UMKC freshmen aim to change the narrative around Kansas City basketball

Incoming University of Missouri-Kansas City freshman guards Cameron Love and Derrick (DJ) Jackson Jr. believe that Kansas City basketball is being slept on and overlooked by the masses.

The three-star guards ended their high school careers as the third- and fourth-ranked players in Kansas, respectively, in 2026, according to 247Sports.

“They overlook us with everything. We got some real dogs in Kansas City and Missouri. I feel like we deserve the chance to show that,” Love said.

“It’s a small town … “ Jackson said. “We’re in the middle of all 50 states, and we’re not getting as many looks as the big states like Texas or California.”

It’s a bold statement, particularly considering some of the area’s recent success stories.

Shawnee Mission Northwest alum Keaton Wagler went to Illinois and was a top-5 NBA Draft selection. Liberty High School’s Bennett Stirtz traveled across multiple levels of college basketball before his own first-round selection.

The guards were the first Kansas City products to be picked in the first round together since former Kansas Jayhawks teammates Ochai Agbaji (Oak Park High) and Christian Braun (Blue Valley Northwest), who were first-round picks in the 2022 draft.

But those recent players — Stirtz and Wagler — made their mark outside of Kansas City, establishing themselves as talented prospects away from the metro area where they got their start.

That notion is why Love and Jackson chose to stay close to home, joining UMKC’s newly appointed head coach Mark Turgeon to show everyone how good Kansas City basketball can be.

Dynamic Duo

Love and Jackson grew up playing together on the local AAU team KC Run GMC. They played on the Under Armour circuit, winning the 16U UA finals championship under legendary KC basketball coach LJ Goolsby.

Their years playing together have developed into the Roos’ backcourt partnership of the future: Love is an athletic, in-your-face defender while Jackson is a scoring point guard, always playing at his own pace.

“I feel like it’s an unguardable duo.” Love said. “We can match up anybody that’s in front of us. It’s going to be really hard to stay in front of our backcourt.”

When it was time for the two to make their college decision, their choice came down to maintaining the connection they had built through high school and playing close to home.

“There were definitely a lot of talks about how we can keep this thing going and keep playing together,” Love said.

“We’ve been playing with each other for a long time and (can) still have that chemistry throughout college,” Jackson said. “It was a great thing to do. And being able to play in our hometown is great, too.”

Joining Love and Jackson at UMKC are their KC Run GMC teammates: three-star forward Will Goode, the second-ranked player in Kansas, and three-star guard Josh Kori, the 11th-ranked player in Missouri. The four Kansas City natives make up the foundation of Turgeon’s nine-man freshman class, the highest-rated recruiting class in school history according to 247Sports.

“Just growing and getting better with the same people my age,” Love said about UMKC’s freshman group. “Knowing that our freshman class is really good and in the long run will be even better.”

Turgeon’s first freshman class hopes to kickstart a turnaround of the program, which is coming off its worst season in school history. The Roos finished 2025-26 with a 4-27 record, 1-15 in Summit League play. They ended the year on a 14-game losing streak.

But after four years of dominating Kansas high school basketball, the two McDonald’s All-America nominees expect to be the ones to change the Roos’ fortunes.

“I feel like it’s going to change the culture,” Jackson said. “Turgeon wants to win. So he brought in winning players to the team to help the team win.”

The track records of Jackson and Love suggest they could be the winning players UMKC is looking for.

Love finished his senior year helping lead Olathe North to the school’s first 6A state title, earning first-team all-state honors and being named Sports in Kansas’ defensive player of the year. Jackson established himself as the lead guard for Piper High School, earning 5A first-team all-state honors as a senior and ending his high school career as the Pirates’ all-time leading scorer.

“Over the last couple of practices, we mesh really well,” Love said. “I feel like we’re going to surprise a lot of people during the season.”

Future Aspirations

As Love and Jackson prepare for their freshman seasons, they draw inspiration from fellow Kansas City metro native Wagler, whom both of the UMKC guards have encountered on their basketball journeys.

Jackson played against the NBA lottery pick on the Kansas youth circuit, while Love faced Wagler in his junior year; Wagler’s Shawnee Mission Northwest squad beat Love’s Olathe North in the 6A state title game.

Seeing one of their KC peers enter the NBA gives them and any other Kansas City basketball players a goal to strive for.

“Seeing him do what he did in college and now walking the stage, the biggest stage, it definitely inspires me.” Love said. “We all come from the same place, so it’s very possible to do it where we’re from.”

“It motivates me to show that you can do anything in the city.” Jackson said, “Any basketball player, not just me or him, anybody that’s coming up in high school, it’s not impossible, and he showed that.”

UMKC is still two months away from the start of its 2026-27 season, but Love and Jackson already have lofty expectations.

“I think we’re going to win our league and try and make it to the NCAA tournament,” Love predicted.

Love’s prediction wouldn’t just defy expectations, it would defy history. The KC Roos have never won the Summit League or earned a place in the NCAA Tournament in their 38 years as a Division I program.

​But Jackson or Love won’t limit themselves to what UMKC basketball was before. They plan to exceed it — and then some.

“Don’t put any limitations on us because we can go past those limitations.” Love said. “Even if it’s at the top, we can always go higher. Don’t limit us to anything.”