The Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball team starts the season on Nov. 11, and expectations haven’t been higher since they opened the year ranked No. 1 in 2009-10. Bringing back a healthy mix of veterans and talented newcomers, Bill Self’s team is set for another deep run in the NCAA tournament.

Returning backcourt mates senior Frank Mason and junior Devonte Graham provide one of the best in the country, and possibly the best in the Big 12, with the only real competition being Oklahoma State’s Jawan Evans and Phil Forte.

Senior forward Landen Lucas anchors the post for Self after a strong second half last season. Joining him in the projected starting lineup is sophomore power forward Carlton Bragg. After a season of little use (8.9 minutes per game), Bragg is set for a breakout season, filling Perry Ellis’ big shoes.  

Perhaps the most important piece of this year’s team, however, is 6-7 freshman wing Josh Jackson. Coming in as the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit, he figures to be an upgrade from Wayne Selden Jr., who left a year early for the draft. With impressive handles, athleticism, passing and rebounding, Jackson figures to be a complete package. The main question mark with him is his shooting, although his coaches and teammates say that he has gotten significantly better from his senior year of high school.

Kansas’s biggest strength this season may well be the depth of the backcourt. With the three starters: Mason, Graham and Jackson, few teams in the nation can compete, but the reserves are certainly no pushovers.
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (Svi) and Lagerald Vick can both play the 2 or the 3 with ease, and Svi has some potential to play anywhere from the 1 to 4. During a strong summer this year, playing for the Ukraine National team, Svi was often tasked with playing point, impressive given his 6-8 frame. Vick provides valuable shooting and athleticism off the bench, shooting 47.1 percent from the three (although the small sample size, 8-14, renders that mostly meaningless), Vick can space the floor for the team’s bigs to work, or other guards to slash to the basket.

Other key reserves include forward Dwight Coleby and freshman forward Mitch Lightfoot and freshman center Udoka Azubuike. Coleby is a junior transfer from Ole Miss, who can provide solid rebounding and defense. Lightfoot figures to be more of a project, and will mostly be used for energy this year.

Azubuike is this team’s biggest mystery, as he has incredible size and athleticism at 7 feet and down to 275 lbs after coming to the team at 300 lbs. Recently turning 17 however, he is still raw and prone to fouling, with developing footwork and offensive moves other than dunks.

With the 13th consecutive Big 12 title on the line, as well as Kansas’ first Final Four since 2012, the expectations are sky-high. The USA Today coaches poll has KU ranked No. 2 in the nation, behind only Duke. The coaches poll in the Big 12 unanimously picked Kansas to win the league.

The Jayhawks’ first exhibition game starts 7pm on Tuesday Nov. 1 against Washburn and with games against Indiana (ranked 12th) and Duke to start the season, the pressure is on from the beginning, and it isn’t going to let up. With an always-competitive Big 12 and another non conference game against Kentucky in the SEC-Big12 mashup, Self’s team has their work cut out for them.