Kansas basketball: 3 starting lineup options for next season

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - MARCH 07: Guard Marcus Garrett #0 of the Kansas Jayhawks handles the ball during the first half of the college basketball game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on March 07, 2020 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

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Kansas basketball (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images) /

Kansas basketball will suffer some key losses from the top-ranked team of last season, but the Jayhawks have intriguing starting lineup options for 2020-21.

Expectations were high, as they often are, for the Kansas Jayhawks coming into the 2019-20 season. They entered the year ranked No. 3 in the AP Top 25 but the campaign got off to an inauspicious start as they were bested by Duke in their season-opening contest as part of the Champions Classic. Of course, they only lost two games over the remaining 30 on the schedule.

Kansas basketball finished the abbreviated season as the top-ranked team in the country. Led by Devon Dotson and Udoka Azubuike, Bill Self‘s Jayhawks finished the year with an overall mark of 28-3 and a Big 12-winning record of 17-1. Furthermore, their three losses all came against teams that finished the year ranked No. 11 or higher (Duke, Villanova and Baylor).

Of course, it wasn’t all rosy in Lawrence for the Jayhawks this season. Most notably, their raucous brawl with Kansas State hung like a black cloud over the season, especially with the suspensions that were handed down stemming from it. But with 2019-20 now officially in the rearview, it’s time for Rock Chalk to open up a new chapter. Subsequently, it’s time for us to see what’s next for the Jayhawks.

There will be at least one certain critical departure from the Jayhawks for the NBA as Azubuike, their second-leading scorer in team leader in rebounds and blocks, graduates. The big question is whether players such as Dotson, Silvio De Sousa and several others make early declarations for the draft, which they haven’t yet.

Armed with a strong, albeit top-heavy, recruiting class, however, Kansas basketball shouldn’t miss too much of a beat. Having said that, there are several ways that their starting lineup for the 2020-21 season could shape up. In that light, let’s take a look at the best-case, middle-of-the-road and worst-case scenarios for the Jayhawks starting five next season depending on how things shake out.