2023-2024 lineup

[twocoach]

I really like McCullar, but I never thought he was a great fit next to a PG with limited shooting/scoring ability. That’s still the case, and as much as he brings defensively, I think the best version of this team starts two dynamic scorers in the backcourt next to Harris.

Agreed. Last season proved that if you can't shoot, it doesn't matter how great a defensive team you are.

[randylahey]

I really like McCullar, but I never thought he was a great fit next to a PG with limited shooting/scoring ability. That’s still the case, and as much as he brings defensively, I think the best version of this team starts two dynamic scorers in the backcourt next to Harris.

Good take. Dajuan is kind of the perfect role playing point guard. To maximize his skill set he needs to be surrounded by shooting. And preferably another more dynamic explosive kind of scorer at the 2

I do think his shooting will continue to improve tho

[ChicagoHawk]

Good take. Dajuan is kind of the perfect role playing point guard. To maximize his skill set he needs to be surrounded by shooting. And preferably another more dynamic explosive kind of scorer at the 2

I do think his shooting will continue to improve tho

Yep, totally agree. Dajuan is always going to be somewhat limited as a scorer. I do think he can still get better, but he's always going to take jumpers sparingly and you don't really want him to unless he's wide open. Having two athletic guards next to him who can hit at ~40% from the outside while taking 5-7 3s per game (or really slash and score inside) is optimal.

[pdub]

Put me in the camp of Dajuan still has time to prove that he can be a capable scorer.
He was much better at driving to the hoop last season.
I think he will only improve there.

His jumper is ugly as get out but I also think that'll get better, however flat it is.

[ousdahl]

Kind of gutterish, but I think the biggest hole in our roster might be that go-get-it guard.

But I’ll be less gutterish and optimistically say maybe Dajuan can do it.

Or heck, Arterio and Elmarko are options too.

[TDub]

the biggest position battle has to be between elmarko, Morris and Timberlake right? 2 are gonna start, the 3rd guy probably still plays quite a bit.

Udeh spells Hunter, Marcus Adams spells KJ?

Harris and Dickinson locked as starters....probably KJ too

[KUTradition]

i’d put money on Timberlake starting as well

[hasbeen]

Harris, Morris (with Elmarko possibly taking over mid-season), Timerblake, KJ, and Hunter.

It's been a while since we had a big man rotation as good as Hunter, Udeh, and KJ. If Zuby stays, my gracious.

[TDub]

Udeh is so damn quick. Have to find a way to get him on the floor. He's gonna be a problem by his Junior year.

[KUTradition]

Harris, Morris (with Elmarko possibly taking over mid-season), Timerblake, KJ, and Hunter.

It's been a while since we had a big man rotation as good as Hunter, Udeh, and KJ. If Zuby stays, my gracious.

someone should show him the studs waiting in the wings on the ‘08 squad

Cole and DJax were instrumental

[TDub]

Harris, Morris (with Elmarko possibly taking over mid-season), Timerblake, KJ, and Hunter.

It's been a while since we had a big man rotation as good as Hunter, Udeh, and KJ. If Zuby stays, my gracious.

someone should show him the studs waiting in the wings on the ‘08 squad

Cole and DJax were instrumental

and to a lesser extent SDS in '18

ignore what happened to him after that season tho...

[KUTradition]

the jerry springer audition was so ugly - really tarnished my impression of him

[randylahey]

If zuby stays, and is behind kj udeh and Dickinson in the front court rotation, he is going to challenge the fuck out of those guys in practice, and compete all season for some form of role. Thats a ridiculous group.

And you can kind of factor Marcus adams and a potential forward transfer in with that front court group

[randylahey]

When was the last time we had 2 point guards on the same roster with as much talent/elite tools as what we have in elmarko and arterio?

And neither one is the best point guard on the team

[randylahey]

Better yet when was the last time we had 3 point guards the caliber of player/prospect as dajuan, arterio, and elmarko (chris Johnson coming in too)

Maybe when tyshawn Elijah and Josh Selby were on the same roster? Might have to go back as far as Mario, sherron, and russ

[randylahey]

Udeh is so damn quick. Have to find a way to get him on the floor. He's gonna be a problem by his Junior year.

I think he has an NBA career ahead of him. He's the modern day defensive center. Can protect the rim and the perimeter. I see clint capella

[ChicagoHawk]

Gary Parrish's New Top 25 and 1:

Former Michigan star Hunter Dickinson publicly committed to Kansas on Thursday, giving Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame coach Bill Self one of college basketball's best and most productive centers, specifically a 7-foot-1 senior who averaged 18.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in 32.7 minutes per game last season. So a possible starting lineup for the Jayhawks now looks like this:

G: Dajuan Harris
G: Elmarko Jackson
G: Nick Timberlake
F: K.J. Adams
C: Hunter Dickinson

That's a starting lineup with size, shooting and experience, one so strong that former top-35 prospects Arterio Morris and Ernest Udeh will likely begin games on the bench. It's enough to compel me to move the Jayhawks to No. 1 in Version 10.0 of the 2023-24 CBS Sports preseason Top 25 And 1 college basketball rankings. Simply put, trusting Self to be awesome is literally the safest thing you can do in this sport — evidence being how he's guided his teams to 24 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and earned No. 1 seeds in 10 of the past 16 NCAA Tournaments. On paper, he now has a roster good enough to win the 2024 NCAA Tournament. So, at this point, at least in my eyes, his Jayhawks should be considered the favorites to do it.

Are there other reasonable candidates for No. 1? Of course.

Any of the other schools I now have ranked in the top five — UConn, Purdue, Marquette and Duke — are worthy of serious consideration, and I won't be surprised if all of them get first-place votes in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll (provided their on-the-fence prospects who have entered the 2023 NBA Draft eventually withdraw and return to college). But, with Dickinson on board, my pick for a preseason No. 1 is now the Kansas Jayhawks.

[AlOerter]

Put me in the camp of Dajuan still has time to prove that he can be a capable scorer.
He was much better at driving to the hoop last season.
I think he will only improve there.

His jumper is ugly as get out but I also think that'll get better, however flat it is.

When driving, it helps to have a 7-1 space-eater in there to keep the shot blockers off.

[InfiniteJ]

i’d put money on Timberlake starting as well

I guess it depends on what happens with Mgbako.

[TDub]

the jerry springer audition was so ugly - really tarnished my impression of him

same....