LAWRENCE — Kansas basketball coach Bill Self isn’t sure if his consistent rotation this upcoming season will expand to 10 players.
Self, speaking Wednesday during a Bleacher Report livestream interview, considers nine a possibility. Over the course of the offseason, the Jayhawks recruited well and added the depth they lacked at times last season. To go all the way to 10, though, in his mind, wouldn’t fit how he has traditionally operated.
Of course, Self allowed, that might mean there’s one or two players who aren’t as happy as they would be otherwise. But Self also highlighted that the object of what they’re trying to accomplish is competition. And when it comes to the level of competition he and his coaching staff searched for, the level of starter-quality depth, as it stands now they’ve reached it.
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“Our guys like each other, they’re excited about it, and everybody was recruited here with the knowledge of the other guys that were here,” Self said. “It’s not like David Coit didn’t come here knowing that (Dajuan Harris Jr.) was back and Shakeel (Moore) was back. It’s not like Zeke (Mayo) didn’t come here knowing that we returned three starters. I mean — Or Rylan (Griffen). Or AJ (Storr).”
Self continued: “So, I like it. I think it’s a good roster and I’ve said all along, I would like to have eight starters. And when I say eight starters, eight starters that are good enough in a major college game that they can play 20 and 25 minutes. And I do think we have that.”
Senior guard David Coit (Northern Illinois) and graduate guard Shakeel Moore (Mississippi State) both arrived as 247Sports three-star transfers. Senior guard Zeke Mayo (South Dakota State), junior guard Rylan Griffen (Alabama) and junior guard AJ Storr (Wisconsin) are all four-star transfers. They’re all part of an extensive group of newcomers who have helped set Kansas up as a contender for Big 12 Conference and national success.
As Self outlined, Storr showed he could score the ball by leading Wisconsin in scoring last season at almost 17 points per game. Griffen started for an Alabama team that reached the Final Four of the NCAA tournament, and he can shoot the ball. Mayo, the reigning Summit League player of the year, can shoot, handle the ball and play the point.
Moore and Coit both provide experience and depth, with Self adding that Moore is a really nice player and Coit can score the ball, too. With a pair of high-profile freshmen on the roster in guard Rakease Passmore and forward Flory Bidunga, it’s easy to see how the size of the rotation could start to expand. Self described Passmore as “one of the sleepers” in the group, and Bidunga “as athletic, as explosive, as anybody.”
Overall, when you factor in the Jayhawks’ three main returning starters — graduate guard Dajuan Harris Jr., graduate center Hunter Dickinson, senior forward KJ Adams Jr. — and the rest of the returning players, there are 13 scholarship players. It’ll be a battle for playing time of any degree, with that kind of depth. But considering sophomore guard Elmarko Jackson is out for the season due to injury, and Self mentioned there’s a redshirt candidate, the team will likely be at 11 scholarship players and that depth will continue to matter a great deal.
“Probably the one that doesn’t get talked about that’s … probably been our best player so far, is Zeke Mayo, South Dakota State,” Self said as he described each of the newcomers. “Local kid here in town.”
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas basketball coach Bill Self believes his roster now has the starter-depth he's wanted
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