KU Basketball: Projecting Starting Big Men for Jayhawks

KU Basketball Big Men: Landen Lucas

Little about Landen Lucas‘ game is flashy. He isn’t the most athletic player, nor the most skilled, and he sometimes looks as if he can barely jump, yet he gets the job done.

He sets picks, without getting called for a foul every other time, he blocks out, and he knows how to use his body.  He’s the prototypical blue collar player.

He (Lucas) nailed 64.9 percent of his field goal attempts last season…

He just makes his team better.

The Jayhawks struggled at times in the first half of the season until Self inserted Lucas into the starting line-up for good in January.

Lucas doesn’t shoot much, taking just 2.4 shots a game through the course of his career, according to Sports-Reference, but he makes the most of those opportunities, hitting 59.9 percent. He nailed 64.9 percent of his field goal attempts last season, while shooting 3.4 times a game.

He offers stability to the lineup, and his coach can trust him to do the little things correctly. While his scoring and rebounding will probably improve in 2016-2017, he will seldom be spotlighted on this team that will most likely be guard-oriented.

That’s probably all right with Lucas. He has been patient and worked hard for his opportunity. It is great to see a player take advantage of his big chance when it is presented.

It is very hard not to pull for a player like Lucas. He won’t be the MVP of many games, but over the long haul, few will be more valuable.

Next: Guard Strong