Kansas Jayhawks Q&A: KU basketball’s rotation, injury updates and Super Bowl ‘Hawks
It’s that time ... let’s dive into another edition of the Kansas Jayhawks Q&A mailbag.
The Kansas men’s basketball team is in the midst of a three-game winning streak and tied for first in the conference with Baylor and Texas. Each team has five games left and will play each other one more time.
KU will play host to Baylor at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse. ESPN will air College GameDay in Lawrence before the matchup.
On the football front, it’s relatively quiet. Spring football practice officially starts on Feb. 28.
Anyway, let’s get into these questions. Some of the questions are from the KU Sports Twitter Spaces, which I host every Wednesday at 7 p.m. As always, thank you for all the questions!
Some of the questions have been edited for clarity
What is the status of the injury for KU forward Zach Clemence? Is he close to being available again if needed? — Brad H
KU coach Bill Self said on Thursday that Clemence was available against Oklahoma State but isn’t quite 100 percent yet. The knee issue is still bothering Clemence, so that will be something to monitor as KU closes out the season.
It seems like some of the guys have been way more aggressive as of late, especially Dajuan Harris and Kevin McCullar. Obviously, it takes the edge off Jalen Wilson. Has there been a concentrated effort by Self to get those guys more aggressive on offense? — Joe Lachky
I think a lot of the aggression by KU’s Harris and McCullar really goes back to something Self has said all year: Kansas needs both of them to be aggressive in shooting the ball.
For KU, even if Harris and McCullar don’t shoot the ball well, it’s important that both drive the ball early, try to get opposing bigs into foul trouble, and take their open threes. It opens up the floor for Kansas stars Jalen Wilson and Gradey Dick, plus helps them preserve energy for late in the game.
KU is at its best when it has multiple double-digit scorers. In fact, the Jayhawks are 20-0 in Harris’ career when he scores double-digits.
Another bonus: If you’re a KU fan, you have to be happy with the aggression players are playing with because it’s led to fewer slow starts.
What’s your take on KU basketball’s rotation moving forward? —Brad H
Clearly, the starting five have solidified themselves. Then, I believe Pettiford (when healthy) is the first player off the bench.
Ernest Udeh has earned the role of backup to KJ Adams. The only time Udeh should get fewer minutes is due to either foul trouble or a specific matchup.
Then, I think Joseph Yesufu fills out the last spot in Self’s rotation. Kansas needs him to attack offensively — after all, his scoring is the primary reason why he sees minutes.
Guys like MJ Rice, Zuby Ejiofor and Clemence can play spot minutes depending on the situation, but none of the trio should be expected to deliver consistent minutes unless something changes.
Hmm, that’s a great question. The logical answer would probably be one of the players on the offensive or defensive lines just due to the sheer number of players in the trenches.
So, I am going to go with likely future NFL Draft pick and former Kansas left tackle Earl Bostick Jr. Many times, teams need one piece to protect their franchise cornerstone to make a deep run and Bostick fits the bill.
Past Jayhawks to appear in a Super Bowl include Kyron Johnson (Eagles, though he was inactive for Sunday’s game) and, of course, Hakeem Adeniji, who played left tackle at KU before Bostick and landed with the Bengals.
After KU self-imposed sanctions in November, the program is in wait-and-see mode. Timeline-wise, the ruling by the Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP) will likely come after the season.
After the ruling, the IARP will dissolve. Earlier in September, the IARP ruled in the Memphis case; the school will pay a fine, go on probation and vacate the wins it secured when James Wiseman played for the program. Still, the outcome could have been much worse, so that might be a good sign for the Jayhawks.
Kansas’ case has been ongoing since the athletic department received its initial notice of allegations from the NCAA on Sept. 23, 2019.
