Just 13 days away from KU Men's Basketball as I write this.
What do you think?
STARTING FIVE
LOCKS
G Darryn Peterson ("Best I've seen since LeBron"-LJ's HS coach; "Most complete freshman I've ever coached"-HCBS)
C Flory Bidunga (say no more)
LIKELY OCTOBER/NOVEMBER STARTERS
G Melvin Council, Jr (Transfer Senior "Dog")
G Jayden Dawson (Transfer Senior "Dog")
G/F Tre White (Transfer Senior "Dog")
Nipping at their heels from the bench to make 9:
G Elmarko Jackson (his RS year pays off)
F Bryson Tiller (ditto, especially after the long surgery recovery for the one time Top 25 recruit)
G Kohl Rosario (potential starter come January, already being compared to Christian Braun by HCBS)
C Paul Mbiya (Flory's countryman and backup, he'll push FB hard.
See the SI Recruiting snapshot)
How many more will HCBS give significant minutes?
G Jamari McDowell (will get chance to show how he has grown after RS year)
F Samis Calderon (a big name coming out of Brazilian hoops, did well with OTE)
AY2025-26 KANSAS MEN'S BASKETBALL ROSTER
# NAME POS HT / WT CLASS HOME
0 Nginyu Ngala# G 5-10/180 Sr Montreal, QC Canada
1 Jayden Dawson# G 6-4/195 Sr Omaha NE
2 Corbin Allen G 6-6/185 Fr Kansas City MO
3 Tre White# G 6-7/205 Sr Dallas TX
6 Samis Calderon F 6-8/200 Fr Espirito Santo Brazil
7 Kohl Rosario G 6-5/185 Fr Miami FL
11 Jamari McDowell SG 6-4/180 So* Manvel TX
12 Wilder Evers$ G 6-4/195 Jr* Birmingham AL
13 Elmarko Jackson PG 6-3/195 So* South Kent CT
14 Melvin Council Jr# G 6-4/185 Sr Rochester NY
15 Bryson Tiller F 6-10/240 Fr* Atlanta GA
21 Will Thengvall$ G 6-3/185 So Wichita KS
22 Darryn Peterson G 6-5/195 Fr Canton OH
25 Justin Cross$ F 6-8/200 Sr* South Kent CT
34 Paul Mbiya C 6-11/260 Fr Dem Rep Congo
40 Flory Bidunga C 6-9/220 So Dem Rep Congo
? Jaden Nickens G 6-3/170 Fr Simi Valley CA
LEGEND
$ Walk on (grandfathered in, so don't count against roster limits;
won’t really see in the future under current guidelines)
~ Redshirting this season
* Past Red Shirt
# Transfer with 1 year to play
