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Kansas Basketball: Kansas Jayhawks 2015-16 Season Preview

By James Fitzgerald

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Kansas Jayhawks

2014-2015 Record: 27-9 (13-5,Big 12 )
Postseason: Lost in Round of 32 to Wichita State 78-65

Here is what is funny when it comes to the outlook on Kansas Jayhawks basketball. While everyone is making a big deal about how North Carolina should be the No.1 team in the land, mainly because they are returning a lot of experienced players this season, people don’t feel the same way about the Jayhawks, and they are returning just as much this season.

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The reality is that Bill Self should feel just as confident that his squad can make major noise this upcoming season as Roy Williams does about his North Carolina Tar Heels.

Kansas has experience returning and a hunger that says that they will be in the thick of things when spring hits.

The fact that Wichita State beat the Jayhawks in the NCAA Tournament gives KU extra motivation. But in the end it is crazy how Kansas is returning a lot of last year’s firepower and not receiving as much hype as North Carolina.

Newcomers

F – Cheick Diallo (#5 freshman, 247Sports Composite)
F – Carlton Bragg Jr. (#24 freshman, 247SportsComposite  )
G – Lagerald Vick  (Douglass/Memphis, TN)

Key Non-Conference Games

Nov. 17 vs. Michigan St.– Bill Self vs Tom Izzo says enough about what this matchup is all about. Michigan State is always going to be a strong mathchup since they are a bonafide NCAA Tournament team that is going to give you their best game every time they take the floor.

Denzel Valentine vs Wayne Selden should be must see TV for this matchup. Selden is trying to make up for what a lot of people, including himself, would say was a subpar 2014-15 season, while Valentine is going to use this matchup to show he is one of the best players and leaders in the country.

A few players should see their draft stock jump because of this game.

Dec. 29 vs UC Irvine – Kansas would be foolish to look passed the UC Irvine Anteaters with this being the last game before they embark on their Big 12 schedule.

(Photo: Scott Sewell, USA TODAY Sports)

The Anteaters are one of the best 64 teams in the nation, and they put a real scare into the Louisville Cardinals in last year’s NCAA Tournament before coming up short to them 57-55.

Yes, this is a home game for the Jayhawks and usually traveling from the West Coast into an environment like Allen Fieldhouse is tough. But this could be a trap game for Kansas before they take on Baylor to open up their Big 12 schedule.

Bill Self’s bunch needs to be cautious.

Key Players

Wayne Selden – If the Jayhawks are going to be a power to be reckoned with, Wayne Selden is going to have to be a factor.

Everyone who was expecting a Wayne Selden improvement in 2014-15 was disappointed by his output with Selden regresssing to 9.4 points on 38.2% shooting from the floor though he shot 36.5% from deep.

People were expecting that Selden was going to have a monster year in 2014-15 and then follow that up with an NBA Draft declaration only to see his stock drop and him have to come back.

If Kansas is going to redeem themselves for last season’s shortcomings, Selden is going to have to be a big part of the redemption project.

Perry Ellis – Ellis is the returning scorer and rebounder for the Jayhawks coming into the 2015-16 season and they are going to need him to take a jump statistically if they are going to make a run at the National Title.

Ellis is going to benefit from having Cheick Diallo playing next to him in the blocks, so seeing a big year from Ellis is not far-fetched.

The 6-foot-8 power forward has proven that he can score from the block, in the paint, and stroke the trey if necessary.

When it comes to the success that Kansas can have this upcoming season, Perry Ellis is the one player that the Jayhawks should be able to lean on.

He will need help from a few perimeter players to make things interesting in Lawrence, but he has the frontcourt locked up.

Season Outlook

It is understandable why people are not as hyped about the Jayhawks as they should be going into the 2015-16 college hoop season.

When people watched KU get smacked up by Wichita State in the Round of 32–a team that many feel Bill Self’s bunch was avoiding to play on the hardwood–it re-instilled the doubt that many people had.

But the same way that the loss re-instilled the doubt that some people had about how much this team could accomplish, it may have also re-instilled the hunger this team has been lacking to take care of business the way that they should.

That is why it is kind of crazy that this team is not being spoken of in the same fashion as the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Kansas has a good team. If Wayne Selden is able to become more efficient along with Frank Mason’s leadership from the point, Perry Ellis’ ability to hold down the interior, and Cheick Diallo’s ability to be an intimidator in the interior, the Jayhawks have as much right to being a title contender as everyone else that is being hyped.

Next: Texas Longhorns 2015-16 Season Preview

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