As the NCAA Tournament comes to a close, GMS likes to review some of the power conference or power program teams that made it to the Big Dance and ask whether or not they’ve got a shot to return to the show next season. We continue on with teams eliminated in the Elite Eight.
Recruit and Reload: Kansas Jayhawks
Key Losses: Perry Ellis, Wayne Selden Jr.
Key Returners: Frank Mason III, Devonte’ Graham, Landon Lucas, Carlton Bragg Jr., Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk
Key Newcomers: Josh Jackson, Mitch Lightfoot, Udoka Azubuike
Breakdown: All jokes aside about Ellis, it really did feel like he was at Kansas forever. Maybe that’s because blue blood programs like Kansas don’t usually have players that good for that long, but it’s time to move on from the Ellis era, with Selden Jr. joining him in leaving Lawrence.
But Bill Self won’t be without plenty of options next season as he returns the bulk of his backcourt, his workhorse blue-collar glue-guy in the middle, and two contributors looking for bigger roles next season. What could be most interesting is seeing the kind of jump made by Graham, as his ability to score the basketball continuously made KU a more dangerous team last season.
In recruiting, the program added two four-star prospects and Jackson, the No. 1 player in the nation. While some argue that top freshmen don’t perform to expectations under Self, much of that is due to the intelligence that he requires his players to play with. Jackson has that in spades, and I expect him to have a very successful one season at Phog Allen.
