Lead guard Dajuan Harris interested in winning more than one national title at Kansas
Dajuan Harris was rated 94th-best player in the recruiting Class of 2019, according to 247sports.com. He was unranked at the time by Rivals.com and ESPN.com.
And now he has a chance to step to the front of all point guards in Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball lore.
Harris, a 6-foot-1 Columbia (Missouri) Rock Bridge High School graduate with three years of collegiate eligibility remaining (counting this season), could be KU’s first starting point guard to win more than one NCAA championship ring during his Jayhawk career.
No KU floor general has directed the Jayhawks to two NCAA Tourney crowns.
In fact the last starting point guard at KU to reach back-to-back Final Fours was Aaron Miles, during Roy Williams’ final two seasons at KU.
“I never thought about that,” Harris said of possibly accomplishing something no other point guard at KU has accomplished. “If I could do that (win multiple national titles), that could be one of my other goals. I want to win another championship.”
Harris and redshirt junior forward Jalen Wilson are two returning starters off last year’s 34-6 national-title team. They are expected to be the squad’s two main leaders on and off the court this season.
“Everything is going good. We’re getting back into the mode,” Harris said of the team’s practice sessions. “Coach (Bill Self) is still teaching everything. Everybody is trying to follow behind me and ‘J-Will’ (Wilson). We’re trying to help lead everybody.”
KU’s first official practice of the 2022-23 season was Sept. 26. The Jayhawks will perform before fans for the first time at Friday’s Late Night in the Phog. The annual hoops-kickoff program, which starts at 6 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse, will include short men’s and women’s scrimmages.
Harris was asked for an early-season scouting report from practice on the team’s four scholarship freshmen.
Ernest Udeh is a 6-11, 250-pound graduate of Dr. Phillips High in Orlando, Florida.
“He’s good,” Harris said. “He still has a lot to learn because he’s still a freshman. He’s 6-11, 7-foot, so all you’ve got to do is catch the ball, block shots and rebound. If you can do that you can play for Coach Self.”
Zuby Ejiofor is a 6-9, 240 graduate of Garland (Texas) High School.
“Zuby is going to be good. He’s still learning too,” Harris said. “I think he and Ernest will have the same role. I feel they are like each other. I feel Zuby can step out and shoot a little better though (with range stretching past the three-point arc).”
Gradey Dick is a 6-8, 205-pound graduate of Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas.
“He’s a 6-8 shooter,” Harris said. “He has a high shot (release). Nobody can block it. If he gets that off, nine times out of 10, it’ll probably go in.”
MJ Rice is 6-5, 215 graduate of Prolific Prep in Napa, California. He’s originally from Durham, North Carolina.
“MJ has a strong build. He can score all three levels,” Harris said. “He’s a freshman, has got a lot to learn now. It’s still early.”
KU also has a non-scholarship freshman who will make his Late Night debut Friday: Wilder Evers, a 6-3 guard out of Oak Mountain High in Birmingham, Alabama. Kevin McCullar is a newcomer, too, but a veteran newcomer — the 6-6 guard from San Antonio is a senior transfer from Texas Tech.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Harris told The Star, referring to Late Night. “That’s when they drop the (NCAA title) banner (in north rafters). I look for that and the scrimmage. I want to play before fans again. I don’t know if we’re dancing. I don’t know the plan there; they let us know later.”
Harris said Late Night, a fan favorite that typically includes some music, dancing and skits, is one of the players’ favorite events.
“It’s fun. You get to play before 16,000 people,” Harris said. “It’s like another home game, but a practice.”
Harris said the Jayhawks hopefully will play at Late Night the way they practice. They’ve been sharing the ball and looking like a cohesive unit.
“We all live together (at McCarthy Hall). After practice we all bond in the locker room,” Harris said. “Everyone is connected. I feel we are all connected as well as last year’s group. We were connected last year too. As the season goes on we get chemistry way better than it is now.”
The team recently completed a successful conditioning program — Self’s 20th KU Boot Camp.
“I feel like this Boot Camp I probably did my best,” Harris said. “I tried to run my hardest every day, In the past I was pacing myself (to make sure to get through sprints).
“It’s meant to get us in condition. Nobody wants to do Boot Camp but it gets us in shape, shows how tough you are.”
Speaking recently of early-season practices, Self said: “The two most improved players of our returning guys who have taken a big jump are Juan and J. Will. They’ve both been tremendous.”
Of Harris, Self said: “He is an extension of the coach on the court. He’s gotten better, more confident. People don’t realize he was a freshman last year. He’s got three years left.”
This story was originally published October 12, 2022 at 10:23 AM.
