Kansas brought in Trey Kaufman-Renn to be more than a depth piece, but the Jayhawks still don’t know whether he’ll be ready when the season starts.
Bill Self said Wednesday that he is “planning on playing” Kaufman-Renn in Kansas’ Nov. 2 opener against Fordham, but he would not fully confirm the forward’s status. Self pointed to conditioning and an ankle injury after Kaufman-Renn missed both of Kansas’ exhibitions. The injury came when Kaufman-Renn turned his ankle in practice before the Oct. 25 exhibition against Duke.
That leaves a real question hanging over one of Kansas’ biggest additions. Kaufman-Renn is a 6-foot-9 forward who averaged 14.2 points and 8.3 rebounds for Purdue last season, and he has played both power forward and center. When he’s healthy, he’s expected to matter in a major way for the Jayhawks’ frontcourt.
His eligibility situation adds another layer of uncertainty. Kaufman-Renn spent five seasons at Purdue, including a redshirt year, and sued the NCAA for another season under the new eligibility rules. He received a preliminary injunction in Indiana, though the local report on Self’s remarks said the court had not yet uploaded a document explaining the terms of that injunction.
For now, Self says the immediate concerns are simple: how Kaufman-Renn is moving, and how close he is to game shape. He also made clear he could not guarantee the forward would be available Monday.
Kansas has one more exhibition left, against Washburn, before the regular season begins, and that gives Kaufman-Renn a little more time to work himself back into playing condition. But the window is tight. If he can’t go or is limited against Fordham, Self will have to sort out the frontcourt without one of the team’s most accomplished newcomers.
For Kansas, the upside is obvious: a proven scorer and rebounder with size and versatility. The question now is whether he can become that player right away.
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