Kansas Jayhawks: CBS Puts Kansas In Top 3 In Early 2015-16 Rankings

By Zach Blochlinger | Jun 5, 2015

In the 2014-2015 season, the Kansas Jayhawks had a good year other than their early exit in the NCAA Tournament to new in-state rival the Wichita State Shockers. They lengthened their dominance over the Big 12 conference, winning the conference consecutively for eleven straight seasons now, and did it in one of the deepest Big 12 conferences that we have seen in years.

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As for the fans though, another early exit is disappointing, as it is seemingly becoming a trend for head coach Bill Self and the Jayhawks. So, as usual, fans are already looking forward to next year and want to see a deeper tournament run.

Luckily for Jayhawk nation, according to CBS Sports, this could be a very real possibility. Their (way too early) pre-season basketball rankings have been put out by their basketball insider Gary Parrish, and he has Kansas all the way up at the number three spot behind only North Carolina and Maryland.

The Kansas Jayhawks have their entire contributing team returning this season other than the freshman duo of Kelly Oubre Jr. and Cliff Alexander, who have entered the 2015 NBA Draft. Losing both to the draft was not good for the Jayhawks, but coach Self and the coaching staff were quick to replace them.

Top 25 rated 6-foot-9 power forward Carlton Bragg has long since been committed to the Jayhawks, and they have added small forward Legerald Vick and the #7 overall recruit (according to ESPN) in center Cheick Diallo.

Look for the young sophomore from the Ukraine Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (also known as “Svi”) to also make a much larger impact this season in an attempt to replace Kelly Oubre Jr.

All of the guys I listed above come to Lawrence to join an already stacked lineup which includes the likes of Perry Ellis, Wayne Selden Jr., Frank Mason III, and others to round out a team that should go nine or ten players deep every game.

As usual, Bill Self will make his freshman earn their minutes. Especially this year with how stacked the roster is, minutes may become hard to come by and any mistake could cause Self to bring someone off the bench.

This is all music to Kansas fan’s ears, as they haven’t had a team this talented since perhaps 2009-2010 team that was highlighted by guys such as Sherron Collins, Cole Aldrich, Xavier Henry, and the Morris twins.

Look for the Kansas Jayhawks basketball team to be in the Top Five coming into next season as the polls will come out in the coming months, and get ready for what should be one heck of a year for Jayhawk fans around the nation.

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