Kansas basketball: 5 most underrated players in Kansas Jayhawks history

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - MARCH 20: Guard Keith Langford #5 of the Kansas Jayhawks moves the ball past Cardell Butler #15 of the Utah State Aggies during the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Ford Center March 20, 2003, in Oklahoma City, OK. The Jayhawks defeated the Aggies 64-61. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

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2. Keith Langford, G, (2001-2005)

Kansas basketball was absolutely loaded in the early 2000s. Stars like Wayne Simien, Kirk Hinrich and Nick Collision helped the Jayhawks make some deep runs in the NCAA Tournament.

The forgotten man on those teams was guard Keith Langford, who started for his final three years and scored dependably in all of them. The Jayhawks saw Langford average at least 14.4 points per game every season over that stretch, making him an important secondary scorer.

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One area of Langford’s game that improved as his college career went on was his ability to shoot from beyond the arc. After knocking down just 28.9 percent of his three-point attempts as a sophomore, Langford hit at least 35 percent of his triples as a junior and senior.

A two-time All-Big 12 Second-Team performer, Langford is not often at the tip of your tongue as a great Jayhawk. This is largely due to some of the guys he played with although it is fair to wonder if Langford would have more name recognition if the Jayhawks had won the 2003 national championship over Syracuse.

Langford has also gone on to have a strong pro career, playing primarily overseas for the past 15 years. That is a credit to the grit and determination in Langford’s game, which serves very well as a complementary piece on winning teams.