Jamari McDowell isn’t satisfied with where his game is right now - and that’s exactly why Kansas fans should be encouraged.
The redshirt sophomore guard has carved out a meaningful role for the Jayhawks this season, stepping in as a versatile contributor off the bench and even earning a spot in the starting lineup earlier in the year when Darryn Peterson went down with an injury. Statistically, McDowell is averaging 4.1 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 threes in just under 18 minutes a game. But the numbers only tell part of the story.
Where McDowell has made his biggest leap is from beyond the arc. After shooting just 28.1% from three as a freshman, he’s now knocking down 42.6% of his attempts - just a tick behind team leader Tre White.
He’s hit at least one three in 12 of KU’s last 14 games and has multiple threes in six games this season. That’s not just growth - that’s a transformation.
But ask McDowell how he feels about those numbers, and the answer is refreshingly blunt: “No,” he said, when asked if he was happy with his shooting. For him, it’s not about percentages - it’s about confidence and trust, both in himself and within the team.
“For the team, honestly, I think this is a confidence thing,” McDowell said. “You got to instill that in each other.
Coaches instill that in us. When you open, let it fly.
The rest is God. Have confidence in your work.
Your work speaks.”
That mindset has become a cornerstone of KU’s perimeter attack. The Jayhawks are shooting 36.2% from deep as a team - good for 58th nationally - and McDowell is one of the key reasons why.
His improvement didn’t happen overnight. It was built during his redshirt year, when he wasn’t logging minutes but was putting in the work - before games, after games, at home, on the road, late nights in the gym.
“Before the games last year, before they played, and I had to sit, I was in the gym,” McDowell said. “I was in the field.
I was shooting at home games, away games. I was there shooting late nights.
I'm a real believer. My dad told me, ‘Your confidence comes from your work.’
So you do the work, confidence will come.”
That belief system - and the hours to back it up - have earned McDowell a consistent place in KU’s seven-man rotation. Earlier in the season, it looked like Jayden Dawson and former starter Kohl Rosario might be the shooters to watch off the bench. But over the last five games, they’ve logged just 35 combined minutes.
Instead, it’s been McDowell and fellow redshirt sophomore Elmarko Jackson stepping up. The duo has brought energy and experience to KU’s second unit, especially during the team’s run at the Players Era Festival earlier this season. According to McDowell, their edge comes from time in the system - not necessarily doing anything different, just knowing how to operate within Bill Self’s structure.
“Honestly, it's just a matter of experience - time spent with each other and coach,” McDowell said. “So I was excited. Me and [Jackson] didn't do anything different.”
Self has taken notice. He’s praised McDowell and Jackson as the most impactful bench players on the team this season, and he’s grown comfortable with the tight seven-man rotation. In fact, that smaller group might be helping players settle into their roles more effectively.
“When you're playing seven, I don't think anybody's worried about their minutes anymore,” Self said. “So you don't have to push yourself to try to go do something that may be a low percentage play, to try to stay in the game. If you know you're playing basically 20, then you don't feel like there's the pressure to try to do that.”
For McDowell, that clarity seems to be paying off. He’s not just shooting better - he’s playing with purpose. And even if he’s not content with where his game is right now, his upward trajectory suggests that his best basketball is still ahead.