#5 Kansas Men's Basketball 2020-2021 Preview

Jacob Young
Sat, 11/07/2020
 
 
Kansas Jayhawks
 
2020-2021 Overall Rank: #5
Conference Rank: #2 Big 12
Kansas Logo
 
Kansas was on track to earn the number one overall seed in the 2020 NCAA Tournament before it was cancelled. The Jayhawks would have entered as the favorites to become champions, but they never got the chance. Now, Kansas will enter this season without their top two players from last year in Devon Dotson and Udoka Azubuike. The other three starters return along with multiple reserves and a solid freshman class highlighted by five-star prospect Bryce Thompson. Kansas is always a top competitor and should remain one of the best teams in the country in 2020-21.

2019-20 Record: 28-3, 17-1
Coach: Bill Self
Coach Record: 501-109 at Kansas, 707-214 overall
 
Key Departed Players:
Devon Dotson, Guard, 18.1 ppg
Udoka Azubuike, Center, 13.7 ppg
Isaiah Moss, Guard, 7.9 ppg
Silvio De Sousa, Forward, 2.6 ppg
 
Key Returning Players:
Ochai Agbaji, Junior, Guard, 10.0 ppg
Marcus Garrett, Senior, Guard, 9.2 ppg
David McCormack, Junior, Forward, 6.9 ppg
Christian Braun, Sophomore, Guard, 5.3 ppg
Tristan Enaruna, Sophomore, Forward, 2.4 ppg
Mitch Lightfoot, Senior, Forward, DNP Last Season
 
Key New Players:
Tyon Grant-Foster, Junior, Guard, Transfer from Junior College
Dajuan Harris, RS Freshman, Guard
Latrell Jossell, Freshman, Guard
Gethro Muscadin, Freshman, Forward
Bryce Thompson, Freshman, Guard
Jalen Wilson, RS Freshman, Forward
 
Projection:
Devon Dotson and Udoka Azubuike have departed along with their combined 31.8 points per game. Luckily, Kansas has three upperclassmen who were fulltime starters returning. Ochai Agbaji has been a solid third option for Kansas, but this season they’ll need him to become a go-to scorer. Marcus Garrett and David McCormack are good players within their roles, but neither likely have the same scoring potential as Agbaji. Garrett was one of the top defenders in the nation and likely enters 2020-21 as the preseason favorite for national defensive player of the year. Christian Braun and Tristan Enaruna played limited roles as freshmen, but they wouldn’t have been recruited to Kansas if they didn’t have potential to be rotation players. Braun especially flashed as a shooter in limited action, making 44.4% of his threes last year. Kansas will get Mitch Lightfoot back as well after he redshirted last season. Kansas’ recruiting class isn’t as loaded as it normally is, but they still bring in some talented players. Bryce Thompson is a 6-5 guard rated as a five-star recruit who should be a key player for Kansas right away. Gethro Muscadin and Latrell Jossell are both three-star recruits. Tyon Grant-Foster is a junior college transfer who was a JuCo All-American Honorable Mention in 2019-20 behind 16.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. The Jayhawks get two redshirt freshmen as well in Jalen Wilson and Dajuan Harris. Both were four-star recruits last season and should see plenty of playing time in their second season with the Jayhawks. Kansas is always a national powerhouse and while the losses of Dotson and Azubuike will hurt, the Jayhawks should still be a top-ten team in the nation.
 
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
 
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 74.6 (87th in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 60.7 (9, 2)
Field-Goal Percentage: 48.4 (9, 1)
Field-Goal Defense: 37.7 (3, 1)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.4 (256, 8)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.4 (116, 4)
Free-Throw Percentage: 66.7 (301, 7)
Rebound Margin: 6.6 (18, 2)
Assists Per Game: 13.9 (101, 3)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.8 (141, 3)
 
Madness 2021 NBA Draft Rankings:
#17 Bryce Thompson
#55 Marcus Garrett
 
Madness 2020 Men’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#24 Bryce Thompson