Busting Brackets
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NCAA Basketball: 10 biggest position battles to watch for 2023-24 season

By Tristan Freeman

Mar 16, 2023; Des Moines, IA, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Ty Rodgers (20) dribbles the ball against Arkansas Razorbacks guard Ricky Council IV (1) during the first half at Wells Fargo Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 16, 2023; Des Moines, IA, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Ty Rodgers (20) dribbles the ball against Arkansas Razorbacks guard Ricky Council IV (1) during the first half at Wells Fargo Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports /
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NCAA Basketball Nick Timberlake
NCAA Basketball Nicolas Timberlake #25 of the Towson Tigers (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

5. Kansas Jayhawks

Position battle: SG – Arterio Morris vs Nicolas Timberlake

Three starters are back from the 1-seed Kansas Jayhawks roster. Point guard and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Dajuan Harris Jr. returns, along with starting wing Kevin McCullar Jr. and forward KJ Adams. And the 4th guaranteed starter is Hunter Dickinson, the star transfer center pickup over from Michigan.

That leaves the two-spot up for grabs to replace NBA lottery pick, Gradey Dick. There are two other high-profile transfers in line for that spot. Timberlake is a 6’4 shooting guard from Towson that averaged 17.7 ppg on 42% shooting from three-point range. He’s one of the top pure shooters in NCAA Basketball but the question is will his game translate from the CAA to the Big 12 level.

Morris is a former five-star prospect that comes over from Texas after playing limited minutes. Considering that the Longhorns had great experienced depth last season so it wasn’t his fault and Morris does have great overall potential. The question is will he be a natural fit alongside Harris in the backcourt?

There’s also the shooting question since none of the three returning starters are great in that category. It could be a situation where Timberlake has to start and Morris is the 6th Man, unless one is clearly better than the other.

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