Kansas Jayhawks Full Season Player Ratings
Well, today you get no theme to the ratings, but rather a season long retrospective, rating the players after a forty game regular and post season. The season cumulated in three titles, including the biggest of them all, so please excuse me if these player ratings are nicer than maybe they would've been if KU would've seen some misfortune in the NCAA Tournament. I'm still on cloud nine.
5 Stars:
Ochai Agbaji. What a season the senior from Kansas City had. He was the Big XII Player of the Year, a Wooden finalist, and the MOP of the Final Four. Ochai averaged 18.8 over the course of the season and shot over 40% from three from the season. This still happened even though he went through a mini slump at the end of the year and in the first rounds of the tournament. You couldn't have asked for more from a man who is now one of the most accomplished players in the history of Kansas basketball.
4.5 Stars:
Christian Braun will go down as one of the greatest smack talkers in the history of KU basketball and perhaps he should be elevated to a five star simply for his "gift of gab." In actuality what is keeping Christian from a five star is his three point shooting. He shot almost 39% but he passed up on too many good looks over the season. Imagine what his 14.4 PPG would look like if he had taken some of those shots. I'm still very impressed with his rebounding too. Let's call him a 4.75 stars guy.
Many people have given David McCormack a lot of grief over his four years at KU. Much of that criticism is justified, but man oh man, did Big Dave ever silence those critics in the championship game. Those baskets to finish off UNC were 1) pure determination and 2) pure class. He finished the year at 10.6 PPG and 7.0 rebounds per contest, but who cares if those numbers were a little low? National Championships speak louder around here.
It's not about the final stats with Dajuan Harris, unless you realize that the pint sized guard from Columbia, Missouri led the team in both assists and steals per game at 4.2 and 1.5 respectively. Then maybe it is about stats after all because there are several games that Kansas doesn't win unless Harris turns up the heat defensively, the most notable of course is the championship game against North Carolina.
4 Stars:
Jalen Wilson's first half of the season and Jalen Wilson's second half of the season couldn't have been more different. With a suspension and a slow start, many Kansas fans questioned his value. We wasn't a starter and looked disengaged. Then, a switch was flipped. Jalen became a rebounding sensation (and wound up leading the team in rebounding at 7.4 boards per game) and also started to score. He finished with 11.1 PPG and that will only improve next year (if he returns) if that three point percentage goes up from his woeful 26.3%. And like so many others, he was crucial in the title run.
Speaking of crucial, there was no one more important to Kansas hoisting the trophy than Remy Martin. I don't care that he was hurt for most of the season. All I care about is how he ended the season and Remy was a phenomenon. The swag and poise he showed in the tournament was something to behold. He took a team on his shoulders when he knew they needed to be carried. And those threes he nailed in the win against UNC? Goosebumps.
3.5 Stars
Mitch Lightfoot did what you'd expect an old man to do. He dispensed wisdom, he blocked shots, he made incredibly awesome meme like gestures when his younger teammates did something outrageous, and he developed a pretty nice jump hook shot. Final line in Mitch's final season: 4.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 0.9 BPG, one national title.
Jalen Coleman-Lands is one half star ahead of the rest of the guys. He was more of a threat, and honestly, I thought he could've been used a lot more during the regular season. I mean, he made 44.8% of his three point attempts.
3 Stars:
The rest of the team is here as I don't think there was enough of a sample size to warrant further scrutiny and with most of these guys, I am really excited to see what the future holds for them.
KJ Adams leads the line here. Mr. energy was utilized many times (some to great success, others no little or no success) but never was he used more perfectly than at the end of the first half against Miami. Was that the most important block of the season? Yes, yes it was.
Will Joseph Yesufu get a chance to show the KU faithful what he can do next season? Let's hope so because in some nice spurts, Joe looked like the real deal.
I have no doubt that Zach Clemence will be a stud for KU in the years to come. And I also have no doubt that the freshman learned a few handy tricks from McCormack and Lightfoot. I am also very excited to have a big that can step out and nail threes.
No Rating:
Bobby Pettiford season was cut short due to injury but Bill Self really likes him so I expect him to shine in a KU uniform next season.
Shout out to Chris Teahan and Michael Jankovich. They are national champions too.
