LAWRENCE, Kan. — Looking out back, even Bill Self admits the timing wasn’t ultimate.

Now not up to an hour after Kansas‘ 2023-24 season resulted in an 89-68 2nd-round NCAA match defeat to Gonzaga, Self was once asked how lengthy the loss would follow him.

“I deem for the last month, I’ve been interested in next season, to be honest,” the Kansas coach said.

The wheels had lengthy since fallen off for Kansas, which opened last season at No. 1 and quiet sat at No. 4 in early February. After opening the season with 13 wins of their first 14 games, the Jayhawks went 10-10, including 5-7 of their last 12 games. Their 23-11 total document and 10-8 document within the Worthy 12 had been this plot’s worst since Self took over in 2003.

Self ready for more hopeful days wasn’t a surprise. But announcing it factual after a 21-point match loss raised some eyebrows.

“Whenever you happen to sit in our meetings, 50 percent of the time what we’re speaking about is never any longer this year’s team,” Self urged ESPN in slack October. “Or no longer it’s who we are going to recruit. Portal, money, what’s going to we afford? Salary cap, roster management. That’s what we talk relating to the full time. Now, the timing of announcing it factual after the game …

“… But what I said was once with no doubt 100% steady.”

Self’s postgame comments house the tone for Kansas’ offseason. And after a hyperaggressive portal push in which the Jayhawks signed five perimeter players, Kansas finds itself in a smartly-known pickle as the 2024-25 school basketball season begins: No. 1 within the Connected Press Top 25 ballot.

After two exhibition games that integrated a loss at Arkansas and a safe over Washburn, the standard season started off with an 87-57 safe over Howard. Now, the aesthetic segment: residing up to the expectations, warding off a repeat of last season’s cave in. And it begins with Friday’s blue-blood showdown against No. 9 North Carolina (7 p.m. EST, ESPN) — the first heavyweight team on a agenda that moreover comprises Michigan Issue, Duke and Creighton sooner than Worthy 12 play begins.

“There is positively a particular mindset and a particular roughly motivation,” center Hunter Dickinson said. “We will need everyone we procure now.”

Misplaced within the analysis of Kansas’ 2nd-half struggles last season was once that the Jayhawks had been one of essentially the most attention-grabbing teams within the country thru the first two months. At stout energy, they beat UConn, Tennessee and Kentucky. The losses in February and March coincided with the health of All-American forward Kevin McCullar Jr., who sat out eight games which skill that of a bone bruise and was once hampered for the last two months of the season.

Without him, Self needed to rely on a shortened rotation that integrated his starters automatically playing 35-plus minutes per game.

“I with no doubt notion last year we performed to that ranking early within the season,” he said. “But when it counted essentially the most, we didn’t sniff playing to that ranking. There had been the reason why, however you may perchance presumably presumably’t originate excuses.

“If a expert goes down, if the inappropriate man goes down, it be going to damage your team regardless. But we didn’t procure a device to combat that with depth.”

So by the round-of-32 loss to Gonzaga, Self already had a reloading notion in thoughts. In Dajuan Harris Jr., KJ Adams Jr. and Dickinson, he had three used anchors round whom to occupy. Five-star freshman Flory Bidunga, ranked No. 18 within the ESPN 100, was once coming in to give depth gradual Dickinson.

What was once left to add? Guards and wings. Shooters and athletes with dimension. Kansas ranked 11th within the Worthy 12 last season in 3-point taking pictures and the Jayhawks constantly had effort organising their personal shots and defending teams who may perchance maybe presumably presumably assault aggressively off the dribble.

“I urged my workers, we got to earn guys which are factual sufficient — eight starters that can play principal starter minutes at Kansas if one thing occurs,” Self said. “And I deem that we did that for essentially the most segment.”

South Dakota Issue transfer Zeke Mayo was once the first one, picking the Jayhawks on April 2. Florida transfer Riley Kugel dedicated sooner or later later, followed by AJ Storr (Wisconsin) and Rylan Griffen (Alabama) later in April. Mississippi Issue transfer Shakeel Moore arrived in June and Northern Illinois transfer David Coit in August.

All of these players bring masses to Lawrence, however most importantly: They’ll shoot. Mayo and Griffen each and each shot better than 39% from 3 last season; Storr and Coit are both above 35% for his or her careers. Moore was once above 36% last season, too.

One other newcomer is ESPN 100 freshman Rakease Passmore, who signed last fall and maintained his commitment without reference to the influx of skill.

“I deem coming in they doubtlessly notion he would redshirt or had been searching at for him to, however I deem he’s one of our better perimeter defenders and he makes an affect when he’s available,” Dickinson said of Passmore. “So I truly feel worship it be going to be laborious for him no longer to be on the floor most incessantly.”

When the dust settled, the Jayhawks brought in six unusual perimeter players with whom to surround Harris, Adams and Dickinson.

“I truly feel worship the athleticism is certainly varied than last year,” Dickinson said. “We got powerful more athletes on the team. Like last year, our most efficient warmup dunker was once a stride-on. The warmup lines will seek device varied this year.”

As Kansas saved adding more players, from the outdoors it regarded congested. But then Kugel and excessive college recruit Labaron Philon decommitted, and Elmarko Jackson, who started 16 games last season, sustained a season-ending damage. The bodies — and competition for minutes — now seemed principal.

“One day in our careers, everyone’s going to face adversity for whatever reason,” Storr said. “If that is playing time, struggling with to earn on a roster — this is good preparation for that. I understand it be going to be someone varied every evening.”

And there are signs Kansas’ offseason roster skill is working. Towards Howard, the Jayhawks shot 50% from 3-point differ and made 11 3s; they made more than 11 3s simplest once last season and hit the 50% label simplest twice. They moreover performed 10 players at the least 14 minutes; simplest seven players averaged more than eight minutes last season.

“Every little thing is interchangeable,” Self said. “How attain we address dimension? How attain we address perimeter taking pictures? Nobody’s going to beat KJ out, however if we are going to play KJ, we would truly like to place shooters round him. …Our dwelling appears to be like to be like crowded, however after you seek for us follow, it be no longer advance as crowded as what other people deem.”

Despite rather a lot of the newbies arriving in Lawrence with masses of faculty abilities, playing at Kansas — and alongside so many confirmed producers — requires a alternate in skill. Now not simplest attain most procure to put together for a diminished feature on offense, however some procure to change their team vs. individual point of view.

“Or no longer it’s no longer been a alternate with my game, essentially. I’d inform mindset,” Storr said.

Dickinson went thru a identical course of when he arrived from Michigan, where he earned All-American honors, within the spring of 2023.

After the Wolverines earned a Worthy Ten title and 1-seed in 2021, they went a mixed 37-31 in Dickinson’s last two seasons at Michigan. Because the losses piled up in his last season below coach Juwan Howard, Dickinson made headlines for the inappropriate causes: calling Wisconsin “scumbags” on a podcast and sporting a ski cloak whereas strolling valid into a game against the Badgers.

Upon arriving at Kansas, he shifted his motivation from his individual game to a success at the ideal level — and that hunger for titles brought a tweak in his character.

“I doubtlessly procure dialed it wait on a limited of bit in what I inform and stuff. Correct coming to Kansas, I was once making an are attempting to feeble a limited of bit,” Dickinson said. “I do know the device powerful a success device and in particular a success at a pickle worship this, what it will attain in your basketball occupation, in your existence essentially. … Diverse other people equipped me more NIL money, however I knew if I didn’t safe, there was once no point in going to those faculties due to it wasn’t going to attend me earn to where I with no doubt wanted to head.”

As a freshman at St. John’s, Storr’s team went 18-15 and missed the NCAA match. Final season at Wisconsin, the Badgers went 22-14 and lost to 12-seed James Madison within the first round of the NCAA match.

“UConn got four guys drafted and, statistically, some of those guys’ numbers weren’t as factual as varied players available. But they’re those that got drafted due to they received a nationwide championship,” Storr said. “Winning is the predominant thing I’m desirous about factual now. I’m going to originate, regardless. Whenever you happen to are a success, you are growing.”

On a few unseasonably warmth October days that flip Allen Fieldhouse valid into a sauna, Self spends lengthy stretches in follow making an are attempting to instill aggressiveness into his newbies. Even though Mayo and Storr had been stoop-to guys at their earlier faculties, and Griffen may perchance maybe presumably presumably be the team’s most efficient pure scorer, all three procure long gone thru bouts of uncertainty within the preseason.

In the times following Kansas’ exhibition loss to Arkansas, Self urged reporters Mayo performed too cautiously, and that he has “AJ messed up for the time being due to he doesn’t know what aggressive appears to be like to be like worship,” however acknowledges “that is never any longer on him as powerful as it’s miles on us.” He reiterated that Storr and Griffen ought to play to their ceiling if Kansas goes to compete for a nationwide championship.

At follow sooner than the exhibition against Washburn, Self urges Storr to earn open and slit more tough off the ball. He implores Griffen to rob a shot when he as a replace passes to a teammate.

When Storr at last drives to the rim off a display conceal conceal and finishes with a dunk, Self is inspired.

“That’s severely better!”