Bill Self likes where Kansas currently stands from a roster standpoint

Kansas has been the model of consistent success during Bill Self’s tenure in Lawrence. Now, as the Jayhawks look ahead to ’23-’24, he once again believes that he has the roster to keep that run alive.

Self talked about Kansas’ roster in a media availability last month. He thinks their program has done a good job of acquiring enough players with more than enough talent. Even so, he added that it’s not too crowded in their locker room which could mean bigger roles for everyone and happier players overall.

“I think that, in some situations, you could have too much. In some situations, you could have not enough,” said Self. “If you’re ever going to have one of the two, you want more than not enough.”

“But I actually like where we’re at from a roster standpoint,” Self said. “I like where we’re at because I think everybody could be contest, at least maybe not with the actual number of minutes, but at least in the role they’ll play considering we have less guys on our team.”

If we all had the offseason that Self and Kansas did, we’d be happy too. First, they brought back key contributors in Dajuan Harris Jr., Kevin McCullar, and KJ Adams. Then, after losing plenty of pieces to the NBA Draft and transfer portal, the Jayhawks reloaded with a top-notch portal class with three commitments including the top-prize in Hunter Dickinson as well as Arterio Morris and Nick Timberlake.

Finally, add in a Top-15 recruiting class with Elmarko Jackson and Jamari McDowell and Self is once again cooking with grease.

Kansas has earned a No. 1 seed in each of the past two NCAA Tournament. With this roster, though, Self anticipates even more than a top seed in March. Before it’s all said and done, he could very easily be talking about banners with his third and the fifth in program history.

Self excited to see Dickinson, Harris play together

Bill Self picked up one of the biggest recruiting wins of the offseason with the commitment of top transfer portal prospect Hunter Dickinson. Even so, he says Dickinson is actually the biggest winner of everyone in the matter considering Kansas PG Dajuan Harris will be setting him up from here on out.

Self discussed the chemistry between Dickinson and Harris with media a few weeks back. He said that Dickinson and Harris fit perfectly together as a combination of a scorer and a facilitator. That’s be especially true in the pick & roll. Now, for Dickinson, Self says all that he has to do is have his hands ready.

“I’m excited about it,” Self said. “But I’ll tell you the one that should be most excited about it is Hunter. Because Dajuan will get him some easy baskets.”

“Hunter can really score the ball,” said Self. “He’s an above average shooter from the arc. But where he’ll benefit the most is Dajaun being able to deliver the ball to him on pick & rolls.”

With how they play their games, Self sees a match made in heaven offensively between Dickinson and Harris. That’s why he’s as ready as anyone for the season to get here in order to put that pairing in action against opposing defenses as soon as possible.