Across the Beat: Getting to know Kansas

The matchup that never was in last season’s Final Four will be played some seven months later.

Kansas went on to win last season’s national championship after beating Villanova in the Final Four and overcoming a 16-point first-half deficit in the title game against North Carolina.

Duke and Kansas will meet Tuesday night in Indianapolis as part of the Champions Classic—these bluebloods’ first meeting since this event in 2019, when Duke won 68-66.

To get to know more about the Jayhawks, we’ve enlisted the help of Shay Wildeboor, editor of Jayhawk Slant on the Rivals network.

Here is our four-part Q&A:

1. If I’m reading things correctly, two starters are back from last year’s national championship team — but otherwise there are a lot of new contributors. How has this team come together to this point?

Christian Braun, Remy Martin, Chris Teahan, Ochai Agbaji, David McCormack, Mitch Lightfoot and Jalen Coleman-Lands are gone from last year’s team.

Guard Dajuan Harris and forward Jalen Wilson are returning starters, while Kevin McCullar Jr. (Texas Tech transfer), Gradey Dick (freshman) and KJ Adams (sophomore) round out the starting five.

Bobby Pettiford, Jr., Joseph Yesufu, Kyle Cuffe, Jr., Zach Clemence and Cam Martin gained varying levels of experience a season ago, while freshmen MJ Rice, Ernest Udeh, Jr., and Zuby Ejiofor are expected to battle for serious minutes this season.

Bill Self requires his players to attend summer school, so the guys spend a lot of time together in Lawrence this summer. They worked out individually and as a group. The one thing about this team, it’s a very close group and they truly do enjoy spending time with each other.

2. Duke saw Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar Jr. in the Sweet 16 last year and is familiar with how versatile he is. What has been his impact so far?

From the moment McCullar stepped foot in Lawrence, he made it perfectly clear that becoming a more consistent shooter from behind the arc was his highest priority. During his time at Texas Tech, 78 games, the 6-6, 210-pound guard from San Antonio, Texas, connected on just 43.1% of his field goals and 29.5% of his shots from behind the arc.

After the first two games of his Kansas career, McCullar is averaging 8.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game. However, he’s shooting just 40% from the field and hasn’t hit a shot from behind the arc.

In his mind, there’s no doubt that the shots are eventually going to fall, and McCullar will be given every opportunity to take some big shots this season.

Known as an elite defender, McCullar shot to the top of Bill Self’s priority list the minute his name hit the transfer portal. Self loves everything about his game, especially on the defensive end of the court. Harris, McCullar and Wilson have a chance to create havoc on the defensive side of the court this season.

3. It looks like Kansas has done most of it what wants offensively in its first two games. Have there been particularly strong areas, or has it been balanced?

Right now, three guys are really leading the way for Kansas.

Wilson leads the way with 20 points per game, while Dick is averaging 17.5 points and Rice is averaging 10 points per game.

Obviously, it’s still very early in the season, but the biggest key for Kansas will be finding a big man that can provide a presence in the paint, which will take some pressure of KU’s perimeter players.

Recently, Kansas has been spoiled with the likes of Udoka Azubuike and McCormack, so that’s certainly something to watch this season.

4. What do you see being the key to this game for Kansas?

How will Kansas handle the pressure of playing such a big-time opponent on an extremely big stage?

Really, when looking at KU’s roster, Harris, Wilson and McCullar have played in some big-time college basketball games. I don’t anticipate anything rattling them on Tuesday night.

However, guys like Pettiford, Yesufu, Dick, Rice, Clemence, Udeh, Adams and Ejiofor have little to no experience going up against a squad like Duke. Pettiford appeared in just 14 games last year and was eventually shut down due to an injury.

Yesufu, Clemence and Adams played very few minutes last year, so playing extended minutes against Duke on Tuesday night will be a new experience.