Kansas basketball is finally ready to tip off, and Friday night will give fans their first look at a roster that has changed a lot since the offseason began. The Jayhawks open exhibition play against Pittsburg State in Allen Fieldhouse, and this one comes with a twist: it doubles as Late Night in the Phog.
Kansas has already updated its official roster page to include Tre White and Melvn Council Jr., both of whom have been practicing with the team over the past week. How much they actually play against the Gorillas will be one of the more interesting things to watch.
There should be plenty of attention on the newcomers, but some familiar faces figure to draw the loudest cheers. Kohl Rosario and Paul Mbiya are back, and both are expected to get a warm reception from the crowd. Fans will also have their eyes on Tylan Stokes and Taylen Kinney, two highly sought-after prospects.
The game is set for Friday at 7 pm CDT at Allen Fieldhouse.
It will air on ESPN+, and it can also be streamed on FuboTV and Disney+ with the ESPN package, though both require a paid subscription.
As for the lineup, that part is tougher to pin down. It’s nearly impossible to know what Bill Self will do with his starting five in an exhibition like this. He could lean on the players who have stood out most in practice, or he could start sorting out the group that has the best chance to play regular minutes once the season begins.
White and Council have reportedly come in with the right mindset, too. Rosario told KUSports.com reporter Henry Greenstein that Council volunteered for the scout team. Neither player arrived expecting anything to be handed to them, which says plenty about how they’ve approached joining the program late.
Kansas should handle Pittsburg State without much trouble, but the bigger value here is getting a first look at all the new pieces. Counting grandfathered walk-on Will Thengvall, the roster has 16 players, and 11 of them are new to the program. Grant Mordini and Atticus Richmond appear to fit more as roster fillers and scout team players, along with Thengvall in the old walk-on role.
That leaves Self with 13 players to sort through and decide how they’ll fit. The good news for Kansas is that he has three exhibition games to figure it out.
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