Kansas Jayhawks Basketball Player Profile: Conner Frankamp

Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

With the first exhibition game for the Kansas Jayhawks basketball team just a day away, and the official start of the 2013-2014 season is just a little over a week away, so it is time to start taking a look at the players who will make up this season’s Kansas Jayhawks basketball squad.

Over the few weeks, KC Kingdom will feature a series of player profiles, taking a look at each player on the team and where they may fit in.

Naadir Tharpe’s profile is here, Perry Ellis‘  is here,  Jamari Traylor‘s is here,  Andrew White III’s is here, Frank Mason’s here, Landen Lucas’ is here, and Tarik Black‘s is here.

Conner Frankamp is a scorer. There are no two ways about it. He poured in 2,275 points in his 4-year high school career. He averaged over 32 points a game as a junior, and over 31 points as a senior. This dude can light up a scoreboard.

How much playing time he is able to earn this season may very well hinge how he can do other things on the court. Can he create his own shot in traffic? Can he penetrate and get to the rim? Can he penetrate and create shots for his teammates? Can he learn the offense and to Coach Bill Self’s satisfaction, and can he run that offense in a game? Finally, can he play defense well enough to earn himself minutes?

Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Most likely, either Frankamp or fellow freshman Frank Mason will be Naadir Tharpe‘s primary back up at point guard. Whoever can do the most of the things listed above, will probably get the most minutes. Though Mason can score himself, he is not on a level with Frankamp in that category.

That’s the thing, though. Kansas, with all of their talent, may not need those scoring skills as much as the other things for this season. The point guards on this edition will need to be able penetrate and pass guards first and foremost. If Frankamp can concentrate on these things, he may very well move up the depth chart.

It’s not as if Frankamp doesn’t have a foundation of fundamentals in these other areas. His senior year, he averaged nearly 4 assists a game, three and a half rebounds, and 2,5 steals an outing. Sure, he could score but there were plenty of other things he could do on the court in high school.

Will those skills translate positively at the highest level of college basketball? If so, Frankamp will be an awesome weapon to have. He more than likely will come off the bench his freshman season but if he makes the improvements he needs to, he will provide Self with even more quality depth as the season progresses.

If the Jayhawks need an offensive spark, or need to stretch defenses to open up the middle, Frankamp could be just the guy to provide those things as early as this season.

This year, Frankamp will most certainly be a role player. If he can maintain his scoring ability at this level, he could be a star before his playing days at Kansas are over. At this point, Frankamp is probably fighting for a rotation spot on a very talented roster.

There is an outside chance Frankamp could red shirt; Self always seems to have a candidate or two to do. There is certainly a lack of experience at the guard positions this season, so if it looks as if Frankamp can make significant contributions this season, it would be surprising to see him sit out this year.

If Frankamp retains even a fraction of his ability to score that he displayed in high school, he will be a very exiting player to watch at Kansas. Jayhawks fans would love seeing a pure, dead-on accurate 3-point shooter again. Frankamp could be that guy.

(Note – There was no picture of Conner Frankamp in our data base.)