Kansas basketball has always been a program where the roster can take on all kinds of shapes. Some Jayhawks stick around for the long haul, building a career in Lawrence over four or five seasons like Ochai Agbaji, David McCormack, Dajuan Harris Jr. and KJ Adams. Others are gone after one year, heading to the NBA draft after a single season, the way Darryn Peterson, Gradey Dick and Johnny Furphy did.
Now throw in the transfer portal era, and the whole thing gets even messier. More players are moving in and out of Lawrence than ever before, and for the first time, even elite prospects with real roles under Bill Self have chosen to leave. Flory Bidunga went to Louisville, and Bryson Tiller headed to Missouri.
That’s where the fun thought experiment starts: what if nobody left? What if every Jayhawk stayed at Kansas for four years, or at least never walked out the door through the portal? Through the Phog took that idea and built a “Jayhawk Dream” eight-man rotation, and it’s as loaded as it sounds.
The concept leaves out a few players by the slimmest of margins. Gradey Dick, Zuby Ejiofor, Ernest Udeh, Rylan Griffen, AJ Storr, Melvin Council and Tre White all missed the cut by one season of eligibility.
Here’s how the dream rotation breaks down:
PG: Taylen Kinney (FR) / Leroy Blyden Jr. (SO)
SG: Darryn Peterson (SO) / Leroy Blyden Jr. (SO)
SF: Johnny Furphy (SR) / Tyran Stokes (FR)
PF: Tyran Stokes (FR) / Bryson Tiller (SO)
C: Flory Bidunga (JR) / Keanu Dawes (SR)
The starting group is built around a pair of freshmen headliners in Taylen Kinney and Tyran Stokes, plus sophomore Leroy Blyden Jr. and senior Keanu Dawes. In this setup, Kinney stays at point guard as more of a facilitator, while Stokes shifts to power forward for an important reason. Blyden Jr. and Dawes would slide into bench roles that still carry real weight.
Then come the returnees who would make this thing downright unfair. Darryn Peterson, who was drafted second overall in the NBA draft, and Johnny Furphy, the one-and-done who would now be a senior in this alternate universe, bring another layer of firepower. Stokes would still be a scoring machine, but he’d be sharing the load with Peterson and Furphy instead of carrying it alone.
Peterson already put up more than 20 points per game last season, and the idea of him operating alongside Furphy, Stokes and even Kinney is the kind of setup that would make any offense hum. Furphy, meanwhile, would be a nightmare in his own right and could have reminded fans of a more versatile Svi Mykhailiuk, who averaged 14.6 points and shot 44.4% from three in 2017-2018.
The frontcourt depth gets even nastier with Bidunga and Tiller. Neither stayed at Kansas, but in this dream version they give the Jayhawks a defensive anchor and an elite lob threat in Bidunga, plus quality depth at power forward behind Stokes in Tiller.
And that’s the real trick of this roster: Stokes can swing between small forward and power forward, which gives this group the ability to go big or small depending on the matchup. In a college basketball landscape that’s never been more crowded with talent, this imaginary Kansas team might not just be dominant - it might flirt with perfection.
In Other News...
Kansas Frontcourt Search Just Took A Frustrating Turn
Kansas search for help in the middle has been moving with a sense of urgency, and Moustapha Thiam had looked like one of the more natural names to watch. The 7-foot-2 sophomore, who transferred from Cincinnati, popped onto the radar after a huge night at Allen Fieldhouse and became a logical fit for a roster still trying to firm up its frontcourt behind Paul Mbiya and Christian Reeves.
Now that path has closed off, at least for the moment, as Thiam has chosen to stay at Michigan and play for new head coach Mike Boynton. For Kansas, it is another reminder that the big-man market can move quickly and leave little room for patience, which is why the Jayhawks continue to look at other options as they try to add size and stability inside. [Read more 🡒]
Gradey Dick Pulled Into Blockbuster NBA Trade That Could Change Everything
Gradey Dicks NBA path is suddenly tied to one of the summers biggest rumors, with the former Kansas shooting guard reportedly included in the framework of a major Toronto deal that would reshape both ends of the trade market. The 2023 first-round pick has spent two seasons trying to carve out a steady role with the Raptors, and his recent slide in minutes and production has only added to the sense that his place in Toronto was not as secure as it once seemed.
Even so, the Raptors have continued to talk publicly about Dick as a long-term project worth developing, even as they pointed to the need for more consistency on both sides of the ball. For now, though, the story is still waiting on the formal finish line, with league rules and pending details holding up any official move until after July 6. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Staff Is Already Seeing Something Different In Tyran Stokes
Before he even plays a minute in Lawrence, Tyran Stokes is already forcing Kansas staffers to look past the obvious. The freshman arrives with the kind of frame, athletic pop and shot-making ability that made him one of the most coveted recruits in the country, and his decision to choose Kansas over programs like Kentucky and Oregon only added to the expectation that he could eventually end up as a No. 1 NBA Draft type of prospect.
Jeremy Case, though, sounded like someone who sees more than the headline traits when he recently discussed Stokes on the radio. For a player whose long-term ceiling is already getting plenty of attention, it is the smaller details that can tell you whether the hype is real, and Kansas appears to believe there is another layer to Stokes that might not be getting enough notice yet. [Read more 🡒]