No. 4 Kansas dropped their fourth game in Big 12 play on Monday in an overtime loss to Kansas State. The Jayhawks are now fifth in the conference standings. And although they still have a chance at winning the regular-season title, it’s becoming unlikely that they’ll accomplish this feat.
On most nights, the Jayhawks are stepping onto the hardwood with four players who provide almost all of their production.
Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar are two of the best players in the sport. KJ Adams is a junkyard dog who is excellent in the short roll game while DaJuan Harris is a throwback point guard knows when and how to make the right basketball play. Freshman Johnny Furphy has came onto the scene recently, but he needs to show more consistency if Kansas wants to be dangerous down the stretch.
With KU’s starting lineup taking on an absurd usage rate, this team could run out of gas once March arrives (even though Bill Self will do anything in his power to stop that from happening).
With Dickinson, Adams and Harris projected to return next season, the Jayhawks will have the same core players from this year. This should allow them to continue to be one of the best passing teams in the country. However, there will be two big holes in KU’s offensive attack — a lack of roster depth and a lack of shooting from deep. This is where Kansas’s incoming recruiting class could boost the current Jayhawks core.
Currently, Kansas is bringing in a 2024 recruiting class that ranks No. 8 nationally. The class consists of top-10 recruit Flory Bidunga and 4-star wing Rakease Passmore who both will bring energy to the Jayhawks with their athletic gifts. However, it’s top-30 recruit, Labaron Philon, who will have the opportunity to make the biggest impact upon his arrival in Lawrence.
The 6-foot-3 Alabama-native is a big-time scorer. The guard is also evolving as a playmaker during his senior campaign at Missouri’s Link Academy. He brings the same aggressive mentality to the backcourt that Self has had success with in the past.
Philon is a relentless attacker who is a scoring threat at all times. Even with Harris in the line-up, Philon’s impact fills a huge need for Kansas because he gives the team depth at the guard position.
Even though the program has locked-in three top high school prospects, the Jayhawks are nowhere near finished on the recruiting trail. Self and his staff will undoubtedly go portal hunting this offseason to fill holes. But they could also be eying the No. 3 player in the 2025 class, Darryn Peterson.
The 6-foot-5 shooting guard is one of the best players at his position in all of high school and he’s trending to be a candidate to reclassify to 2024. The Jayhawks are in the mix to grab Peterson’s services. Known as an elite scorer with exceptional pace, Peterson has a mature game that could bring added value to the Jayhawks’ rotation if he were to reclassify.
But as we look at Kansas this season, they should bank on Furphy if they want to take full advantage of this season. Also, if Elmarko Jackson and Nick Timberlake can provide a reliable way to contribute offensively, then that would undoubtedly help KU stay afloat come tournament time.
The Daily Dish is a daily college basketball column by a rotating cast of 247Sports writers on the biggest stories of the day in the sport and will run through the NCAA Tournament championship in April.
