What Bill Self has learned about the transfer portal, and what it means for Kansas’ future

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Bill Self turned reflective in the last year as he watched another preseason No. 1 team underperform. In his 22nd year in charge, Kansas’ head coach had tried to embrace the changes across college basketball that were making it harder to build winners the way he knew best, but as one of the least decorated teams of his tenure stumbled toward an early-March exit, it was time to adjust tactics.

For two straight offseasons, Kansas has earned a preseason No. 1 ranking only to come up well short of its ceiling. In 2023 the Jayhawks landed center Hunter Dickinson, at that point the most accomplished player to ever hit college basketball’s transfer portal, over a group of heavy hitters that included Kentucky, but injuries and shooting struggles derailed that season. Last offseason, Self tried to load up on shooting and wing scorers to build around Dickinson and veteran point guard Dajuan Harris. The Jayhawks started atop the AP poll again, then finished with their most Big 12 losses (nine) and lowest NCAA Tournament seed (No. 7) under Self.

This spring was a chance to hit reset and consider a different approach to the portal.

“Recruit fits rather than talent,” Self told The Athletic last week. “I think on paper, there’s been some things that have been done that were more popular in the short term, but did they actually fit as well on how you wanted to play?”

The answer is obvious now. The past two portal classes were filled with highly ranked players, but the on-court product at times looked like it was straining to match Self’s style.

While Dickinson averaged a double-double in each of his two seasons and thrived as a low-post threat, his defensive limitations changed how KU had to play on that end. Guard AJ Storr was the marquee signing of the 2024 offseason after leading Wisconsin in scoring, but within Kansas’ offense he proved to be a ball stopper who could never really find his role.

Self has built his next roster to look more like his three most recent success stories: the 2019-20 team that was the title favorite before the NCAA Tournament was canceled, the 2022 national champs and the 2023 team that earned a No. 1 seed.

“Interchangeable parts, versatility,” Self said. “We want guys that can shoot, but guys that could beat their man off the bounce, that can touch the paint off the dribble, that don’t need a ball screen all the time to get there. That’s what I thought we obviously didn’t have last year.”

Another thing Kansas didn’t have last year: NBA talent.

It’s highly likely that this June will mark only the sixth time in Self’s 22 seasons that KU will not have a single player drafted. In those other five years (2004, 2006, 2009, 2019 and 2021), the Jayhawks had at least four players who would go on to play in the NBA.

Last season’s roster showed the dangers of chasing older players who had produced at the college level but were not the next-level talents needed to contend for national titles. It was also light on sophomores and juniors who had developed in the program.

The hope is big man Flory Bidunga, who showed flashes in his first year, becomes one of those homegrown stars. And this winter Self signed arguably the top freshman in the 2025 class in guard Darryn Peterson. Every roster decision this spring was made with those two players in mind.

Self calls Peterson, who is the early favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, “the most talented incoming freshman we’ve signed.”

“(Andrew Wiggins) had a bigger reputation, and deservedly so because he was so freakishly athletic,” Self said. “But Darryn is the most prepared high school kid that we’ve gotten. He’s beyond his years from a maturity standpoint and from a worldly basketball standpoint. I think he’s a guy that can lead a team as a freshman.”

Self also has plans to add one more scorer. “I think we’re one piece away,” Self said. “We’re one guy away that can get you 14-15 points, and I think we’re close but not done yet.”

Kansas has targeted Texas Tech forward Darrion Williams, who averaged 15.1 points last season and is currently testing the waters in the NBA Draft. The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie has Williams projected to go 39th, a spot in the draft where a player of his caliber could conceivably make more in college next season. Kansas also had Italian guard Dame Sarr recently visit campus.

Whoever that last guy is, the plan is to play four skilled perimeter players around Bidunga in a style most closely resembling the 2022-23 season, when Self started three big wings with KJ Adams up front and rarely threw the ball into the post. That team finished more possessions with ball screens than any other Self-coached Kansas team, per Synergy, en route to a Big 12 regular-season title.

Defensively, Self wants to be way more aggressive.

“I think we’ll look different offensively because we’ll have more guys that can make plays off the bounce, but I think defensively we’ll be the most different,” Self said. “Being able to pressure the ball. Being able to extend and being able to guard ball screens different ways. We’ll be able to be much more aggressive on those. I think we’ll be more aggressive to get the ball out of the best player’s hands.”

This is where this spring’s portal additions come in. Former St. Bonaventure guard Melvin Council led the Atlantic 10 with 72 steals last season, and his off-the-dribble speed reminds Self of former KU point guard Tyshawn Taylor. Tre White, at 6-7, played the small-ball four spot for Illinois and often guarded the other team’s best perimeter player. Self calls him a “jack-of-all-trades forward” who should be able to blend in both big and small lineups. Unlike someone like Storr who needed the ball, White is a willing screener, a ball mover, a good cutter and a shooter capable of draining an open look. Former Loyola Chicago guard Jayden Dawson was also his team’s designated defender for the top opposing perimeter player. He’ll replace Zeke Mayo as KU’s knockdown shooter after making 83 3s last season for the Ramblers.

The common thread is that all three can guard, which hasn’t been a strength of some of Self’s recent portal additions — like Nick Timberlake, Rylan Griffen and Mayo — who were targeted to add more shooting around Dickinson and had their defensive limitations overlooked.

Self is also excited about two players he believes are flying under the radar: Elmarko Jackson, who missed last year with a torn patellar tendon, and 6-10 freshman Bryson Tiller, who was rated as a five-star in the Class of 2025 before he reclassified, then enrolled in January last season and redshirted.

Self said Jackson’s freshman year, when he started 17 games and averaged 4.3 points, was “too much too fast” because he wasn’t ready for that role. Self said there was no doubt he was going to be a starter last year before the offseason injury. “He’s had an unbelievable rehab year,” Self said. “He’ll be better than he ever has been before.”

While the roster is a little thin on the interior, Self is not overly worried because of what he believes he has in Tiller, who has a skill set Self compares to the Morris twins.

The other frontcourt option is 6-8 incoming freshman Samis Calderon, who Self said will be “the best athlete we have in the gym.” KU also returns 6-4 wing Jamari McDowell, who redshirted last season and Self calls a “foundation guy.”

The biggest concern: There’s not much roster continuity, a hallmark of Self’s best teams.

“It’s impacted everyone all across America too, not just us,” he said. “And the way that we’ve won consistently here, and the way Roy (Williams) won consistently here was that freshmen became sophomores, and sophomores became juniors, and juniors became seniors.”

Self believes some of Kansas’ greatest teams — 1997, 2007, 2008, 2022 — would no longer be possible in today’s college basketball. Sherron Collins was willing to come off the bench for two seasons. Jalen Wilson, Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun were all future pros who stayed at least three seasons and waited their turn to become the star instead of chasing that role in the portal.

“That has changed,” Self said. “But the biggest thing is from a culture standpoint, old guys teach the young guys. (Now) the old guys don’t have any more experience than the young guys do. They have experience at prior places, but not experience at the respective school that they choose. I think it has made a difference. I think the thing about it is, you want a blend. You want a blend where you’re still building for the future. But that’s almost like an afterthought as, ‘Let’s win today.’ Because there’s no guarantee those same guys will be there. With free agency, every kid on your roster has an opportunity to test the waters or test his market value each and every year.

“What you view as somebody’s value in your own particular budget may be totally different than what somebody else views their value in their budget. So there’s no guarantee you’re going to get those guys back.”

No matter the causes of KU’s dip, it hasn’t sat well with fans, who are used to league and national dominance. Self was asked what his message is to fans who are worried about the direction of the program after back-to-back down seasons.

“Well, the message is, to me, is that it’s a double-edged sword, so to speak,” Self said. “Aren’t you so happy that you’re at a place where the expectations are so high? The negative is, when expectations aren’t met, now it’s more dire than what it would be. Kansas basketball hasn’t gone anywhere. We’ve had three or four years that didn’t probably meet the standard in our 22 years that we’ve been here. And I accept that, and I don’t disagree, last year being the biggest. But I also think that our talent level has and will continue to be improved.”

Self thinks he’s learned the lessons of the past two years, and in Peterson he’s confident he’s about to unleash a star who will help make the Jayhawks’ preseason hype last through the early spring.

“The one year which we were average — a 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament — I don’t want to say that’s behind us because you never know with injuries or whatever else can happen,” Self said. “But I would say that our fans should be very excited about watching next year’s team.”

(Top photo: Wesley Hitt / Getty Images)

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