Kansas Center Christian Reeves Might Be Ahead of Injury Recovery Timeline

While the Kansas basketball program is still searching for another big man to enhance its frontcourt rotation, Bill Self's most significant move at the center position this offseason was adding Charleston transfer Christian Reeves this past April. The 7-foot-2, 255-pound specimen previously spent time at Duke and Clemson before breaking out at the College of Charleston.

During the 2025-26 season, he averaged 11.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks on 65.4% shooting. Although these were, without question, the best numbers of Reeves' career, he posted them while playing through a shoulder injury.

Shortly after pledging to KU, Reeves underwent a procedure on his labrum so he could be fully healthy for the upcoming campaign.

Although Self has maintained an optimistic tone when discussing Reeves' shoulder throughout the offseason, there were still questions about whether he'd be ready for the first game of the season. He initially said that Reeves could be cleared for contact as early as Oct. 1, but his most recent comments about the timeline were more vague.

Reeves may not be participating in live 5-on-5 drills with his teammates yet, but a new practice video shows him further along in his recovery than fans may have expected. In a short video posted by the KU Hoops X account yesterday afternoon, Reeves can be seen dunking the ball with authority twice around the 25 and 35-second marks of the clip.

Back to business 🤝 pic.twitter.com/dpELNQFwno
— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) August 25, 2026

In the highlight, Reeves is not wearing a brace or anything that would suggest he is dealing with lingering effects from the injury. He reportedly took off his arm sling in June, so this would appear to be on par with his recovery.

The medical staff is obviously not going to rush him back into full-speed action when there are still over two months until the regular season begins. The Jayhawks' first exhibition comes on Oct. 16 against Pittsburg State, but the end goal is to have Reeves ready to play without restrictions for the opener against Fordham.

Since Reeves has missed so many team activities throughout the summer, it is unclear whether the Jayhawks expect him or returning junior Paul Mbiya to start at the five. The big man tandem will undoubtedly get their fair share of opportunities to prove to Coach Self why they deserve the starting role.

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