So, the Kansas men’s basketball team will be without Melvin Council for the next month or two because of a broken bone in his right foot.
That certainly changes things. But hear me out when I tell you it might not be for the worse.
KU coach Bill Self said Council, who will have surgery this week, is expected to make a full recovery and hopes to be back by the start of Big 12 Conference play.
KU’s Big 12 opener is slated for Jan. 2 vs. West Virginia at Allen Fieldhouse and that gives the Jayhawks 53 days to figure out how to play without Council.
If they’re successful in doing so, the Jayhawks could be in an incredible position when Council returns.
Meet Melvin Council Jr., Mr. Sixth Man.
A near lock for the starting lineup when he announced his return to KU following a legal injunction that paved the way for one more season of eligibility, Council said at the time he came back that he was open to coming off the bench if KU needed him to do that, adding that he was just happy to be back and wanted to do whatever he could to help the team win.
A lot of guys say things like that, thinking it’s the right thing to say or makes them look good. And maybe Council was doing it for those reasons, too. But he's a pretty genuine dude at his core, and I believe that his top priority is winning. So, it's entirely possible that he would be fine with that upon returning to action after the foot heals.
With Council out until January, Self is going to have to start someone in his place and that opens the door for Council to handle a drastically different, but just as important, role when he returns – one that could help the Jayhawks win big.
Possible January rotation
PG: Taylen Kinney – Melvin Council Jr.
2G: Leroy Blyden Jr. – Dennis Parker Jr.
3G: Tre White – Trent Perry
4: Tyran Stokes – Keanu Dawes
5: Trey Kaufman-Renn – Christian Reeves
NBA teams pay big money and put major value on that second point guard on the roster, a guy who can come in and run the second unit as both a scorer and a leader.
Obviously, as a lead guard who played 30+ minutes per game last season, Council is more than capable of being that for these Jayhawks. And if he’s willing to do it, that could help solidify KU’s rotation in a number of different ways.
In the end, the minutes would wind up being about the same, especially if Self is able to use a little more of his rotation than he normally has, as he has said he’d like to do.
So, this is more about role and when the minutes come than it is how many minutes guys are playing.
You have to assume that either Leroy Blyden Jr. (most likely) or Keanu Dawes (definitely possible) will slide into the starting lineup with Council out, and that their minutes, along with Dennis Parker Jr.’s, will go up a bit.
In all, it’ll be 12 games, starting with Tuesday night’s tilt against No. 24 Kentucky at the Champions Classic in Chicago, that the Jayhawks will play without Council. And one of the biggest questions surrounding his return will be how the Jayhawks fold him back into the mix.
He’s obviously talented enough and experienced enough to just jump back into his starting spot. But, what if that’s not what’s best for the rest of the rotation?
What if Blyden grows a ton and finds his footing in the next 12 games? What if Dawes, a veteran in his own right, finds his leadership groove during the time Council is sidelined?
This team is going to form in ways that it would not have been able to — good or bad — with Council in the lineup, so figuring out how to slide him back into the mix will be about way more than just what it means for him.
And that’s why the idea of him as the leader of the Jayhawks’ second unit could really work.
It would allow Blyden and Dawes to continue in their roles as they exist throughout November and December, while the rest of the first six guys in the rotation maintain their own continuity.
And it would give the Jayhawks both some scoring punch and some serious experience — not to mention elite personality and energy — coming off of the bench in Council.
Provided he heals well and can return to action in good shape, it’s almost like adding yet another impact player midway through the season.
That's not a bad luxury to have, and this, at least in my eyes, might be the best/easiest way to keep everyone comfortable while welcoming him back.
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