Lagerald Vick’s absence leaves Kansas’ rotation even thinner

It has been a challenging year in Lawrence, and things are about to get even tougher for the Kansas Jayhawks.

The Jayhawks, who are only 6-4 in Big 12 play and in jeopardy of seeing their 14-year-run of regular season conference championships come to an end, are losing another key player. The school announced that senior forward Lagerald Vick, who is second on the team in scoring with 14.1 points per game, is taking an indefinite leave of absence.

Head Coach Bill Self issued the following statement:

"“Lagerald has some personal matters that require his immediate attention and he will be taking a leave of absence from our team. During this time, we will respect Lagerald’s privacy. There is no timetable for his return.”"

While there is no official timetable for Vick’s return, Gary Bedore of the Kansas City Star spoke to Vick’s mother, who indicated she needs her son at home for a couple of weeks.

This loss is a huge blow for Kansas, which had already lost Udoka Azubuike for the season to a hand injury and saw big man Silvio De Sousa ruled ineligible (h/t CBS Sports) after his guardian received payments from a booster. Vick was starting as the defacto 4 in a small Kansas lineup, and his absence should weaken an already thin eight-man rotation.

The Jayhawks have a couple of ways they could look to fill the void in the lineup created by Vick’s absence. With Dedric Lawson serving as the 5 right now, they could opt to return to a more traditional lineup by starting forward Mitch Lightfoot at the 5 and shifting Lawson out to the 4.

Lightly used reserves David McCormack and K.J. Lawson are also in line to pick up more minutes. McCormack, a 6-foot-10 forward, would become the third big in the forward rotation with Lightfoot and Dedric Lawson. K.J. Lawson, Dedric’s younger brother, hasn’t received a ton of minutes to date but should be in line for a larger role to help fill Vick’s absence.

If Kansas wants to maintain an eight-man rotation, the next man up should be sophomore guard Chris Teahan. Teahan has gotten on the court in each of the past two games after appearing in only three of Kansas’ first 21 games, and he would probably absorb 7-9 minutes a night when the starters need a breather.

One thing none of those players can provide, however, is leadership. Vick was the lone senior on the roster and a steadying presence in the locker room. Those responsibilities will fall more on Dedric Lawson and Lightfoot, but Kansas’ road to the top of the Big 12 just got a lot harder with this news.