100 teams later, Kansas basketball is our top team for the upcoming college basketball season.
The tradition continues! CBB Review is again ranking the top 100 teams heading into the new college basketball season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: Kansas basketball.
Bill Self admitted that he started looking into next season before the current season was over. He backed up that claim, bringing in crucial pieces in the portal while keeping his core.
He started by returning DaJuan Harris, KJ Adams, and Hunter Dickinson. DaJuan has been the lead guard for the past three seasons, while Adamss and Dickinson dominated the frontcourt. Those three alone make Kansas a top-25 team in the country.
Then, they went into the portal and added more pieces. They started with AJ Storr, who will replace Kevin McCullar after averaging about 17 points a game as a sophomore. Then, they addressed the biggest problems from last year, having a high-volume scoring guard and a good three-point shooting guard. They picked up the Lawrence native, Zeke Mayo, who averaged 18.8 points a game last year at South Dakota State to add depth and an immediate scoring option if that becomes an issue. They also added Rylan Griffen, a great three and-D option who will allow this team to space the floor.
To improve the depth, they added five-star Flory Bidunga. Bidunga was Mr. Indiana and could allow Dickinson to take extended breaks without the production falling off. They also brought in Shakeel Moore and David Coit, to seniors who will add that experience to this program.
Most importantly, they still have Bill Self and Allen Fieldhouse. The combination of those two is a bonus of 4-5 wins a year, and with this talent, that could be the difference between winning the Big 12 or not. They’ll need the help of the home crowd because this schedule is no joke. They’ll have to face UNC at home and have neutral-sight matchups against Michigan State and Duke. They also face Creighton on the road, a top-25 team, as well as rival Missouri Tigers.
If that wasn’t bad enough, they’ll have to face the Big 12 after. They have six games against Houston, Iowa State, Arizona, and Baylor, all of who will be top 10 teams all season. The Big 12 is a battle besides those as well, meaning they’ll have no off nights this season.
The key will be the three-point shooting and the depth. Those were the two biggest issues for Kansas basketball last season, and they appeared to have solved those problems this offseason. If they can accomplish this, there’s no reason why this team won’t be lifting the national championship trophy in April.
Click here to learn more about our preseason top 100 teams heading into the 2024-25 college basketball season.
Head coach: Bill Self (22nd season at Kansas, 32nd season overall)
2023-24 record: 23-11 (10-8)
2024 postseason finish: Lost to Gonzaga (89-68) in second round of the NCAA Tournament
Notable departures:
- Kevin McCullar Jr. (18.3 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 4.1 APG)
- Johnny Furphy (9.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 1.0 APG)
- Nicholas Timberlake (5.2 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 0.6 APG)
Notable non-conference games:
- vs. North Carolina (Nov. 8)
- vs. Michigan State (Nov. 12)
- vs. Duke (Nov. 26)
- vs. Creighton (Dec. 4)
- vs. Missouri (Dec. 8)
- vs. NC State (Dec. 14)
Projected Rotation
PG: Dajuan Harris (6-2, 175, Gr.-Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 8.5 PPG, 6.5 APG, 2.0 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 42.4 FG%, 38.4 3P%, 80.4 FT%
SG: AJ Storr (6-7, 205, Jr.)
2023-24 stats: 16.8 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 0.9 APG, 43.4 FG%, 32.0 3P%, 81.2 FT% (Wisconsin)
SF: Rylan Griffen (6-6, 190, Jr.)
2023-24 stats: 11.2 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 1.9 APG, 45.4 FG%, 39.2 3P%, 81.0 FT% (Alabama)
PF: KJ Adams (6-7, 235, Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 12.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.1 SPG, 60.1 FG%, 60.0 FT%
C: Hunter Dickinson (7-2, 265, Gr.-Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 17.9 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.4 BPG, 54.8 FG%, 35.4 3P%, 62.4 FT%
6: Zeke Mayo (6-4, 185, Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 18.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.1 SPG, 46.6 FG%, 39.1 3P%, 82.8 FT% (South Dakota State)
7: Flory Bidunga (6-9, 220, Fr.)
247Sports Composite #14 ranked recruit
8: Shakeel Moore (6-1, 190, Gr.-Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 7.9 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 1.8 APG, 46.8 FG%, 36.3 3P%, 70.2 FT% (Mississippi State)
9: David Coit (5-11, 175, Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 20.8 PPG, 3.4 APG, 3.2 RPG, 40.7 FG%, 33.7 3P%, 88.5 FT% (Northern Illinois)
10: Jamari McDowell (6-4, 180, So.)
2023-24 stats: 1.8 PPG, 1.2 RPG, 0.5 APG, 7.2 MPG
Kansas Basketball Team MVP: Hunter Dickinson
Dickinson is the best player in the Big 12, and maybe even the whole country. At 7’2, he’s a nightmare to match up with, and his post-touch is so impressive. With Dajuan Harris at point, Dickinson finds himself in great positions constantly and he’s such an issue that he opens up the offense for the rest of the team with the attention he gets.
Something we saw early in the season, but not so much towards the end is shooting from deep. He can shoot it, but really struggled in conference play. If he can get that shooting touch back, he becomes even more dangerous. An underrated part of his game is his passing. He’s not going to average 5 a game, but he knows when to find the open guy, especially from a post-up position. Defensively, his size makes him such a dangerous post-threat. He’s not athletic but can hold his own against any big he’ll face.
The one concern is he is dealing with a lingering foot injury, and that can hinder his performance. From what Coach Self has said, it shouldn’t be an issue, but it’ll be something to monitor all season.
Kansas Basketball make-or-break player: Zeke Mayo
Last year, Kansas picked up Nicholas Timberlake from Towson to be a spark off the bench who can get a bucket whenever is needed. He did not pan out the way the Jayhawks would have liked, and that was a big reason why this team never hit its peak. They brought in Zeke Mayo to do the same thing, and they feel extremely confident he can fill that role.
Mayo has been one of the best mid-major players in the country for the past two years, winning the Summit Player of the Year last year. He has a nice change of speed on offense and a lot of confidence. As mentioned earlier, he’s a Lawrence, Kansas native, so playing in front of the home crowd will mean even more for him.
Mayo probably won’t start, but having him come off the bench and let guys like Storr and Griffen rest for periods of time will be essential to this team’s success. If he can put in good minutes and provide that scoring boost, this team is scary. If we see what we saw last year with Timberlake, then unfortunately there can be some issues with this team.
Key analytic: APG
One thing that Bill Self will make sure of is that Kansas is moving the ball on offense. Kansas averaged 18.7 a game last year, the most in the country. Ball movement is crucial to a team’s success, especially in college basketball. Dajuan Harris was a big reason why they were first, averaging 6.5 a game, and with Kevin McCullar gone, that number might decrease a bit. If Kansas can finish near where they were last year, they should have no problem in the Big 12.
Kansas Basketball 2024-25 projections
Projected conference finish: 1st in the Big 12
Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament Champion
[…] that people said positively about the Jayhawks came into effect tonight. The shooting was improved, the frontcourt was dominant, and the new […]
[…] that people said positively about the Jayhawks came into effect tonight. The shooting was improved, the frontcourt was dominant, and the new […]