Kansas basketball looks built to run. Bill Self has a roster loaded with athleticism, and the pieces are already lining up to make this group dangerous.
The freshmen alone give KU a different kind of juice. Tyran Stokes, Taylen Kinney, Davion Adkins and the rest bring talent and burst.
Add in the veteran transfer help, plus Kohl Rosario and Paul Mbiya, and the Jayhawks have the kind of depth that can overwhelm teams. If Tre White and Melvin Council Jr. win their respective court cases and return to play for KU, that only piles on more quality, especially in the backcourt and at power forward.
But one spot still stands out as the question mark: center. Christian Reeves brings veteran experience, though injuries have clouded his availability early in the year.
Mbiya is packed with upside, but he is still in the early developmental stage of his career. Adkins can help provide depth, but he is expected to bounce between the four and the five as he gets stronger and keeps improving.
That is why the most impactful Kansas player from the last 10 years for this roster would be Udoka Azubuike.
Azubuike spent four seasons as a force for the Jayhawks, and after a developmental freshman year, he settled in as a steady scorer. He averaged 13.0, 13.4 and 13.7 points per game over his final three seasons. As a senior, he added 10.5 rebounds per game and finished with a double-double profile that fit his game perfectly.
He never stretched the floor, but that was never the point. Around the rim, Azubuike was a wrecking ball.
He shot 77.0 percent from the field as a sophomore, the first of two seasons in which he led the nation. His career 74.6 percent shooting mark is an all-time NCAA record.
He also gave Kansas a real defensive anchor. Azubuike averaged 2.0 blocks per game over his career and upped that to 2.6 blocks per game in his senior season, making him one of the best rim protectors in the country.
Drop that version of Azubuike into this roster, with all the perimeter talent and athleticism around him, and Kansas becomes a nightmare to defend. Among Jayhawks from the last decade, he would likely have the biggest effect on this team.
Azubuike was also part of the 2019-20 Kansas team that entered the postseason ranked No. 1 and positioned as the favorite to win the national championship. Then COVID wiped out March Madness, and that group never got its chance.
He was selected in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft, going 27th overall to Utah. His NBA role was limited over the next four seasons, as he appeared in 84 games and averaged 3.0 points and 2.8 rebounds.
The old-school low-post center may not rule the NBA anymore, but in college, that kind of big still matters. At Kansas, Azubuike was exactly that kind of player, and he made his case as one of the program’s most effective big men.
In Other News...
Tre White Gives Kansas A Boost With One Huge Catch
Tre White is headed back into the fold for Kansas basketball, and for now the Jayhawks have a veteran wing who can practice and possibly play in the 2026-27 season. A circuit court judge granted a temporary restraining order against the NCAA, clearing the way for White and other athletes to become immediately eligible while the legal fight continues, and Bill Self confirmed White can take part with the team.
For Kansas, the timing matters because White gives Self another experienced piece and a player the coach has already pointed to for his performance and leadership. The only catch is that the situation is still tied to an unresolved legal process, leaving the Jayhawks with a boost on the floor and a little uncertainty hanging over it until the case reaches a full trial. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzou Gets One More Border Showdown In KC Before A Bigger Question
Kansas and Mizzou will add one more chapter to a rivalry that has never really needed much help selling itself, with the latest basketball meeting set for Kansas City as the long-running six-game series reaches its end. The border showdown has moved around over the years, from campus gyms to neutral floors, and it has remained one of the most recognizable matchups in the region, even as the schools have spent long stretches on separate paths.
The broader question now is what comes after this one. The recent football series between the schools reminded everyone how much public appetite still exists for Kansas-Mizzou games, and the basketball finale gives the rivalry one last high-profile stage before the conversation shifts to whether these meetings will keep finding a place on the schedule at all. [Read more 🡒]
Dylan Edwards Just Became Kansas Most Frustrating Offensive Debate
Dylan Edwards gave Kansas exactly the kind of uneven afternoon that has made him such a tricky player to sort out this season. In the Jayhawks 24-17 loss to Arizona State, he was one of the main engines of the offense, popping runs of 15 and 18 yards and adding work as a receiver while accounting for nearly half of the teams rushing output.
But the same burst that makes Edwards so important also makes every mistake feel magnified. His costly fumble helped swing momentum toward Arizona State, and in a game Kansas could not afford to give away possessions, that one play lingered long after the better snaps were forgotten. As the Jayhawks keep leaning on him moving forward, the question is not whether Edwards can impact a game, but whether Kansas can live with the full range of what comes with it. [Read more 🡒]