Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks have made small moves in the transfer portal. What's the hold up?
The Kansas Jayhawks have been moving slow in the NCAA basketball portal.
So slow they have yet to make any moves.
What could be the reason? Roundtable Sports writer Liam Carson recently gave his thoughts on the Sunflower Sundown podcast earlier this week.
Carson said the uncertainty surrounding coach Bill Self last month could have played a role.
"I think this year Bill Self announced he was coming back for another season," Carson said. "I think he's just kind of taking it slow. We've seen KU in past years just go immediately for those top shelf recruits and it didn't work out exactly the way they wanted. I think coach Self is just taking this portal cycle really slow."
The Jayhawks need to start moving. After a second-round loss in the NCAA Tournament, they only return Kohl Rosario from last year. KU is chasing Terrence Hill Jr., from VCU, Terrence Brown of Utah and Robert Morris' DeSean Goode.
All were key players for their teams last season. A 6-foot-8 forward, Goode averaged 15.2 points and 8.7 rebounds. This will mark his third school since beginning his career at Indiana-Indianapolis University.
Hill Jr., who is coming off averaging 15 points, also visited the Tennessee Volunteers this week.
Brown, who is perhaps the most coveted of the trio, averaged 19.9 points and 3.8 assists last season. He is also being recruited by the North Carolina Tar Heels.
All of these players could help the Jayhawks next season but perhaps the real reason Self is taking his time is because of the big prize is still available. Tyran Stokes, the No. 1 high school player in the country, has yet to make a college decision. His finalists are Kansas and Kentucky.
If the Jayhawks land him, he would be their second straight No. 1 grab. Last year they had Darryn Peterson, who is expected as the top pick in the June NBA Draft.
"Of course, the Tyran Stokes saga is still going on," Carson said. "He's still deciding between Kentucky and Kansas. He visited Kentucky this week but I still think Kansas is kind of in the lead there ... We'll see where they go from there."
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Shandel Richardson is the publisher of JayhawksRoundtable. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com