With so many all-time head coaching greats leaving college basketball, Hall of Famer Bill Self of Kansas stands out truly as one of the best active. He has multiple national titles, including one as recent as 2022. However, the program has seen some hiccups and signs of vulnerability as of late, losing 11+ games in each of the last two years and failing to get out of the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament, despite being the preseason No. 1 team both times.
Like many other teams this offseason, the Jayhawks lost most of their production, including stars Hunter Dickerson and Dajuan Harris. The only key returning piece is Flory Bidunga, who entered the transfer portal earlier but opted to return. The team has landed a trio of players of its own, including former Atlantic 10 stars Jayden Dawson (Loyola Chicago) and Melvin Council (St. Bonaventure), as well as Illinois rotation wing Tre White.
Those are solid pickups, but the team lacked star power. Kansas was reportedly looking at a key group of frontcourt pieces who would’ve been starters: Dame Sarr, a five-star prospect from Italy, and Darrion Williams, a 6’6 "forward from Texas Tech who was a two-time all-league star at Texas Tech. At one point, the Jayhawks were reportedly favorites for both of them, but on Thursday, they opted to go elsewhere.
Williams elected to return from the NBA Draft process and decided to join new head coach Will Wade and NC State, a rebuilding program in the ACC. But an even bigger hit was losing Sarr to Duke, as he looked to be the team’s No. 2 option once transfer commit Cedric Coward decided to stay in the NBA Draft. The Jayhawks have fewer options as we get deeper into the college basketball offseason.
In the frontcourt, Kansas does have Binduga and White, along with incoming top-40 prospect forward, Bryson Tiller. However, due to the lack of proven depth and scoring potency, the Jayhawks will have to rely on the incoming top-3 overall prospect, Darryn Peterson. They’ll really miss not landing Williams to be the focal point of the frontcourt, giving their roster some real questions going forward.
For the first time in a couple of years, the Jayhawks won’t be the No. 1 team to start the college basketball season unless they get some massive pickups soon.