How will KU basketball rate entering 2020-21 season? Polls suggest top 10 team
The loss of senior Udoka Azubuike and expected departure of Devon Dotson to the 2020 NBA Draft figure to temper expectations surrounding Kansas’ basketball team entering the 2020-21 season.
In fact, early (way early) preseason polls categorize the Jayhawks basically as a top 10, not a top five, basketball squad.
NBCsports.com’s Rob Dauster on Monday ranked Kansas No. 8 nationally in his first preseason top 25 for the 2020-21 season.
His reasoning?
“When it comes to the amount of talent on the Kansas roster, there are certainly enough weapons. They are incredibly loaded on the wing — Marcus Garrett, Bryce Thompson, Ochai Agbaji, Christian Braun, Tyon Grant-Foster, Tristan Enaruna, Jalen Wilson, sheesh — and David McCormack showed enough flashes last season that I expect him to be able to do an adequate job replacing Udoka Azubuike,” Dauster wrote Monday.
“Assuming Bill Self (correctly) plays small-ball again, they should be really, really good. The problem? Other than Garrett, there is not a point guard on the roster that has played a second of college basketball. The best Jayhawk teams have had a killer at that position, and I’m not sure Garrett qualifies as such,” Dauster added.
Villanova led the NBCsports.com poll and was followed by Gonzaga, Baylor, Creighton, Virginia, Michigan State, Kentucky and KU.
KU 10th-best, ESPN says
Meanwhile, KU is ranked No. 10 in the country by ESPN.com’s Jeff Borzello in his first preseason poll of 2020-21.
“The overwhelming favorites to win the national championship before the NCAA Tournament was canceled, the Jayhawks are unlikely to pick up exactly where they left off next season,” Borzello wrote recently.
“Azubuike has seen his dominant days in Lawrence come to an end, while Dotson could enter the NBA draft. Isaiah Moss also is gone. Self will need to find a point guard to replace Dotson if he leaves, with redshirt freshman Dajuan Harris and three-star freshman Latrell Jossell the only true point guards on the roster.
“Garrett and Agbaji are back as starters, while Braun and McCormack should be ready for bigger roles. The two newcomers to watch are five-star guard Thompson and highly touted junior college transfer Grant-Foster. Both will be counted on to score right away,” added Borzello.
Villanova also is ESPN.com’s top-rated team, followed by Creighton, Gonzaga, Baylor, Kentucky, Duke, Iowa, Virginia, Michigan State and KU.
USA Today has KU 13th
USAtoday.com’s Scott Gleeson has KU ranked 13th in his current preseason top 25 poll.
“Self will lose Azubuike to graduation and Dotson to the NBA from one of his best teams ever. But he brings back some talented glue players ready to rise into more prominent roles like Garrett, Agbaji and big man McCormack. Five-star freshman Thompson and junior college transfer Grant-Foster will be lightning rod newcomers,” Gleeson wrote recently.
He has Gonzaga at No. 1, followed by Baylor, Virginia, Kentucky, Creighton, Duke, Iowa, Wisconsin, Florida State and Texas Tech. Oregon and Villanova also are ahead of KU at Nos. 11 and 12.
KU rated 10th by Parrish
CBSsports.com’s Gary Parrish has KU at No. 10 overall in 2020-21.
“Dotson is a borderline first-round pick who could decide to return to college, but most seem to believe he’s likely to leave. This ranking reflects that,” Parrish wrote. “So the Jayhawks will probably be without the top two scorers from a team that would’ve been the overall No. 1 seed in the 2020 NCAA Tournament. But the arrival of 5-star guard Thompson, combined with an experienced core of Agbaji, Garrett, McCormack and Braun, will provide Self with enough to compete for yet another Big 12 title.”
Parrish has the Zags No. 1, followed by Kentucky, Creighton, Baylor, Nova, Duke, Virginia, Houston and Iowa.
Jayhawks No. 9 by 247sports.com
Kevin Flaherty of 247sports.com goes with a preseason top ten of Gonzaga, Virginia, Kentucky, Baylor, Florida State, Villanova, Duke, Creighton, KU and Iowa.
“The Jayhawks should be led by second-team all-Big 12 pick Garrett’s move to point guard, alongside starter Agbaji and big man McCormack,” Flaherty wrote. “How quickly five-star freshman Thompson and elite JUCO talent Grant-Foster find their stride will tell part of the story, though probably not as much as how much second-year players Braun, Enaruna and Wilson develop. Kansas should be in the market for a stretch four as well.”
Yahoo says KU 9th best
Yahoo Sports’ Krysten Peek has tabbed KU No. 9 in her first preseason poll.
“Kansas was the favorite to win the national championship this year and will be losing the point guard and forward tandem of Dotson and Azubuike. Each season, Self finds a way to get the best out of his players and next year Kansas will be adding five-star guard Thompson,” Peek wrote.
Her top 10 consists of Villanova, Gonzaga, Baylor, Creighton, Duke, Virginia, Kentucky, Iowa, KU and Tennessee.
NY Post chimes in: KU 12th
Zach Braziller of the New York Post has Kansas No. 12 in his first poll of the preseason.
“Nobody has more perimeter depth than Kansas, thanks to the addition of five-star freshman Thompson and junior college star Grant-Foster, allowing Self to play small with four guards,” Braziller wrote. “The questions, though, are whether Garrett can run the point and who replaces double-double machine Azubuike’s production in the paint.”
Kentucky lands the No. 1 ranking of the Post, followed by Gonzaga, Baylor, Creighton, Florida State, Villanova, Virginia, Duke, Iowa, Texas Tech, San Diego State and KU.
This story was originally published March 31, 2020 at 6:20 PM with the headline "How will KU basketball rate entering 2020-21 season? Polls suggest top 10 team."
