Kansas Basketball: Biggest offseason storylines heading into 2020-21

Big pressure on freshman Bryce Thompson

With Devon Dotson gone, Kansas doesn’t really have a true point guard to lead the way in 2020-21. Marcus Garrett, who led the team with 4.5 apg last season, will be back as the senior leader on the perimeter. They also have incoming five-star combo guard Bryce Thompson, a 6’5 playmaker who can play both on and off the ball.

In the past decade, there may not be a program that has been more successful at the point guard position than the Jayhawks. Between Tyshawn Taylor, Frank Mason, Devonte’ Graham, and Devon Dotson, head coach Bill Self has always had elite playmakers to lead the offense. It’ll look a bit different for the upcoming season, as Garrett is more of a facilitator than a pure scorer, while also being one of the top individual defenders in all of college basketball.

One of the more open questions about Kansas is where they’ll find their overall scoring production from. The key returning trio (Garrett, Ochai Agbaji, and David McCormack), combined to score around 26 ppg in 2019-20, and there are only two high-level newcomers to the roster in Thompson and wing Tyon Grant-Foster, the nation’s No. 1 incoming JUCO prospect. Foster will have to provide double figures of scoring to help the Jayhawks maintain expectations but it’s Thompson that could very well determine the direction of the team next season.

Not all five-star prospects have a major impact out the gate as freshmen. But Kansas really needs Thompson to be someone who avoids that fate. Besides being the backup lead ball-handler, he’ll have to provide a good amount of scoring production to offset any limitations from Garrett. The frontcourt (more on them later), may not be the strength of the Jayhawks, so the guards much consistently perform at a high level. That includes Thompson, who could very well end up as a “one and done” star for Kansas.