Should Jamari McDowell Remain in the Kansas Basketball Rotation?

Since Darryn Peterson went down with a hamstring injury, several Kansas basketball players have needed to step up in his absence. On Wednesday, Elmarko Jackson spearheaded a comeback victory over Tennessee after a rough start to the season.

Others have also contributed in unexpected ways. However, one player who has seen the biggest increase in minutes since Peterson went down has been redshirt sophomore Jamari McDowell.

The 6-foot-4 guard from Houston, Texas, was never expected to play a significant role on this year's team. Through the first few games of the season, he was nothing more than a reserve piece who came in against tune-up opponents in blowouts, but that has changed since the Players Era Tournament began.

He played a season-high 18 minutes against Notre Dame on Monday and followed it up with his first two collegiate starts versus Syracuse and Tennessee. He logged 34 and 28 minutes in those contests — the two highest marks of his career — and averaged 8.0 points while knocking down four 3-pointers.

While there have been times McDowell looks lost on the court, he built up his confidence in the tournament earlier this week. With Peterson's return looming, that has led to questions of whether McDowell will remain a mainstay in the rotation or fall back into a bench role once the star freshman returns.

Making a Case for Jamari McDowell's Minutes

Something McDowell offers that many other Jayhawks don't is 3-point volume. Granted, he only shot 28.1% as a freshman, but he has since gained invaluable experience under Bill Self and is now shooting near 40% at 38.9%.

McDowell had some big makes from deep this week, particularly a three at the top of the key in the second half that gave the Jayhawks a five-point lead over Tennessee. He has a smooth shooting stroke and is tall enough to play the role of a 3-and-D wing.

He put in the work all offseason and even volunteered to redshirt last year since he knew he wouldn't play a major role. Fans expected something similar again, but injuries to Peterson and Jayden Dawson, as well as shooting struggles from other Jayhawks like Kohl Rosario (28.1%) and Melvin Council Jr. (16.7%), have given McDowell an opportunity to plead his case.

In the chances he did get, he was pretty convincing. He helped space the floor and played well in an off-ball role by keeping the defense honest and forcing them to cover him.

Granted, McDowell's percentages will eventually even out, so it is difficult to say where his percentage will be once his number of attempts increases. However, if he continues shooting anywhere near that clip, it would be hard to completely remove him from the lineup.

He is one of only two players who have spent three or more years with the program and he brings defensive upside in addition to shooting. McDowell certainly won't be playing 30 minutes a night when Dawson and Peterson return, but there is a strong chance he plays upward of 10 minutes minimum if he continues knocking them down from deep.