kansascity
In an 80-62 exhibition victory over Pittsburg State on Friday night at Allen Fieldhouse, twelve Kansas Jayhawks saw at least 12 minutes of action, with a thirteenth, freshman Davion Adkins, logging eight minutes. Seniors Melvin Council Jr. and freshman Taylen Kinney each played a team-high 21 minutes, highlighting the depth of the Jayhawks' roster against the Division II Gorillas.
KU coach Bill Self smiled afterward when discussing his approach. "You know what I was looking at?" Self said. "How do we keep minutes fairly equal so we have less mad parents and agents tomorrow morning? So that was probably more of a concern than anything else."
Regarding his planned rotation for the upcoming 2026-27 season, Self added: "We'll figure out who our best 10 are and play our best 10. But tonight I wanted to give everybody an opportunity to do that. It's a good problem to have."
Key Analysis
Self noted that scouts have told him depth is now the norm across college basketball. "The best teams in the country, based on what all the scouts who have been in and have told me — they said, 'Everybody's deep. Everybody's ninth and 10th man are now not freshmen,'" Self said. "So it's nice to have some of that, not depth, but some experienced depth. I think it'll pay off."
Of all the players who took the floor, Self said only senior center Christian Reeves deserved an A. "I don't think anybody other than Christian — I would say individually — had a good night," Self said. "He was actually better (than at practice). Tonight he had both hands above his head, getting hit and not being nervous of hurting himself. Tonight was the best he's looked."
The 7-foot-2, 260-pound transfer from Charleston made an early impact, scoring 10 points with seven rebounds and three blocks in the first 13 minutes of game time, which came during eight minutes of playing time. He finished with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting, 10 rebounds and four blocks in 12 minutes. "I thought he was our best player," Self said. "I just didn't want to put him in (the second half) just because he hadn't been out there. And after he got tight, probably after he started the second half, I thought his night was good enough." Reeves only recently returned to full scrimmaging after offseason shoulder surgery.
KU senior Tre White scored 16 points with eight rebounds in 18 minutes, hitting four 3-pointers. "He looks like he's a couple years older out there. I think he looked great," Self said of the 23-year-old, who was one of the Miami Heat's best players in the 2025 summer league before winning a courtroom battle against the NCAA for another year of eligibility at KU.
Self contrasted White with 24-year-old Melvin Council Jr., who had four points, four rebounds and three assists in 21 minutes. "Now, Melvin didn't (look older)," Self said. "Melvin hasn't been playing (prior to reporting to KU while White had been with the Heat). He's been in the gym shooting on his own and that stuff. So that's why I wanted to play him more just so he could get a feel for playing because he hasn't had the opportunity to be with the Heat and getting all those reps."
Freshman guard Tyran Stokes scored 14 points with four rebounds in 17 minutes, shooting 4-of-9 overall and 0-for-2 from 3-point range. KU shot 7 of 30 from beyond the arc, while Pittsburg State was 5 of 22. "Average," Self said of Stokes' performance.
Fellow freshman guard Taylen Kinney had six points on 2-of-7 shooting with three assists in 21 minutes. "He was fine, but I don't think he was anything other than just OK, just like most of our guys were," Self said. "He's a good player but didn't really make shots."
Toledo transfer Leroy Blyden scored six points on 3-of-9 shooting (0-for-3 from deep), while Luke Barnett hit his first 3-pointer then missed five straight, finishing with five points in 12 minutes. "Leroy had a rough night. He's been great," Self said. "TK's numbers weren't anything tonight, but he's been great. Luke has shot the heck out of it and he couldn't buy one tonight. I think it'll be real interesting to see — our guys aren't scoring yet, so the way they can help the team is screening and rebounding and who can become really efficient at that."
Keanu Dawes had eight rebounds and one point in 16 minutes; Dennis Parker scored four points on 2-of-7 shooting in 15 minutes; Davion Adkins had four points in eight minutes; and Paul Mbiya contributed six points and three blocks in 21 minutes. Kohl Rosario and Trent Perry did not score in 13 and 12 minutes, respectively, with Rosario going 0-for-2 from 3-point range.
KU's second half, in which the Jayhawks outscored Pitt State by just one point, 33-32, left Self in a sour mood. "That second half — I won't need to take any Tylenol PM tonight. All I have to do is turn that tape on," the coach said. "So second half wasn't any good."
Kansas next faces Louisville in an exhibition game at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Allen Fieldhouse.
Originally reported by kansascity.