Rustin Dodd breaks down the 2015-16 KU men’s basketball season

Let’s play a quick game: Let’s say there was a Kansas men’s basketball team with a Big 12 player-of-the-year favorite at power forward, a lead guard with talent and experience, a veteran wing with starting experience and an uber-talented freshman big man with question marks.

If you were a pessimist, you might say, well, this sounds a lot like last year’s Kansas team, which won an 11th straight Big 12 title but lost early in the NCAA Tournament to Wichita State. If you were an optimist, though, you might say this team sounds like an NCAA title contender, which is what the faithful on Mt. Oread are hoping for.

In truth, this Kansas roster does appear to be a decent facsimile of last season. The Jayhawks return three starters — Wichita’s Perry Ellis, junior guard Frank Mason and junior wing Wayne Selden — and Kansas coach Bill Self has a deep frontcourt with a freshman (Cheick Diallo) who could be a difference-maker in time. Last year at this time, of course, we were saying the same about Cliff Alexander, and that didn’t quite work out. But there are strong reasons to believe that this KU team can be better — a Big 12 contender, yes, but also a team with sincere Final Four goals.

Self will tell you that this could be one of the deepest teams of his tenure, and the plaudits begin with Ellis, an All-America candidate who has a chance to leave his mark in the KU record book during his senior year. Mason and Selden, meanwhile, led the Jayhawks to a gold medal at the World University Games last summer, and in Mason, the Jayhawks have their most talented lead guard since perhaps Sherron Collins. Self is counting on some internal development from sophomore guard Svi Mykhailiuk, junior three-point marksman Brannen Greene, and sophomore guard Devonte’ Graham, who will slot into the starting lineup and give the Jayhawks a smaller look.

For the last two years, Self has talked about playing smaller, with two play-making guards in the backcourt. Last year, an early-season injury to Graham took that option away — at least until later in the season. But Self now believes he has the personnel to go small and let Selden roam the wing, where he can better use his mature body and intriguing skill set.

Then there is Diallo, perhaps the biggest question mark in the program. As of Wednesday, Diallo had yet to be cleared by the NCAA Eligibility Center. Self remains hopeful, saying Diallo could — at some point, at least — start alongside Ellis in the frontcourt. But even if Diallo can’t play, the Jayhawks have options in senior forwards Hunter Mickelson and Jamari Traylor, junior center Landen Lucas and freshman forward Carlton Bragg.

The Jayhawks will begin the season ranked No. 4 in the Associated Press poll, which is to say a Final Four appearance is expected. The NCAA Tournament is a single-elimination gantlet, of course, and no coach knows that better than Self. But after consecutive early-season losses in the tourney, the Jayhawks are longing for another Final Four banner.

In 12 seasons at Kansas, Self has crafted a run that will one day launch him toward the Hall of Fame — one NCAA title, 11 straight Big 12 titles, and a ridiculous winning percentage (95 percent!) at Allen Fieldhouse. But if there is one knock on his resume — relatively speaking — it’s just two Final Fours in 12 seasons.

Even Self would have to agree with this: Three Final Fours in 13 seasons would sound much better.

This story was originally published November 12, 2015 at 2:08 PM with the headline "Rustin Dodd breaks down the 2015-16 KU men’s basketball season."