year’s game, KU’s first date with the Bluejays in Omaha, Nebraska, since 1951, the big-man matchup between returning 7-footers Hunter Dickinson and Ryan Kalkbrenner will undoubtedly dominate the discussion. But Creighton has assembled a solid group of guards including returnee Steven Ashworth (11.1 points and 4.2 assists per game for last year’s No. 3

Nick Krug/Journal-World Photo KANSAS STUDENTS GO WILD DURING THE SECOND HALF AGAINST MISSOURI ON DEC. 9, 2023, AT ALLEN FIELDHOUSE

know when that will take place.”

seed) and transfers Pop Isaacs (15.8 points at Texas Tech) and Jamiya Neal (11.0 points and 5.4 rebounds at Arizona State).

Note that this will not just be the Jayhawks’ first true road game of the year but also the first of back-to-back road trips for KU, something the Jayhawks did not have to experience in nonconference play last season. Even if the destinations are close by, and undoubtedly a contingent of KU fans will travel out as well, the hostile environments could provide early tests of the Jayhawks’ mettle and endurance.

K ansas at M issouri

Dec. 8 at Mizzou arena in coluMbia, Missouri

A lackluster Missouri squad gave KU a good fight in the teams’ 2023 matchup at Allen Fieldhouse, jumping out to an early 15-6 lead and neutralizing Dickinson by clogging the lane with numerous defenders. After the game, which turned on a 20-2 run by the Jayhawks prior to halftime, the Tigers’ coach Dennis Gates declared, “I want to see the next time

Missouri did not hold many protracted leads over the course of its season. The Tigers failed to match their spirited Border Showdown effort in the weeks and months beyond, as they won just one more game before embarking on a 19-game losing streak against SEC foes.

Between the return of the rivalry game to Columbia for just the second time since 2012, however, and Gates’ offseason roster revamp, the 2024 edition of the matchup is beginning to look like one to watch.

Tony Perkins, a former Iowa guard who started the final 81 games of his career with the Hawkeyes, is coming off a campaign in which he earned second-team all-league honors from Big Ten coaches for averaging 14.0 points, 4.6 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game. Former South Carolina center Josh Gray provides intriguing size at 7 feet and SEC experience, if not raw numbers. Guard Marques Warrick is the nation’s leading total-points scorer among active players, and he and Jacob Crews will look to transfer their talent from the mid-major level. Mark Mitchell, a Kansas City, Kansas, native, may face the greatest expectations of any Tiger this season, as a former McDonald’s AllAmerican who started for two seasons at Duke. They’ll try to stack up against KU’s own highly touted transfer group and turn the tide of the rivalry.

A look at the new Big

AP File Photo

ARIZONA HEAD COACH

TOMMY LLOYD YELLS OUT INSTRUCTIONS ON MARCH 28 IN LOS ANGELES.

Lawrence Journal-World/KUsports.com

Big 12

from PAGE 10

In the transfer portal, the Wildcats added former Tennessee center Tobe Awaka, with small forwards Anthony Dell’Orso and Trey Townsend. Dell’Orso averaged 19.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game for Campbell University and Townsend scored 17.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game with an Oakland team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The lost talent of Oumar Ballo, Pelle Larsson, Keshad Johnson and Kylan Boswell will be a challenge to make up for Lloyd and the Wildcats, but the pieces are still there in Tucson for the Wildcats to compete in the Big 12 in the same way they did in the Pac-12.

A rizon A S t A te

Long have the Sun Devils lived under the shadow of the Arizona Wildcats in basketball. Their southern rivals have maintained national relevance for decades, while the Sun Devils haven’t advanced beyond the Elite Eight in school history, and haven’t reached that round since 1975.

Yet this year holds some new excitement in Tempe, Arizona, for basketball. Coach Bobby Hurley has led the team for 10 years with some of the program’s best results, even though those results have been middling compared to many other programs.

But following one of the worst years for Hurley, the Sun Devils landed two top-25 high school recruits from the 2024 class according to the 247Sports player rankings in center Jayden Quaintance and shooting guard Joson

Sanon. Throw in another fourstar recruit and a five-man transfer class and the Sun Devils have the ninth-best 2024 class, according to 247Sports.

What Arizona State looks like on the court will be hard to tell before the season gets started.

The Sun Devils lost associate coach Jermaine Kimbrough — who played a particularly large role in coordinating the team’s defense — to Grand Canyon University in April. The Sun Devils have played a freeform offense, where Hurley empowers his players to largely play outside of the structure of a particular offense.

The Sun Devils roster has a very different look than last year. Brycen Long, Shawn Phillips Jr., Bobby Hurley Jr., Jordan Williams and Adam Miller are the only players from last year’s team to return to Tempe this season. Miller, who was third

on the team with 12.0 points per game last year, is the only returning regular starter, with none of the other returners having started more than 12 games last season.

While Bobby Hurley Sr. has more talent to work with this year than in just about all of his previous years, he and the Sun Devils have a tall task ahead of them with adjusting to all the new pieces while joining a new, dominant basketball conference in the Big 12.

BYU

The Cougars are coming off a successful first season in the Big 12 — almost too successful as it led to coach Mark Pope being hired at Kentucky following John Calipari’s move to Arkansas.

> BIG 12, PAGE 12

Big 12

from PAGE 11

BYU turned to Phoenix Suns associate coach Kevin Young as the leader of the program. Young was tasked with being the de facto offensive coordinator for the Suns team with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. The Suns’ offense finished 10th in the league in scoring, 12th in assists and fourth in the league in true shooting percentage, although that comes naturally with having three of the league’s top scorers.

Eight of BYU’s 16 players on last year’s roster are returning to Provo, Utah. Dallin Hall, Trevin Knell, and Fousseyni Traore are the only returners who started more than five games for the Cougars last year. While a lot of the production from last year’s team has moved on, the Cougars still have a core group to build on the 23 wins and NCAA Tournament appearance. Jaxson Robinson was the only Cougar to follow Pope to Lexington, although his 14.2 points will be difficult to replace.

Traore might have only started eight games for the Cougars last year, but he was the team’s second-leading scorer with 10.9 points. The senior forward was an All-Big 12 honorable mention in 2024 and was an All-WCC second-team player in 2023.

Hall earned the same honors the past two seasons and started 30 games and averaged 5.1 assists per game in the 2023-24 campaign, which was fourth-highest in the Big 12.

As for newcomers, Young has added a couple of top-rated international players to the team.

Egor Demin, a five-star recruit from Russia, committed to BYU, as did Mihailo Boskovic, a Serbian forward. The Cougars also added two transfer big men in center Keba Keita from Utah and Mawot Mag from Rutgers.

In a talented and deep conference, the Cougars will be an interesting team to watch as they try to continue down the path they were headed while under new management.

B aylor

The Baylor Bears will return to the conference with a revamped roster after losing several players to the NBA — Ja’Kobe Walter, RayJ Dennis and Yves Missi, who averaged 14.5 points per game, 13.6 points per game and 10.7 points per game, respectively.

To replace them, the Bears brought in the sixth-best recruiting class in the country, according to 247Sports. Small forward VJ Edgecombe is the headline player, and the transfer addition of former five-star Duke point guard Jeremy Roach will provide an integral role on the team.

Those newcomers will join Langston Love and Jayden Nunn, who were fourth and sixth on the team in points per game. Nunn also was second on the team in steals with 1.3 per game. The Baylor backcourt with Love, Nunn and Roach will be among the best in the conference.

The Bears are coming off a 24-win season that included the team advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Clemson in an upset.

Coach Scott Drew is in his 22nd year at Baylor with particular success in recent years. The Bears won the national championship in 2021 along with the school’s first-ever Big 12 championship.

Under Drew, the Bears have consistently had one of the best offenses in the nation. Last year, the Bears were sixth in offensive rating in the country. But the defense’s “no middle” system that forces opposing offenses away from high-percentage shot areas is what has made the Bears a formidable team to play against.

However long it takes for the Bears to click with their newcomers, Baylor’s squad will continue to be one of the toughest teams in the Big 12 and in the country.

C in C innati

Year two in the Big 12 has a

lot in store for the Cincinnati Bearcats. Cincinnati will return a lot of its players and production from a season before, where the Bearcats proved to be a tough team to play.

Dan Skillings Jr., a sophomore guard who averaged 12.9 points per game, and Simas Lukošius, a junior who averaged 11.8 points per game, will return to the team as a potent scoring duo in the conference. Four of their other top-eight scorers will return to the team this upcoming season.

As for the new faces on the team, former five-star high school recruit Dillon Mitchell transferred from Texas and will make an impact in the team’s frontcourt. Mitchell averaged 7.5 rebounds per game, which was second only to Kansas’ Hunter Dickinson in the Big 12.

C olorado

Tad Boyle and the Colorado Buffaloes are coming off a 16-11 season with a secondround appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

This year’s team will look very different, however, with zero returning starters. Couple that with a return to the Big 12 — a deeper, more competitive conference than the Pac-12 — and the Buffaloes are looking at a potentially long season.

> BIG 12, PAGE 13

Boyle looked to the transfer portal for two of the Buffaloes’ biggest incoming players: Trevor Baskin from Colorado Mesa and Elijah Malone from Grace College, an NAIA school. Baskin averaged 18.2 points per game with Colorado Mesa last year along with 8.3 rebounds per game. Baskin was also the best player on the team in getting to the free-throw line, as he finished with 189 attempts, which was almost 100 more than the nextclosest teammate.

Malone won the NAIA player of the year award in his final year at Grace College while scoring 17.3 points per game. The center also had 90 blocks while grabbing almost eight rebounds per game.

As for returners on the Buffaloes, Julian Hammond III will likely be the one with the biggest impact on the team. He started five games a season ago and averaged 7.4 points per game with a 40% shooting clip from beyond the arc.

The outside perspective on Colorado might not be high entering the season, but Boyle has built a consistent program in Boulder, Colorado, with five NCAA Tournament trips in his 13 seasons as the head coach.

H ouston

The Cougars are returning a large part of their 32-win team from last year, and Houston will again be one of the best teams in the conference and the country.

LJ Cryer and J’Wan Roberts both decided to skip the draft and return to Houston and will keep the Cougars in contention for a national championship. Cryer averaged 15.5 points per game and Roberts scored 12.6 points per game, and they were the two best 3-point shooters on the team.

Ja’Vier Francis and Joseph Tugler are two additional returners who will be important pieces on the team.

The Cougars had a relatively quiet recruitment ahead of this season. Four-star prospects Mercy Miller and Chase McCarty are the two high school recruiting signees, while Oklahoma point guard Milos Uzan, who averaged 1.2 steals per game with the Sooners, also joined.

Last year, the Cougars made it to the Sweet 16 before falling 5451 to Duke while also finishing as the runner-up in the Big 12 tournament. That was the school’s fifth straight year reaching the Sweet 16, which is a school record.

Houston had the second-best defensive rating in the country last year at 87.7, and the team will continue to rely upon its defense.

Kelvin Sampson, who is in his

10th year leading the team, employs a blitz defensive strategy using pressure and effort when attacking ball handlers that routinely produces one of the best defenses in the country. This has led the Cougars to over 30 wins in the last three years.

The Cougars lost current Toronto Raptor Jamal Shead, who was the Big 12 player of the year and the conference’s defensive player of the year, which was the first time a player has won both awards in the same season.

With the number of returners and the history of consistent defense under Sampson, the Cougars will continue to push for the top of the conference.

I owa s tate

Iowa State will have a large number of returners this year after having the best defensive rating in the country in 2023-24 and winning the Big 12 tournament.

The Cyclones are a stifling team defensively. The team only allowed five teams last year to score more than 75 points in a game, and two of those five games were overtime contests.

Keshon Gilbert, Curtis Jones, Tamin Lipsey and Milan Momcilovic are all returning to the team this year after the conference championship season. Those four were the team’s four leading scorers from last year, with Gilbert leading the team with 13.7 points per game. The

four were also the team’s top assist makers, with Lipsey averaging 4.9 per game, which was the best on the team.

Coach T.J. Otzelberger is set up for success with both the returners coming back to Ames, Iowa, and the incoming transfer class. Former Charlotte center Dishon Jackson is the headliner in the class, but former Saint Mary’s power forward Joshua Jefferson will be an impact player for the Cyclones as well. Nate Heise and Brandt Chatfield are two additional transfer forwards who are joining Iowa State for the upcoming season.

The Cyclones entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 seed from the East but fell short in the Sweet 16 after losing 72-69 against Illinois.

Iowa State relies upon its physicality defensively to win games. It has become a staple of the Cyclones’ identity since Otzelberger took over and turned the team into a national contender.

K ansas s tate

Kansas State and the Wildcats made a big splash in the offseason, but the team is still behind some national contenders within the conference.

The Wildcats added eight transfers, including former Illinois power forward Coleman Hawkins.

Big 12

from PAGE 13

Four of the eight transfers are either listed as power forwards or centers, which shows the team’s emphasis in the frontcourt. Dug McDaniel, a Michigan point guard, will be another important addition to the team.

This year’s team will have a different look than last year. David N’Guessan will be one of the few key members of the 202324 season who will be back in Manhattan.

The Wildcats entered last year’s Big 12 tournament as the No. 10 seed and beat the No. 7 seed Texas before losing to Iowa State. Kansas State didn’t make the NCAA Tournament like it had the year before, but the Wildcats did make the NIT, only to lose in the first round to Iowa.

With all the new pieces on the team, the Wildcats will be tough to predict even with all the talent on the team. How quickly the team comes together will indicate how much of a threat the Wildcats will be in the Big 12.

Oklah O ma S tate

Oklahoma State had a down year in the Big 12 last season with a 12-20 record and a 4-14 conference record. The Cowboys entered the Big 12 tournament with the second-lowest seed and lost in the first round to UCF.

The Cowboys averaged the second-fewest points per game in the conference at 71.0 while allowing the second-most at 72.7 points per game. They were also 10th in field goal percentage and 3-point shooting percentage among 14 schools and were the worst in the conference in rebounds per game.

Suffice it to say, it was not good enough for a tough conference like the Big 12.

To remedy the issue, new

coach Steve Lutz relied heavily on the transfer portal, bringing in seven new recruits. Arturo Dean is one of those transfers, a guard from Florida International, and will be an important part of the program’s rebuild.

Lutz is coming from Western Kentucky and Texas A&M—Corpus Christi before that, where he brought those programs back to the NCAA Tournament. Lutz has also coached under Creighton coach Greg McDermott and Purdue coach Matt Painter.

Under Lutz last year, the Hilltoppers won 22 games and won the Conference USA tournament, which earned the team an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The team led its conference with 80.2 points per game and the highest field goal percentage in the conference.

Lutz has had success turning programs around, and the Cowboys are in need of a turnaround. Accomplishing that quickly while playing in a deep conference like the Big 12 will be a tall task for Lutz.

t C U

TCU was another team that took to the transfer portal to upgrade its roster. The Horned Frogs added six transfers, with former Arizona State guard Frankie Collins, Green Bay guard Noah Reynolds, former Kansas State guard RJ Jones and former Wyoming guard Brendan Wenzel all adding to a new backcourt.

Alongside the incoming transfers, the Horned Frogs brought in three high school recruits in the frontcourt. Micah Robinson, the 23rd-ranked power forward in 247Sports rankings, is the headliner for the recruiting class.

The Horned Frogs had the 43rd-best offensive rating in the country and the 44th-best defensive rating, according to KenPom. The backcourt upgrades are there to improve both of

those marks, as Collins was one of the better defensive guards in the Pac-12 last season.

TCU made the NCAA Tournament as a No. 9 seed before losing 88-72 to Utah State in the first round. It was also the third straight year that the Horned Frogs won 21 or more games.

Coach Jamie Dixon will have Ernest Udeh Jr., back but not many other players after the Horned Frogs graduated a large number of their team. He averaged 4.3 points per game and was second on the team in both rebounds per game (5.3) and field goal shooting percentage (60.9%).

Like many of the other teams in the conference, the Horned Frogs are going to need to maximize their nonconference schedule to grow together as a unit if they are going to compete in the Big 12 or earn another NCAA Tournament bid.

t exa S t e C h

The Red Raiders lost and gained a lot in the offseason and will be a potentially difficult team to face within the conference.

Chance McMillian and Darrion Williams are returning to Lubbock, Texas, after averaging double-digit points for the Red Raiders last year. Williams was third on the team with 11.4 points per game and McMillan averaged 10.8 points per game for the fourth-most on the team.

But it’s the incoming transfer class that will be the headliners for Texas Tech. Coach Grant McCasland brought in four new players, with power forward JT Toppin the highlight of the incoming class. In addition, point guard Elijah Hawkins, power forward Fede Federiko and Kevin Overton are part of the class.

Toppin averaged 12.4 points per game and 9.4 rebounds per game for a New Mexico team that earned an NCAA Tournament bid but ultimately lost

to Clemson in the first round. Hawkins averaged 7.5 assists per game for Minnesota.

This is only year two under McCasland after a 23-11 record and an 11-7 conference mark in year one. The Red Raiders were in the middle of the conference for points per game and in points per game allowed. The Red Raiders were the secondbest 3-point shooting team in the conference, behind only Baylor. The team earned the No. 4 seed in the Big 12 Tournament and beat BYU before falling to Houston the following game.

Texas Tech has proven to be a tough opponent in the Big 12 in recent years and is in position to continue that trend in the future.

UCF

UCF struggled in its first season in the Big 12. The Knights finished with a winning record at 17-16 but had a 7-11 conference record. UCF started the Big 12 tournament with a win over Oklahoma State before losing to BYU in the second round.

The Knights held on to both of their top scorers in Jaylin Sellers (15.9 points per game) and Darius Johnson (15.2 points per game), who were both top-10 in the conference in points per game.

To pair with their top guards, UCF added forwards JJ Taylor from Memphis, Keyshawn Hall from George Mason and Benny Williams from Syracuse. Hall averaged 16.6 points per game with 8.1 rebounds per game and Williams averaged almost four rebounds per game while playing under 20 minutes per game.

UCF was already third in the conference in rebounds per game last year, and the team’s transfer additions will bolster the frontcourt and help keep the team near the top of the conference in rebounds.

> BIG 12, PAGE 15

The team’s rebounding was part of what was a solid overall defense. The Knights were 21st in the country in defensive rating. They allowed the third-fewest points per game in the conference, behind only Houston and Iowa State with 67.9 points per game.

On defense, UCF will need to improve its fouling. The Knights were at the bottom of the conference in free throw attempts allowed per game at 21.5.

U tah

Utah finished its final season in the Pac-12 with the sixth seed in the tournament after a 22-15 season with a 9-11 conference record. In a deep Big 12, the Utes will have a hard time rising to the top of the conference, especially after losing

five of the team’s top-six scorers from the year.

The Utes added seven transfer players, but the consensus is that the Utes will still be at a talent deficiency compared to the rest of the conference. Power forward Ezra Ausar and point guard Miro Little will make key additions to the team. Ausar scored 11.4 points per game with 4.7 rebounds while shooting above 50% from the field. Little didn’t make much of an impact last year as a freshman for Baylor, but he has a lot of potential that coach Craig Smith can work with.

Still, it is going to be a challenging season for the Utes, especially with away trips set for Arizona, Baylor, Houston and Iowa State. The Utes are working toward their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2016, though the Utes advanced to the semifinal of the NIT last year.

Last year’s Utes team would’ve been fourth in scoring at 78.8 points per game, but the Utes would’ve

been the second-worst in the conference in points allowed per game, only being above West Virginia.

W est V irginia

The Mountaineers are yet another completely new-look team with new coach Darian DeVries.

DeVries comes from Drake, where the Bulldogs finished second in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 28-7 record. DeVries led the team to its first NCAA Tournament game win in 50 years in 2021 along with six straight 20-win seasons.

In his time with the Bulldogs, DeVries coached strong offensive teams. Drake was second last year in the conference by scoring 79.9 points per game and was second in field goal percentage at 47.7%.

DeVries will bring along the sixth-best transfer class in the country, according to 247Sports. Eight players transferred to Morgantown, West Virginia, including Tucker DeVries, who is coach DeVries’ son.

Tucker averaged 21.6 points per game with 6.7 rebounds per game.

Along with DeVries, Amani Hansberry and Javon Small will make an immediate impact on the Mountaineers. Small averaged 15.1 points per game for Oklahoma State last year, and while Hansberry didn’t see much time for Illinois last season, the highly rated forward can be a developmental piece.

For the returners, the Mountaineers scored the fewest points per game in the conference at 69.8 and allowed the most at 76.8 points per game. The Mountaineers were second-worst in rebounds and assists and were worst in the conference in getting steals. All in all, it was a season to forget, with the team only winning nine games including a 4-14 conference record.

It’ll be a largely new team for West Virginia, but one that could prove to be a difficult team to face for the rest of the conference.

Here’s the Kansas men’s basketball roster for the 2024-25 season. Keep reading for more detailed profiles from Sports Editor Henry Greenstein about what they did last year, and what their outlook for this year is.

7-foot-2, 265 pounds

a J S torr

Junior guard; 6-foot-7, 205 pounds

D a J uan h arri S J r .

Graduate student guard; 6-foot-2, 175 pounds

r akea S e P a SSM ore Freshman guard; 6-foot-5, 185 pounds

Z eke M ayo Senior guard; 6-foot-4, 185 pounds

r ylan G riffen Junior forward; 6-foot-6, 190 pounds

n oah S helby Junior guard; 6-foot-3, 185 pounds

#11

#12

#13

#14

#15

#22

#24

#25

#40

#41

D avi D c oit

Senior guard; 5-foot-11, 175 pounds

J a M ari M c D owell

Sophomore guard; 6-foot-4, 180 pounds

w il D er e ver S

Redshirt sophomore guard; 6-foot-4, 185 pounds

e l M arko J ack S on

Sophomore guard; 6-foot-3, 195 pounds

P atrick c a SS i D y

Senior guard; 6-foot-1, 185 pounds

w ill t hen G vall Freshman guard; 6-foot-3, 185 pounds

D illon w ilhite Redshirt junior forward; 6-foot-9, 240 pounds

k J a D a MS Senior forward; 6-foot-7, 235 pounds

J u S tin c ro SS

Redshirt junior forward; 6-foot-8, 200 pounds

f lory b i D un G a Freshman forward; 6-foot-9, 220 pounds

Z ach c le M ence

Redshirt junior forward; 6-foot-11, 230 pounds

DEC. 22,

enior forward • foot -7 • 235 lb S . from a u S tin , t exa S

The glue of KU’s lineup.

l a S t S ea S on : After Adams won the award for the Big 12’s most improved player as a sophomore, Bill Self suggested he might be a worthy candidate to do it again as a junior. The nod eventually went to Texas’ Dylan Disu, but Adams, who had to get accustomed to playing on the perimeter with Hunter Dickinson in the middle, managed to boost his scoring average to 12.6 points per game. He also emerged as a potent secondary ball handler given KU’s lack of a true backup point guard and tallied about three assists per game. Adams, one of the team’s emotional leaders, battled tremendous adversity during the season, after losing his mother Yvonne to cancer in November. But he didn’t miss a game and turned in a key performance against eventual national champion UConn that he dedicated to her.

t hi S S ea S on : Adams is back for his senior campaign and will continue to serve as the glue of the KU lineup. One area for potential improvement, and one that Adams’ coaches and teammates got on him about over the course of the 2023-24 season, is rebounding. Despite his immense athleticism and leaping ability, the 6-foot-7 Adams has averaged just 4.4 rebounds over his two seasons as a starter. A brief stretch of good games on the glass midway through the season provided some hope in that realm, which quickly faded. Developing an outside shot will not be quite as urgent for Adams this year given the shooting options the Jayhawks added.

Nick Krug/ Journal-World File Photo

K.J. ADAMS (24) HANGS FOR A SHOT OVER YALE FORWARD MATT KNOWLING ON

2023, AT ALLEN FIELDHOUSE.

(40) DUNKS PAST EAST FORWARD COOPER FLAGG DURING THE MCDONALD’S ALL-AMERICAN GAME ON APRIL 2 IN HOUSTON.

Though a native of the Congo, Bidunga played high school basketball in Kokomo, Indiana, where he wrapped up his high school career with a second consecutive Gatorade Player of the Year honor, and The Indianapolis Star named him Mr. Basketball for good measure. Bidunga, who grew up playing soccer, took quickly to basketball, ascending to become one of the top recruits in the nation and averaging 19.0 points and 12.9 rebounds per

Bidunga is listed at 6-foot-9 but has measured slightly shorter at various events (and Self has said he’s more like 6-foot-7 or 7 1/2). The Jayhawks

have to determine whether his sole value is as a small-ball center spelling Hunter Dickinson or if there’s a circumstance in which the two could potentially play together; Bidunga’s playing time during the 2024-25 season could depend on what kind of versatility he’s able to demonstrate. Regardless, he’s an excellent leaper working on an array of post moves that will serve him well in Lawrence for years to come.

AP File Photo WEST CENTER FLORY BIDUNGA

His time on the sideline wasn’t wasted.

season :

Clemence initially planned to leave KU for UC Santa Barbara but reversed course midway through the summer, deciding to return to Lawrence and agreeing with Self that he would take an atypical mid-career redshirt during the 2023-24 campaign. By all accounts, he reaped the rewards of his time on the sideline. He said he approached every practice like he was playing a game, and Self praised the physical development and offensive prowess he displayed in those practices. Clemence did say that “it sucked” to be on the sideline as KU struggled with depth throughout the

season :

While Clemence has previously played center at times, Self has emphasized this offseason, most notably at the team’s postseason banquet, that he now views the redshirt junior as more of a 4-man. Playing Clemence alongside Dickinson would provide KU a lineup with a promis

S enior guard • 5- foot -11 • 175 lb S .

• from C olumbu S , n ew J er S ey

Self says he could provide ‘a whole different dimension.’

l a S t S ea S on :

Coit was the centerpiece of a lackluster offense at Northern Illinois, firing 17 shots per game and scoring 20.8 points for the MAC squad. He earned third-team all-league honors for the second year in a row, but the Huskies went 11-20 and 5-13 in their conference. He entered the transfer portal at the start of April.

t hi S S ea S on :

Coit languished in the transfer portal for quite some time, and he ultimately had to receive a waiver to be able to play during the 2024-25 season, which was reportedly granted in mid-July. Coit picked KU at the start of August, becoming the Jayhawks’ 13th and final scholarship player. Self has said he expects Coit to bring “a whole different dimension” to the team, which could be that of a scoring-focused point guard whose approach sharply contrasts with those of Dajuan Harris Jr. and Shakeel Moore.

ILL., ON NOV. 27, 2023.

AP File Photo

NORTHERN ILLINOIS GUARD

DAVID COIT SHOOTS DURING THE FIRST HALF OF A GAME IN EVANSTON,

Lawrence

G raduate student center • 7- foot -2 • 265 lbs . • from a lexandria , V ir G inia

Last year’s transfer star is coming back for more.

Dickinson delivered for the most part on his billing as one of the best-ever players in the transfer portal. He secured the title of consensus second-team All-American and was

AP File Photo ALABAMA’S RYLAN GRIFFEN LOOKS TO SHOOT DURING A GAME AGAINST KENTUCKY ON FEB. 24 IN LEXINGTON, KY.

G raduate student

G uard • 6- foot-2 • 175 lbs . • from Columbia , missouri

More depth will help him out.

season :

Harris didn’t quite match the standard he set during the 2022-23 campaign that had earned him the title of Big 12 defensive player of the year, as he forced fewer opponent turnovers while committing more of his own. Even with those challenges, Harris still mustered some heroic moments in key situations, including a scoring outburst that allowed the Jayhawks to beat Kentucky and a critical late-clock floater on a bad ankle against Baylor. As KU’s guard depth dwindled, the Jayhawks needed him to play more and more minutes as their starting point guard; by the end of the season, he had played at least 37 minutes in half of KU’s games. Self said he wasn’t physically built to play as much as he was.

season :

Self will no longer need Harris to be on the court nearly as often, if that’s what he deems best for the Jayhawks’ lineup. As Self said last season, KU didn’t really have a backup point guard at all when Harris was out of the game and didn’t run many sets during those periods as a result. Elmarko Jackson may have been lost due to injury, but Zeke Mayo and late additions Coit and Moore all have experience handling the ball, with Moore the most similar player to Harris. Even if Harris doesn’t get all the same opportunities as a result of KU’s increased depth, rotating him more often could allow him to be vastly more efficient when he is in the game.

DURING THE HALFSECOND ON MARCH 23 IN SALT LAKE CITY.

Nick WorldJournal-Krug/ File

Photo

KANSAS GUARD ELMARKO JACKSON GOES UP FOR A BUCKET AGAINST GONZAGA

l a S t S ea S on :

Mayo’s 18.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game at South Dakota State were good enough to make him the Summit League player of the year as a junior. He led the Jackrabbits to the tournament and acquitted himself well in a first-round loss to Iowa State, the latest game in which he had been able to shine against higher-level competition. After remaining committed to SDSU during previous offseasons, he chose to enter the portal ahead of his last year of college basketball.

t hi S S ea S on :

A

hometown

hero returns to Lawrence.

Mayo, whose recruitment process featured assists from his former Lawrence High teammates and current KU football players Cole Mondi and Devin Neal, opted to come home and join the Jayhawks. It’s not clear whether Mayo will carve out a starting role or serve as one of several guard options off the bench — there’s a high ceiling and low floor for his playing time given the Jayhawks’ depth — but he’s said the right things about being willing to battle for his spot, including in a social media post that read in part, “Any player has to compete for minutes no matter the level of play. Expected nothing less.”

AP File Photo

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE GUARD ZEKE MAYO IS PICTURED NOV. 16, 2022, IN FAYETTEVILLE, ARK.

G raduate student G uard • 6- foot -1 • 190 lbs . • from G reensboro , n orth C arolina

A strong defender who can back up Harris.

l ast season :

In his third year at Mississippi State, Moore posted 7.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists while starting more than half of the Bulldogs’ games. However, after having missed a potential buzzer-beater in the First Four the year prior, Moore did not get his chance at redemption in 2024 as Michigan

S ophomore guard • 6- foot -4 • 180 lb S .

from h ou S ton , t exa S

Can he squeeze into the rotation?

l a S t S ea S on :

Though consistently last in the Jayhawks’ rotation, as Self consistently stressed his long-term potential as a “program guy,” McDowell managed to make an impression by delivering for KU at several key moments during his freshman campaign. Those included a couple key free throws and defensive minutes in the Champions Classic against Kentucky, as well as a season-high 27 minutes on the last day of the Maui Invitational when KU beat Tennessee on a brutally short turnaround.

t hi S S ea S on :

McDowell’s path to playing time as an off-ball guard is blocked by several of the Jayhawks’ offseason additions, including all three of Griffen, Mayo and Storr. Given that Self tends to keep his rotation fairly tight, there might not be much space for McDowell in his second year in the program, particularly if freshman Rakease Passmore is able to squeeze his way in. McDowell could potentially be a redshirt candidate this year, as he might have been last year if KU had maintained a deeper bench.

JAN.

Nick Krug/ Journal-World File Photo

JAMARI MCDOWELL CELEBRATES AFTER HITTING A 3 ON

30 AT ALLEN FIELDHOUSE.

F reshman guard •

6- F oot -5 • 185 lbs

• F rom P alatka , F lorida

He could be a spark off of the Jayhawks’ bench

l ast season :

During his final high school season at Combine Academy in Lincolnton, North Carolina, Passmore averaged 19.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game during the regular season of Overtime Elite, numbers he improved upon slightly in three playoff games for the Blue Checks. By then he was already long committed to KU, which had earned his pledge after he visited for Late Night in the Phog in October.

t his season :

If not for Jackson’s injury sucking the air out of the room, Passmore would have been the story of KU’s camp scrim mage in June, where he hit 16 points and four 3-pointers to lead all players. The athletic freshman acknowledged in his first meeting with reporters over the summer that many in the public would likely have expected him to decommit after KU secured all its high-profile transfers, but as Passmore said, “Every time I get competition, I always go past where everybody (thinks) I will.” If he does that again, he could provide a spark off the bench.

J unior guard • 6- foot -7 • 205 lbs . • from r ockford , i llinois

The shot-creator that the Jayhawks need.

season :

In his lone season at Wisconsin, Storr averaged 16.8 points, including eight games of 20 or more points against Big Ten Conference foes. He made the all-league second team as a result. The Badgers suffered an upset loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to James Madison, though, and Storr opted to transfer for the second time in his college career (following a series of moves in high school).

his season :

KU’s consensus most important addition from the transfer portal is the sort of do-everything, shot-creating scorer the Jayhawks lacked at times last season. Though a junior, Storr, who has already played alongside pros as part of the Bahamas national team, has told multiple media outlets that he expects 2024-25 to be his last season of college basketball, meaning there will be all the more urgency for him to improve his defense and rebounding, both of which Self has pinpointed as key areas of focus.

Will

Thengvall

Freshman guard; 6-foot3, 185 pounds, from Wichita, Kansas

Noah Shelby

Junior guard; 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, from McKinney, Texas

Dillon Wilhite

Redshirt junior forward; 6-foot-9, 240 pounds, from San Diego, California

Patrick Cassidy

Senior guard; 6-foot1, 185 pounds, from Columbus, Kansas

Justin Cross

Redshirt junior forward; 6-foot-8, 200 pounds, from Oak Park, Illinois

Wilder Evers

Redshirt sophomore guard; 6-foot-4, 185 pounds, from Birmingham, Alabama

PRIOR TO TIPOFF ON MARCH 11, 2023.

Nick Krug/ Journal-World Photo WILDER EVERS SMILES

Proudly supporting Crimson and Blue fans from far and wide. We’ve got you covered. Home, auto, business, liability — whatever your insurance needs. We’re the local pros who can help. Get a quote today! cek insurance.com