Could the Addition of Tre White Force Kansas to Run a Small-Ball Lineup?

The Kansas basketball program received an unexpected boost when Tre White revealed he'd be returning to the Jayhawks for a fifth season. A court order in a Monroe County, Indiana, lawsuit granted White and 89 other plaintiffs a preliminary injunction to compete in the upcoming campaign.

It goes without saying that White's return significantly improves this KU team. He was excellent in his lone season in Lawrence and now has another year of experience under his belt as one of the Big 12's premier wings.

However, as we've written about several times at Kansas on SI, bringing White on board this late in the offseason creates an unusual scenario for Bill Self. He should be a plug-and-play starter, which inevitably pushes another Jayhawk out of the opening five.

Which player will that be? Either Taylen Kinney or Leroy Blyden Jr. could fall victim to this, but there's another possibility that many fans aren't considering. What if the Jayhawks used Keanu Dawes as a small-ball five and opted against having a traditional center in the starting lineup?

He’s back. pic.twitter.com/YkDMttEc3S
— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) September 25, 2026

Kansas Can Run Small Ball With Tre White

All offseason long, KU fans have wondered who the team's starting center would be. The options came down to returning junior Paul Mbiya or Charleston transfer Christian Reeves, both of whom were questionable choices in the first place.

Instead of utilizing a big man who doesn't offer much offensively and slows down the pace, is this KU roster talented enough to play small ball while using Mbiya and Reeves as nothing more than depth pieces?

The biggest concern with pairing White with a traditional big is having too few players capable of creating with the ball. Assuming White, Dawes, and Tyran Stokes are staples in the starting five, that would leave one of the guards on the outside looking in, forcing Stokes to handle more point guard duties than initially anticipated when he committed.

It's fair to question the spacing in a projected lineup with a 7-footer and two off-ball forwards in White and Dawes. KU's offensive metrics have already been subpar in recent years, and that was one of the things the program wanted to correct this offseason. That's why slotting Dawes in at center is something to really watch.

Mar 10, 2026; Kansas City, MO, USA; Utah Utes forward Keanu Dawes (8) rebounds during the first half against the Cincinnati Bearcats at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

To pull something like this off and actually make it work, the Jayhawks would need a faux big man who can make up for the rebounding limitations. In this case, that would be Dawes, who averaged 8.8 boards per game at Utah this past season.

Standing 6-foot-9 and weighing 225 pounds, he's certainly strong enough to match up with some centers, though he'd give up plenty of height against true seven-footers.

White is more of a hybrid forward/wing, but he can get after it on the defensive glass as well. He averaged a career-high 6.7 boards this past season and was especially effective on the offensive glass, pulling down 1.9 offensive rebounds per night.

Self and his coaching staff haven't tried something like this since starting KJ Adams at center for a full season in 2022-23. Though the Jayhawks didn't have any postseason success to show for it, they won the Big 12 regular-season title and 28 games, all while their starting center averaged just 4.3 boards per game.

Whether Kansas would test this out depends solely on its trust in Dawes to anchor the paint. He has been an excellent rebounder in years past, ranking in the 98th percentile in defensive rebounding rate last year, but this group would be sacrificing plenty defensively because of his lack of rim protection (0.4 career blocks per game). That may not be something KU is willing to commit to outside of short spurts.

In all likelihood, one of Mbiya or Reeves will start at center to open the season. Self could still give the small-ball rotation a shot, but history suggests it shouldn't be viewed as a long-term fix.

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