KU ROSTER 2026-27
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With our roster full I put together a wee chart of how I see our lineup playing out in a typical game:
position - starter (minutes) - backup 1 (minutes) -backup 2 (minutes)
1 ----------- Council (28) -------- Kinney (6) ---------- Blyden (6)
2 ------------ Blyden (22) --------Kinney (10) ---------- Stokes (8)
3 ------------- White (20) ------- Rosario (10) ---------Stokes (10)
4------------- Stokes (16) --------- White (12) --------- Dawes (12)
5 ---------- Dawes (20) --------- Mbiya (20)minutes leaders: Stokes (34), Dawes (32), White (32), Council (28), Blyden (28), Mbiya (20), Kinney (16), Rosario (10)
I went with a small starting lineup because that seems to be our most talented group. Plus this would still be a good rebounding team despite being small. I guessed Rosario and Mbiya would beat out Parker Jr, Barnett, and Reeves due to experience in the system, but it would not surprise me if any of those three guys beat someone out to get minutes.
I understand that game scripts will change lineups and minutes. This is just a sample of what I think minute distribution could look like in a typical Big 12 game.
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Ha, I’ve been wanting to discuss the starting lineup for sure, but I’m gonna wait some more until this legal nonsense sorts itself. Who knows what next week will bring…
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Might as well discuss the current as of today team while we can!
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Ha, well what the heck. My this week players in the rotation:
PG Melvin Council Jr. -- backed up by Taylen Kinney
G Leroy Blyden Jr. -- backed up by Kohl Rosario
G/F Tre White -- backed up by Dennis Parker Jr.
G/F Tyran Stokes -- backed up by Keanu Dawes and Davion Adkins
F/C Keanu Dawes -- backed up by Paul Mbyia and Christian Reeves
Of course this lineup could go big, but then somebody would have to hit the pine.
The guy getting hosed the most: Davion Adkins. I wanna see him play lots of backup minutes. Need a bouncy athlete like him learning on the floor. Block some shots and just be an athlete.
The guy getting hosed the second most: Take your pick ... Paul Mbyia or Christian Reeves.
My thoughts, or maybe my hopes:
-- Every excuse i heard about the last few teams included "oh, xxx player was just tired. thats why we lost. Self just wore down his players with too many minutes." So, i'm praying that Self realizes he can't wear players into the ground every year and hope to succeed. IF he plays 10 guys (ha), i think we can be very competitive with the mix of players we have. The drop off between starters and bench guys isn't massive. But, TBD with guys like. Kinney.
-- Kohl: This is the big question mark for me. Has he improved enough to not be a liability on defense? Can he really shoot? He hustles of course, and has the potential with his size to be a defensive troublemaker ... but will his footwork allow him to be? Does he have a decent basketball IQ? TBD this year. hope so!
My fears:
-- Self will once again tighten his rotation to like seven or eight guys. There will be angry dudes causing team locker room issues.
-- Council and White will eventually by ruled ineligible. that will eff up this team beyond belief. And ruin trust between Self and the remaining squad.
-- If we go with the smaller front court lineup, bigger teams will take advantage down low. Dawes is not the ideal C.
-- TBD how Stokes plays or thinks about playing defense. I hope he commits, as Self prefers of course.
-- Somebody (Parker Jr) will leave the team mid season.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 said in KU ROSTER 2026-27:
Peterson was the best player on the team, but he was the one who wasn't a great fit. Peterson is much more of an iso player which is also partly why he chose Kansas so he could expand his game. The cramps and being in and out of the line up in the early season killed his chemistry with everyone else. KU was actually pretty good when Peterson was out because they had chemistry.
I will agree that White and Council shouldn't be KU's leading scorers this season, but White should be either the 2nd or 3rd leading scorer behind Stokes and potentially Dawes. Council at best should the 4th leading scorer.
I'm expecting Self to play a lot of small ball this year with Council, Blyden/Kinney, Stokes, White, and Dawes playing together a lot. Mbiya will provide size, but I don't see him being ready to contribute on offense much yet. Fortunately, we should be done with the 2 big line up so ce KU only has two true post players in Mbiya and Reeves and neither should be on the court together ever.
I concur. Last year isn't really a window into this year's team with Tre and Melvin. It was a disaster to have an iso player like Peterson, especially in and out of lineups and then expect the team to just bounce into operating as a team. If these guys stay healthy this year and can develop a good chemistry, we should reep the real potential they offer. Some of Melvin's stats from last year should improve when he's not counted on to be the guy who has to force many last second shots on the shot clock. I think our post players will mostly offer us a counter to other teams with capable bigs. Hopefully, they'll come along and find ways to earn their weight. I'm fine with going small ball. I always have been, especially with the potential of this team to rebound small. In some ways, this team reminds me of 2022. McCormick was always criticized, but in the end, he was just enough to help us to the promised land.
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@rockchalkjayhawk I agree with this post almost completely... lotta great stuff here and I totally agree with your lineup ideas.
While watching TK in the FIBA U18 in June, to me, he didn't look like he was anywhere near ready top lead the Jayhawks at point guard. I was pulling for him to show the ability to play extremely solid ball and yet he just seemed to lack the size and decision making skills at this point in his career. Not to say he can't develop this year into a force by March. And as you suggest in your post, I hope Self gives him plenty of PT to see if he will progress at a fast rate if he is turned loose at times.
Hoping that one of the bigs steps up and is so good that it makes Coach Self want to play big.
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Trey Kaufman Renn won his injunction case and is currently eligible to play the 2026-27 season. What are the odds he actually ends up in Lawrence and if so, who's KU moving off the active roster? Ot does Self pass on TKR even though he'd be a great addition from a production standpoint.
"Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. -
@Texas-Hawk-10 because tuition has already been paid I don’t think anyone can be moved off the active roster. No longer an option.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 Self sure sounded definite when he said he was done after 15. But if he could, I'm certain he'd love to add Trey. What a roster if we added him.
Maybe he can be a second semester add on, meanwhile practicing with the team if he's living on his NIL.
