What does next season’s Kansas Jayhawks roster look like? A look ahead for the champs
READ MORE
KU commemoration: What it took to win a championship
The Jayhawks are 2022 NCAA Tournament champions. Dive into the stories behind the win or pick up the special commemorative section.
Expand All
Now that Kansas has won the 2022 NCAA men’s basketball championship, it’s time for head coach Bill Self, his players, assistant coaches and staff members to celebrate and celebrate some more.
And in a week or so begin sculpting the 2022-23 Jayhawks roster.
It remains to be seen what effect the IARP’s impending decision regarding sanctions against Self and his program for alleged recruiting violations will have on current players’ decisions to stay or leave and incoming players’ and prospective recruits’ decisions to come on board or head elsewhere.
Even with some unknowns out there ... it’s never too early to take a look at KU’s team heading into 2022-23.
KU is expected to lose five scholarship seniors to graduation: Ochai Agbaji, David McCormack, Remy Martin, Jalen Coleman-Lands and Mitch Lightfoot. Senior non-scholarship player Chris Teahan has also used up his eligibility.
Agbaji and McCormack are eligible to accept the NCAA’s offer of an extra season of eligibility (in response to the COVID-19 pandemic), but sources close to the program have said they expect both to enter the 2022 NBA Draft and start their pro careers.
Junior guard Christian Braun and redshirt sophomore forward Jalen Wilson haven’t announced anything yet but could enter their names in the 2022 NBA Draft with the possibility of returning to school for another year.
Wilson, for example, tested the NBA Draft waters last spring and summer and ultimately elected to come back to school. Players are allowed to test an unlimited number of times and still return to college.
It’s conceivable both could return considering how well it worked out for Agbaji in dropping out of the 2021 draft after working out for NBA officials and emerging as a consensus first-team All-American. His draft prospects have improved from possible second round to likely first round. One NBA source recently told The Star that Agbaji was a likely lottery pick.
Self usually gives his players a week or so off at the conclusion of the marathon college basketball season, then meets with them to discuss their future projected roles with the team and/or what they need to work on in the offseason.
Starting point guard Dajuan Harris, a redshirt sophomore, is expected to be the Jayhawks’ lead guard again in 2022-23. Third-year combo guard Joseph Yesufu, who was immediately eligible at KU this season after playing two seasons at Drake, also is eligible to return.
Redshirt senior forward Cam Martin is ticketed to return for his final season of college basketball.
One never knows if freshmen are happy with their roles or if they’ll enter the transfer portal. KU freshmen eligible to return are: Bobby Pettiford, who missed most of the 2021-22 season because of injury, as well as Kyle Cuffe (combo guard who redshirted), Zach Clemence (forward) and KJ Adams (forward).
Self has said in the past he thinks Pettiford is the “next great” point guard at KU.
Walk-ons Charlie McCarthy, Dillon Wilhite and Michael Jankovich are also slated to be back.
KU already has signed a highly regarded class of recruits to join the program: McDonald’s All-Americans Gradey Dick (the Gatorade national player of the year), Ernest Udeh and MJ Rice, plus Zuby Ejiofor.
Dick is a 6-7 guard from Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas; Udeh a 6-10 forward from Dr. Phillips High in Orlando, Florida; Rice a 6-5 guard from Prolific Prep in California (originally from Durham, North Carolina) and Ejiofor a 6-8 forward from Garland, Texas.
It’s conceivable it could take some re-recruiting from Self to keep those freshmen on board if NCAA sanctions prevent KU from competing in the 2022-23 postseason.
The NCAA has a 13-player scholarship limit. KU has filled its 13 scholarships for 2022-23 (four incoming freshmen, plus Braun, Wilson, Harris, Yesufu, Martin, Pettiford, Cuffe, Adams, Clemence). So if the Jayhawks wish to add additional players, one or more players currently on next year’s roster will have to turn pro or transfer.
This story was originally published April 6, 2022 at 8:12 AM.
