If you went into Friday’s Late Night exhibition game against Pittsburg State looking for some kind of definitive read on the 2026-27 Kansas basketball team, you may have come away disappointed.
Not because there wasn’t talent or flashes of big-time basketball being played. Instead, because not even KU coach Bill Self was all that interested in getting any kind of final answers about this group.
“We tried to play (13 guys) equal minutes,” Self noted after the 80-62 KU victory over the Division II Gorillas coached by former Jayhawk great Jeff Boschee. “So, that's not going to happen. That number is going to go to 10. But I do think that there were times we looked pretty good.”
Most of that came in the first half, when Kansas pushed past a strong start by Pitt State to lead 47-30 at the break. Self said he thought the first 17 or so minutes of the game featured KU looking pretty good and, perhaps more importantly, pretty athletic.
That was, in large part, because they played fast, with freshmen Taylen Kinney and Tyran Stokes, and veteran point guard Melvin Council Jr. pushing the tempo every chance they got.
In all, 12 Jayhawks played between 12 and 21 minutes on Friday night, with freshman Davion Adkins being the 13th player to get close to that, at 8 minutes.
No place like it. pic.twitter.com/s1fNJBWDqC
— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) October 17, 2026
It’s still a bit too early to say that some guys are in and some guys are out, though the writing does appear to be on the wall for a few of them. That doesn’t mean those guys, whoever they may be, can’t help this team. There are several ways they can — and will — and the beauty of having good depth, which Self on Friday night called “a good problem to have,” is the fact that you’ve got insurance in case of injury or unforeseen circumstances.
So, give this team a few more practices and next week’s exhibition tests against much tougher competition in Louisville (Wednesday night) and Duke (Sunday) — both at Allen Fieldhouse — and then you can start making your more concrete takes on who should play, who shouldn’t and what the lineup and rotation should look like.
For now, though, in the interest of drilling down on that a little bit, here’s a quick look at the shape KU is in at its five positions after an admittedly small sample size of one practice a week ago and one exhibition game against a Division II team.
We’ll rank the positions in order of healthiest to most questions and keep in brief since this could all change quickly and possibly two or three times before the season opens for real two weeks from this Monday night against Fordham and Allen Fieldhouse.
Healthiest position... The 4
KU has four players who could legitimately play big minutes at this position and each of them brings something a little different to the floor. Tyran Stokes is a monster who can do whatever he wants and play all 5 positions. But because he’s 6-8, 240 pounds, he can hang and bang at the 4 if needed. Keanu Dawes has the length, size and experience to do it. And Tre White, though not a prototypical, is certainly more than capable of being a nasty stretch 4 option in a small lineup or with a legit big man at the 5. And then you’ve got true freshman Davion Adkins, who showed me a little more in his 8 minutes on Friday night than I expected to see. Self has said he’s a backup at one of the big spots, so he’s not going to get big minutes. But Self has also said that he might be this team’s best pro prospect and seeing him play live, using his length, athleticism and instincts, made me think he could play more than I initially expected. If he has to, that might not be great news for this KU team. But if he’s their fourth option here, that’s pretty salty.
Next best... Point guard
This spot comes in at No. 2 on this list for a couple of reasons — Taylen Kinney and Melvin Council Jr. both have the potential to be elite lead guards and Leroy Blyden Jr., if needed, could fill in as a primary ball handler. There figure to be plenty of times when TK and Council are out there together. Heck, that may be two-fifths of KU’s starting lineup. And you all know how Self has always felt about playing multiple point guards in his best lineups. He loves it. And these two give him teh option to do just that. In those instances when he wants to — or perhaps even needs to — have some other guys on the floor, the fact that these two can spell each other merely makes it an even bigger edge for the Jayhawks.
After that... The 3
Part of the reason this position landed where it did in these crude rankings is because of the number of players on this roster who have the versatility to play the 3 in a lot of different lineups. Stokes can do it. White can do it. Kohl Rosario and Dennis Parker Jr. can do it. So, too, could Council, Kinney or even freshman shooter Luke Barnett, who looked good with his shots on Friday night simply because he did not hesitate to take them. Freshman wing Trent Perry’s also an option here at the 3, though he’s more likely to be utilized as a defensive stopper or effort & energy guy, which means it could be tough for him, Rosario and Parker to all get real minutes. Still, all of them can play this position and the possibilities for who and what to plug into the 3 are endless because this roster has such versatility.
And then... Shooting guard
The Jayhawks shot just 7-for-30 from 3-point range on Friday night, bringing at least a yellow light into the picture about this team’s outside shooting. White said after the game that he thinks this team can and will be one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country this season and Self’s words about Kinney and Blyden were rather encouraging in that he said neither one was very good on Friday and they’ve both been “great” in practice of late. So, there are plenty of options here, too. And at least one of those potentially elite point guard options is likely to start in this spot for much of the season. So that helps. But are TK and Council actually shooting guards? Not exactly. So that means the onus falls more on Barnett and Blyden to be that, at least in the true sense of the position, and that makes things a little thin rather quickly. Rosario’s a potential option here, too, but he’ll have to show he can consistently make shots to get these minutes.
Position with the muddiest outlook... The 5
Self said that newcomer Christian Reeves was the best player in the game on Friday night and his numbers and play certainly backed that up – 14 points and 10 boards in 12 minutes to go along with 4 blocks. He looked the part. He played hard and with purpose. And he looked like he fit with pretty much any group of four on the floor. Here’s the problem. There wasn’t a ton that looked good behind him. I know Paul Mbiya has become a bit of a fan favorite, but he’s still got a ways to go the way I see it. And while tehre was some talk of Dawes or even Stokes or White playing the 5 in a small-ball lineup, I’m not sure that’s what will be in KU’s best interest. I think they need Reeves. I think they need him to (a) stay healthy and (b) play big. And if he can do the first part, there’s zero doubt in my mind that he’s wired to do the second part. I just can’t help but wonder what this spot might look like if he can’t go for one reason or another. That’s why it landed at the bottom of this list because, unlike the other positions, which appear to be loaded with options, this one seems much more cut and dry.
