Kansas Basketball: 5 reasons Jayhawks will win Big 12 title in 2019-20

3. An escape from the drama

As controversy has followed college basketball in recent years, Kansas has remained front and center. Such is the life of a big-time program in the modern era.

The eligibility problems with Silvio de Sousa and Billy Preston were a black mark on the program. The personal issues involving alleged violence perpetrated by stars Josh Jackson and Lagerald Vick in recent years were significantly more serious.

Then, there’s the glut of allegations stemming from the Adidas trials that have rocked the NCAA. Those are too numerous to name here, but Self’s name is featured prominently, though he has yet to face any punishment and may never face discipline for his alleged actions.

All this to say, the focus on Kansas basketball has largely come off the court in recent history.

While the shoe scandal may come back and rear its ugly head at any point, the current Kansas roster is devoid of serious drama. Preston is gone and de Sousa is eligible, hypothetically for good. Vick is gone as well.

Self can focus on coaching, rather than on managing personalities and controversies off the court.

Sometimes off-the-court matters can oversaturate the narrative, but it has to be a major distraction for the leader of a program to be at the center of so much negativity. That shouldn’t be the case in 2019-20.