KJ Adams undecided on future at Kansas after Gonzaga loss

KJ Adams touched on his future for next season after Kansas lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. The Jayhawks lost 89-68 against Gonzaga to end their season as Adams scored 10 points to go along with six rebounds.

Adams just wrapped up his third season in Lawrence and could come back for another season if he wanted to. Asked about the possibility postgame, however, he revealed he “doesn’t know” what his plans are according to Shreyas Laddha of the Kansas City Star.

You can watch the tournament live on Prime Video, add on your favorite channels and watch at home or on your phone and laptop at work!

Adams had the best season of his career this past season to average 12.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. He was named Honorable Mention All-Big 12 for his performance.

Adams joined Kansas in the 2021-22 season and averaged 4.9 minutes per game on a team that went on to win the national championship. The 6-foot-7 forward took a major leap forward in his sophomore season, increasing his points per game average from 1.0 to 10.6 to claim the Big 12 Most Improved Player Award.

Adams would have the option of entering the 2024 NBA Draft, where he is projected as a potential second-round selection. He could also return to school to improve his draft stock, and the transfer portal is always a possibility as well.

Bill Self after NCAA Tournament exit: ‘For the last month, I’ve been thinking about next season’

It’s been a rough past month for Bill Self and Kansas, which saw its season end Saturday in a second round NCAA Tournament loss to Gonzaga. The Jayhawks suffered several injuries down the stretch and were without leading scorer Kevin McCullar for March Madness.

Other KU players such as Hunter Dickinson, who missed the Big 12 Tournament, played despite being banged up. The Jayhawks managed to at least avoid an upset in the first round and made it a close game against Gonzaga early Saturday, even leading 44-43 at halftime.

However, they ran out of gas in the second half as the Bulldogs got on a roll and never looked back in an 89-68 blowout. Speaking postgame and reflecting on the challenges of the past month of this season, Self gave an honest answer on what his expectations were entering the tournament.

“I think for the last month, I’ve been thinking about next season, to be honest,” he said. “Not in the moments during the game, but obviously, we played — we had eight guys on scholarship and we play — I mean, that were healthy there late. Injuries are part of the game. That’s not an excuse. But we could have done a much better job as a staff of putting more guys out there that we could play. And so that’s something I’ve thought about for a long time.”