Nick Timberlake seeks better production in TBT than in his one season at Kansas
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Nick Timberlake aims for stronger TBT showing after modest Kansas season
- Timberlake led UK pro team in scoring, returns to KU alumni squad for TBT
- JHX Hoops opens TBT play Saturday; Timberlake highlights team chemistry
Nick Timberlake understands what’s needed of him in the Kansas alumni squad’s basketball games during the $1 million winner-take-all TBT.
“Definitely the 3-ball for sure. Space the floor out, make it work,” said Timberlake, a 6-foot-4, 26-year-old guard who led Cheshire Phoenix, a pro team in England, in scoring during the 2024-25 (16.6 points per game).
The Boston native, who played a super-senior season at KU in 2023-24 after five seasons at Towson, hit one 3-pointer en route to 12 points during the KU alums’ 78-72 victory over Kansas State in a TBT tune-up exhibition Thursday night at UMKC’s Swinney Center.
Timberlake — he scored five of KU’s eight points in the Elam Ending that concluded the game — is hoping to find his stroke in a KU alumni jersey during Saturday’s TBT opener against New York’s OffDaHook. Tipoff is 3 p.m. at Municipal Auditorium.
The TBT is a 64-team single-elimination tournament. Former KU guard Tyshawn Thompson is general manager (and a player) for the Jayhawks’ entry, dubbed JHX Hoops.
“Tyshawn hit me up and was like, ‘Hey you’re welcome if you want to come back and play,’” Timberlake said. “I was, ‘Sure, why not?’ I mean, I get to to come out here, see all the fans again, right?
“I get to put on a jersey and hopefully have a better showing than I did in my first year here.”
Timberlake played just one season in Lawrence, averaging 5.2 points per game on 38.3% shooting in 2023-24. That season’s Jayhawks went 23-11 and lost to Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Timberlake hit 30 of his 99 three-point attempts (30.3%) that year. In his final season at Towson, he averaged 17.7 points on 41.6% shooting. He made 92 of 221 three-point attempts (41.6%).
In England, during his first year as a pro, he hit 36.4% of his 3s.
Aside from not making a major impact on the court with KU — he averaged 15.4 minutes a game in 34 games (eight starts) in his sole season under coach Bill Self — Timberlake thoroughly enjoyed his Jayhawk experience.
And he said he’s having fun playing for JHX Hoops.
“I tell everyone that I don’t regret coming here at all,” Timberlake said of spending a year at KU. “I think it was one of the best decisions that I’ve made. I mean, I’m back here in Lawrence right now.
“I’ve made connections for a lifetime. The other day I was talking to KJ (Adams), and I was here for a year and it’s amazing just that all the older guys still know who the young guys are and everything. And they’re very welcoming. So that part’s been awesome.”
Timberlake said he wants to do more in the TBT than make up for his somewhat disappointing season in Lawrence.
“Internally that’s definitely one of the things, for sure,” he said. “But no, just playing with guys that weren’t a part of the team when I was here. ... I mean, I’m the only kid from my (KU) team that’s here; every teammate I have right now is brand new, so I’m looking forward to that.”
JHX coach Sherron Collins said Timberlake “is going to shoot it. He can shoot it. A lot of people keep forgetting how good of an athlete Nick is. He’ll dunk on you, too. We’ll keep that under wraps, though.”
Timberlake showed his athleticism Thursday evening by catching a lob from former KU guard Zeke Mayo and dunking in the third quarter.
Scrimmage highlights
No stats were kept at Thursday’s scrimmage, called the Wheat State Summer Showdown. … K-State’s team, which goes by the name Purple Reign, defeated KU 68-52 in last year’s TBT tune-up. … Former KSU great Jacob Pullen hit a 3-point in the first quarter and one in the fourth period. …. Dominique Sutton, Austin Trice and Cartier Diarra had forceful slam-dunks for the Wildcats. … Former KU forward Cam Martin played for the Wildcats’ alumni team. He scored two points. …Purple Reign will open TBT play against Shine in a 1 p.m. tipoff on Saturday at Municipal. …Former KU forward Billy Preston scored 16 points, while Mayo had 12, Lagerald Vick 12, Jamari Traylor nine on Thursday. … Washburn guard Jacob Hanna played in the fourth quarter for KU, scoring four points. … Taylor, the team’s general manager, also played and scored two points. ... Former KU forward Cliff Alexander scored seven points.
This story was originally published July 18, 2025 at 6:30 AM with the headline "Nick Timberlake seeks better production in TBT than in his one season at Kansas."
