Kansas Basketball lands its star point guard this offseason in Remy Martin

Just a few days ago, the college hoops world was shocked with the news that Arizona State star and All-Pac 12 point guard Remy Martin elected to enter the NCAA transfer portal. At the end of this past season, he put his name into the NBA Draft with all intentions of staying. However, things have since changed, with Kansas Basketball benefitting in a great way.

It’s been an interesting offseason for the Jayhawks. After the departure of senior starting point guard Marcus Garrett, they were able to land Drake transfer guard Joseph Yesufu. The 6’0 guard was coming off a season of averaging 12.8 ppg and 1.8 apg in 24 mpg off the bench. He’s a capable ball-handler and was projected to be a starter in the backcourt for next season.

But Yesufu isn’t a proven lead guard and the jump from the Missouri Valley to the Big 12 puts a ton of pressure on him. So Kansas has since been looking for another point guard to bolster the backcourt.

Yet it was a struggle for the past few weeks among the major targets. Five-star point guard and former Creighton commit TyTy Washington and Georgia transfer Sahvir Wheeler both were linked to the Jayhawks in separate recruiting battles but they eventually went to the Kentucky Wildcats. And Nolan Hickman, who Kansas was a finalist for multiple times, ended up choosing Gonzaga over a week ago.

It looked as if the Jayhawks were gonna strikeout in the quest for a starting point guard but Martin’s decision changed everything. He was in the portal for less than a week and the intention remains to go pro. But just in case, the star point guard will be playing for Kansas Basketball next season. It’s a good move for him to claim his spot, as there weren’t many big-name programs that were still looking for a point guard.

Not only is Martin one of the best players that entered the portal this offseason, but he’s also one of the best pure scorers in college basketball. He averaged 19.1 ppg in each of the past two years, making 34% of his three-pointers on six attempts a game. Martin can be a high-volume shooter and scorer but he certainly can fill up a box score on any given night.

Assuming he does come back to college, Martin gives Kansas the balance needed to be a national title contender. The frontcourt is loaded, led by starters Jalen Wilson and David McCormack. Wing Christian Braun is one of the best pure shooters in the country, while Ochai Agbaji can return and add even more firepower to the team. And Yesufu can play his role as an efficient combo guard without having to do too much.

If Remy Martin is the starting point guard for Kansas Basketball next season, this team should be in the preseason top-5 overall and the favorite to win the Big 12 in 2022. And if everything clicks, the Jayhawks will have a real shot at winning a national title. Martin is that big of a game-changer for the team.