Kansas basketball added a new front-court piece Monday, but Trey Kaufman-Renn’s first game in a Jayhawks uniform is still up in the air.
The Purdue transfer gives Kansas a fifth-year forward with real size and value, the kind of addition that can lift the ceiling for Bill Self’s team this season. His arrival also adds another layer to the preseason as the Jayhawks prepare for their regular season opener Nov. 2 at home against Fordham.
For now, though, the wait continues. Kaufman-Renn did not play in Wednesday’s exhibition against Louisville, and after the game Self said he didn’t have a firm timetable for when the newcomer would first take the floor. Kansas still has one more exhibition Sunday at home against Duke, but Self made it clear Kaufman-Renn wasn’t physically ready against Louisville and needs to get healthier and in better shape before he plays.
“I hope so, I think so,” Self said. “I’m not saying it’s an extended deal, but the last thing you want to do is put a guy out there and he pulls something or something just because he’s going to try really, really hard, but his body right now won’t react quite like his brain tells it to.
So, I don’t know if you guys have ever experienced that. But he’ll get better fast.”
Without him, Kansas fell 89-83 to Louisville inside Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks, tied for No. 18 in the preseason coaches poll, made a late push in the second half, but the No. 11 Cardinals finished it off.
The atmosphere was lively for that one, and Self should get another big-stage setting against No. 2 Duke to close the preseason. Even if Kaufman-Renn doesn’t show up before then, Kansas has a couple of mid-major games early in the regular season that could help him settle into Self’s system before the schedule gets much tougher.
That tougher stretch comes fast. Kansas heads to Chicago for the Champions Classic on Nov. 10 against No. 23 Kentucky, then later in the month will play in the Players Era event in Las Vegas.
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Kansas Fans Have Seen This Freshman Guard Scare Before
Kansas fans got an early reminder of how quickly a preseason game can turn uneasy. In the Jayhawks 89-83 loss to No. 11 Louisville, freshman guard Taylen Kinney exited before the finish after dealing with cramps, then received IV fluids, according to coach Bill Self. The good news for Kansas is that Self did not sound concerned afterward, and the expectation is that Kinney will keep moving forward as the preseason continues.
For a team still sorting out its rotation, any brief scare involving a young guard tends to draw immediate attention, especially in a game that already provided plenty of evaluative value against a ranked opponent. Self said Leroy Blyden Jr. will start the next game, giving Kansas another look at the backcourt while Kinney gets back to full strength and the Jayhawks keep working through the final preseason tuneups. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Gets A Big Early Test As Bill Self Sorts Things Out
Kansas has already gotten one reminder that exhibition games can still reveal plenty, after its loss to Louisville offered Bill Self an early look at where this group stands. The Jayhawks now turn to another marquee tune-up against Duke in the Blueblood Classic at Phog Allen Fieldhouse, a setting that should provide even more useful information for a roster mixing newcomers and returning pieces.
Self does not need the result to count in the standings to care about what happens next. What matters is how Kansas handles the details, especially on the perimeter and from outside, where the recent outing showed there is still sorting out to do before the games start counting for real. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Basketballs NIL Push Is Testing The Sports Spending Elite
The numbers around college basketball roster building keep climbing, and Kansas is right in the middle of the sports spending arms race. A CBS Sports report estimates the average NIL cost to build a roster in 2026 at $13.5 million, while Kansas is already sitting in the second tier of spenders at just under $20 million. With that kind of outlay, the Jayhawks are not just trying to keep pace with the national market, they are helping define the upper end of it.
There is still room for the bill to rise, too, depending on how the roster shakes out over the full season. If certain players remain eligible all year, Kansas could move into the top spending tier at $20 million or more, a mark only a handful of programs can even consider. Part of that expense comes from having the most expensive freshman prospect in the country in Tyran Stokes, a reminder that the Jayhawks pursuit of another deep run now comes with a price tag as steep as any in college hoops. [Read more 🡒]