Kansas basketball: Updated starting lineup predictions for the Jayhawks

Projected Kansas basketball lineup: Bryce Thompson, SG

The most exciting development for Kansas fans this fall is the pending arrival of Thompson, a five-star freshman. A 6-foot-5 guard, Thompson is expected to assume Dotson’s place in the starting lineup.

Replacing Dotson will be a tall order since he emerged as a dynamic offensive threat who had an outside shot at Player of the Year awards. No one expects Thompson to be the next Dotson, but the Jayhawks do have a history of highly touted wings dominating from the jump.

Ben McLemore, Andrew Wiggins and Josh Jackson are three recent examples of one-and-done talents who excelled at Kansas. Of the three guys listed, Thompson’s game most closely resembles McLemore’s due to an innate ability to put the ball in the basket.

Thompson has an incredible range from deep and can also drive to the hoop at will, which will make him a huge scoring threat. There are some questions about how elite Thompson’s athleticism is but there should still be plenty there for him to dominate the Division I level.

Self’s biggest challenge with Thompson will be to ensure that he doesn’t feel too much pressure to take over the scoring load Dotson leaves behind. Simply letting Thompson be Thompson should allow him to thrive as a freshman for the Jayhawks.