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Kansas Makes Final Cut For Former Florida Standout

The Jayhawks are in the running to land Florida transfer Riley Kugel.

Auburn v Florida
Auburn v Florida / James Gilbert/GettyImages
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The Kansas Jayhawks’ 2023 season came to a disappointing end in the Round of 32 as they lost 89-68 to the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The Jayhawks were without their leading scorer Kevin McCullar (18.3 points per game), who was out with a knee injury.

Heading into next season, Kansas will have Dajuan Harris Jr. for one more year, who posted 8.5 points and 6.5 assists per game this season. However, for the Jayhawks to win the Big 12 next season and make a deep tournament run, they’ll need more help in the backcourt.

Jayhawks News: Kansas in Contention for Riley Kugel 

CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein posted on Twitter Thursday that Florida transfer has cut his list to four programs, which includes the Jayhawks.

Kugel tweeted on Thursday that he’s putting his attention towards those four schools during this process, but appreciated the other programs who considered him. On Wednesday, the 6-foot-5 guard announced that he was entering the transfer portal after spending his first two years of eligibility with the Florida Gators.

Kugel is coming off a shockingly down sophomore season, where he only scored 9.2 points per game on 39.4 percent shooting from the field and 31.2 percent from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, as a freshman, Kugel averaged 9.9 points per game, shooting 45.6 percent from the field and 37.6 percent from deep.

The Jayhawks have stiff competition for the Orlando, FL, native as Houston, Arizona, and UConn have shown they can develop guards over the last few years. 

However, if you are head coach Bill Self, Kugel is a must-add to next year’s team as you won’t have McCullar, who was one of your go-to scorers this season.

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