NCAA Basketball: Top 25 college frontcourts for 2018-19
2. Kansas Jayhawks
Frontcourt players: Udoka Azubuike, Silvio DeSouza, Mitch Lightfoot, Dedric Lawson, KJ Lawson, David McCormack (No. 36 recruit)
Head coach Bill Self and the Jayhawks made it all the way to the Final Four by mostly playing Azubuike and four guards on the court in key situations. The transfer and recruiting situations limited what Kansas could do last season but that won’t be the case now.
Azubuike does return after a big sophomore season (22.0 ppg and 11.9 rpg per 40 minutes) and will be backed up by another true center in McCormack, a 6’9 and 260-pound big man who plays with his back to the basket.
Related Story. Breaking down Kansas' 2018 recruiting class. light
People forget that De Souza is a former top-30 prospect that joined the program midway through last season. Even though he wasn’t ready for the bright lights, his raw potential showed. He averaged around 17 rpg per 40 minutes and showed a better than expected offensive game. He’ll be one of the best sixth-man forwards going into next season.
The biggest transfer pickups from over a year ago came in a two-for-one deal with Kansas getting the Lawson brothers. Rising junior Dedric averaged 19.2 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 3.3 apg and 2.1 bpg and looks to be a frontrunner for the Big 12 Player of the Year Award. His bother KJ is no slouch either, going for 12.3 ppg, 8.1 rpg and 2.8 apg as a sophomore himself.
The Jayhawks have a high-level frontcourt that will be fighting for minutes all season long. And if De Souza realizes his potential in year two then they’ll be the title favorites for the Big Dance.