Latest Taylen Kinney recruitment buzz + Darryn Peterson talk: Kansas Jayhawks Q&A

Taylen “Tay” Kinney, a 6-foot-2, 175-pound high school senior point guard from the Overtime Elite program in Atlanta, set his commitment date on Thursday.

Kinney told The Star he will announce his college of choice on Sept. 28. He will pick between Kansas, Louisville, Kentucky and other schools.

A source close to the situation told The Star that Kinney is likely to announce his commitment to Kansas on that date. KU coach Bill Self and some of his assistants were in attendance at the Overtime Elite Combine.

Kinney, of course, wouldn’t confirm he’s coming to Kansas. But he did have a message for KU fans: “I’m a basketball player, not a TikToker.”

Notably, Kinney is the creator of the “6-7” meme and a bit of a social media star.

With that, it’s time for another Kansas mailbag. Thanks, as always, for the questions!

If Bill Self was coaching that football team, would he have punted? @bewarephog

This is a good question.

I felt it was the wrong decision for Leipold to punt the ball vs. Mizzou, mainly because the Jayhawks’ defense struggled to get off the field. The Tigers had the ball for 40:27 of game time. KU possessed the ball for 19:33.

Additionally, Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels was the primary reason KU remained in the game, yet he wasn’t given the opportunity to take the lead.

With Self, he would be definitive on whichever course he chose. Over the past few years, he has played starting lineups and rotations that have stoked the ire of many KU fans. He stuck with it despite criticism and — for better or worse — remained steadfast.

All said, I think he goes for it on fourth down.

Self is not risk-averse, and I don’t think that would change if he was a football coach. Certainly not against Missouri.

Any real concern about the run game after the Missouri game? @NickSpringer29

I think there’s some level of concern. The duo of Daniel Hishaw and Leshon Williams combined for 11 yards on nine carries vs. Missouri.

Replacing a legend in Devin Neal isn’t easy, but it’s hard to win football games when two players combine for less than 20 rushing yards.

I certainly expect KU’s duo to play better against most Big 12 opponents, as KU’s offensive line was dominated by Missouri's athletic defensive line.

The Hishaw-Williams duo is struggling to create the “home-run” type plays that Neal was famous for. They’re power backs, not as likely to shed tackles as Neal, and that showed against MU.

It’s something to monitor as KU approaches the back half its schedule, which will much more difficult.

Too early to tell but do we feel like year over year roster retention is gonna be better this szn or is an annual bloodbath the new normal? @BlueBloodsBlue

I certainly think there will be less turnover next season as all the freshman besides Darryn Peterson are unlikely candidates for the NBA Draft.

KU’s roster is also overall younger than in previous seasons. It’s likely that more players will return than last season, when an overhaul was needed.

There should be some expectation that 2-3 players will leave any team each offseason, as that’s just the modern college basketball landscape.

Self is certainly a fan of the roster, as he told The Star on Thursday. Let’s see if it stays that way through March.

Is Darryn Peterson the real deal? @NickSpringer29

I certainly think so. The hype around Peterson is major and Self has continued to rave about the likely future top-three pick in the NBA Draft.

He called him the best freshman he’s ever recruited when Peterson joined the Jayhawks.

“As a freshman coming in with the ability to put a team on his back, I’ll be honest, I don’t know if I’ve had (someone like Peterson),” Self said. “We didn’t ask (Andrew) Wiggins to do that as a freshman, (Joel) Embiid didn’t do that as a freshman, Josh (Jackson) had Frank Mason and Devonte’ Graham as a freshman.”

“With this particular roster, let’s just call it like it is: Darryn needs to be the guy,” Self continued. “And if he’s that guy, then he’ll put up numbers that are as good as anyone we’ve had here.”

I personally look forward to watching him play. I have a feeling Peterson will lead Kansas deep into the Tournament, much like Cooper Flagg did for Duke last season.

Shreyas Laddha

The Kansas City Star

Shreyas Laddha covers KU hoops and football for The Star. He’s a Georgia native and graduated from the University of Georgia.