Kansas Basketball: Reloading over rebuilding

Kansas basketball are a perennially reloading school on par with the Duke’s and Kentucky’s of the world.

Even after losing six players to graduation and the NBA, almost nobody has Kansas getting dethroned in their quest for a nearly unprecedented 13th straight Big 12 regular season title.

The deadly backcourt duo of Frank Mason and Devonte Graham still remains, along with several solid forwards, but the three incoming players are what will truly determine if KU can hold off several other veteran squads in the Big 12.

Headlining the class is a top five player in the 2016 class in Josh Jackson. The 6’7″, 185 pound potential lottery pick is projected to be an absolute stud for the Jayhawks in 2016.

He has all the tools from a physical standpoint to win conference Freshman of the Year right now. He is an excellent slasher, defender, and rebounder from the swing man spot. The one potential hole he has in his current game is consistency from mid and long range, but Jackson could be everything that was missing with hyped recruit Kelly Oubre a couple seasons ago.

The other two Jayhawk recruits are geared towards replacing the massive loss of production when Perry Ellis exhausted his eligibility. Ellis also took bench forwards Hunter Mickelson and Jamari Traylor with him.

First man up in trying to fill that gap is bruising center Udoka Azubuike. The Jacksonville, FL product is listed at a massive 6’11”, 270 pounds.

Azubuike is more of a defensive force in the middle that can rebound and bother shot attempts from multiple angles. He needs to work on his footwork and coordination to really be an offensive threat, but huge potential is there for Azubuike to be the next great KU center.

If Azubuike is the thunder, than fellow forward Mitch Lightfoot is the lightning. The man out of Gilbert, AZ is listed at 6’8″, 210 pounds. He is on the lighter side of things as far as being able to hit guys in the post, but he has tremendous athletic potential due to his long arms. That should make him a terror on both ends once he gets in the weight room.

If Lightfoot sees much playing time in year one, he looks like a spot guy used primarily as a stretch forward as opposed to a primary offensive option. Lightfoot, like Azubuike and Jackson, are all perfectly capable of playing roles of varying importance, as they all carry the hype of being top 100 guys.

Adding to the future haul is 2017 guard Marcus Garrett from Dallas. The 6’5″, 180 pound guard will be sorely needed in Lawrence after Kansas loses what could be up to four perimeter guys. Garrett doesn’t come with many ratings outside a 4-star listing on Verbal Commits, but Kansas wouldn’t want him if he couldn’t keep the Rock, Chalk train rolling.

Even with aggressive moves being made across the Big 12, bringing in Jackson and company is likely enough to keep Kansas on top of the Big 12 mountain. It will take a real surprise collapse in Lawrence and overachieving in places like Ames or Austin to cause a shakeup in the conference’s current hierarchy.

However, even if KU retains its dominance, it has failed in really turning regular season success into postseason hardware over the past few seasons.

Next: VCU off-season questions

That is the next goal for Bill Self and the Jayhawk faithful.

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