In college basketball, the goal every year is to stay old. Kansas had eight seniors on its championship team.
That experience and leadership helped Kansas come back from a 16-point deficit. Kansas won’t have Remy Martin around any longer. They also won’t have Mitch Lightfoot on the roster.
On top of that, it wouldn’t be surprising if Ochai Agbaji and David McCormack, who are juniors, left the program for professional basketball.
Take this into consideration as you review our NCAAB future odds.
However, McCormack hasn’t ruled out the possibility of returning. It’s more likely that Agbaji leaves the team if we had to choose. Christian Braun, a sophomore guard could also be on the move into the NBA.
Join Now: $1,000 BMR 12-Week All Sports Challenge
Realistically, I don’t have a crystal ball. We’re going to have to wait and see who returns but overall, Kansas is always one of the top teams in the nation.
Kansas is going to be punished by the NCAA due to an FBI scandal that pinned five Level I violations on Self and the program.
Self will absolutely be suspended and he could sit out a whole lot of games when this is all said and done. He can’t even appeal and Kansas could be banned from the 2023 postseason.
The scandal might keep top freshmen away from the team and it might even launch Self into the NBA. I would like to think he’ll wait out the suspension but you just never know.
At 59 years old, he’s still got plenty of coaching in his blood but he’ll have to be patient next season.
BMR Community: NCAAB Men’s Basketball Betting Forum
Players will choose Kansas next season if they believe they can make the NBA the following year. It won’t be about the championships, it’ll be about the level of competition and the chance to compete in the Big 12.
So far, the Jayhawks have four commits including Gradey Dick, Marquise Rice, Ernest Udeh Jr., and Zuby Ejiofor.
Rice is a five-star guard while the other three are four-star forwards. There’s plenty of talent coming in.
However, again, it’s crucial to have a lot of experience and leadership to win the NCAA Tournament. It’s going to be hard with a large group of freshmen.
It’s also going to be hard to win the Tournament if Kansas isn’t allowed to play in it. It’s a wait-and-see game for Kansas.
I think any fan would agree that they would take a postseason ban if that meant winning the NCAA Championship the year prior.
It sounds like cheating but ultimately, these players had nothing to do with any of it.
The Jayhawks will be able to find some big transfers in the portal and that should keep Kansas relevant throughout next season and beyond.
Finding a fine balance between young talent and older talent is key and it’s been key throughout Tournament play for years now.
If you look at every team that has won, for the most part, the team has really good guard play and two of the top three scorers are juniors and seniors.
That’s what teams need to start recognizing and it’s something that the Jayhawks figured out this season.
Young teams can’t come back from a 16-point deficit. Teams with experience and leadership can. Teams with older scorers or who don’t get caught up in the moment can.
So, therefore, Kansas likely won’t make it back next season. The older guys are likely leaving. But overall, Kansas will still be competitive and it’ll be interesting to see what happens with the program as we approach the 2023 season.
Calculators
