Even the never-ending Darryn Peterson commentary and a gut-wrenching buzzer-beating loss to St. John’s in the Round of 32 couldn’t keep Kansas‘ Bill Self away from the sideline for his 24th season in Lawrence. The Hall of Famer did contemplate retirement this spring after numerous scary health incidents, but armed with the thumbs-up from his doctor and his wife, Cindy, Self is primed to go chase an 18th Big 12 regular-season title.
For the second straight season, Self has the No. 1 recruit in the country. Five-star forward Tyran Stokes picked Kansas over Kentucky in late April on Inside the NBA, but Self is certainly hoping that the injury-riddled, in-and-out season that swirled around Peterson is not in Stokes’ future.
Self, frankly, can’t handle the brouhaha again of coaching vastly different clubs, depending on whether Peterson could play or not.
“Our best chance to be great was with Darryn Peterson,” Self told Jon Rothstein on Inside College Basketball Now. “There was no doubt about that. The team we had without Darryn was competitive and could play with anybody. Could you win four games in the NCAA Tournament? That would be really, really difficult. The team with Darryn, if everything fell right, we could. That was the direction we were going all along. Was it frustrating? It’s like having your best player getting two fouls in the first couple of minutes of both halves. You’re playing handcuffed the whole time. Melvin (Council’s) role with Darryn and Melvin’s role without Darryn was probably a bit different. Same with the other guys. I don’t know if we ever hit our stride. But we did have some great wins without Darryn and some great wins with him, too.”
But the Tyran Stokes Experience does not come without its fair share of drama. The 6-foot-7, 230-pound forward has all the tools to be an NBA All-Star one day. He can pass, dribble, shoot, defend, rebound and cut. Stokes profiles as a matchup nightmare and will enter the season as the favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the 2027 NBA Draft, but there are real maturity concerns. Technical fouls are sure to follow for a teenager who wears his emotions on his sleeve. It’s a stark dichotomy from Peterson, who was much more stoic.
“I’d much rather deal with a guy who you have to control the emotions sometimes than encourage it,” Self said. “He’s certainly got it. I think it’s a combination of (Andrew) Wiggins, but also a Josh Jackson. To me, Josh was a dawg and Wiggs was so explosive. Tyran is not as explosive as Darryn, but he’s a tremendous athlete and so skilled. He’s got some dawg in him like Josh.”
Stokes has to be tremendous if Kansas wants to join Arizona and Texas Tech in the Big 12 contenders tier because this roster is littered with major questions. Kansas was unable to retain its starting front line of Flory Bidunga and Bryson Tiller. Losing Bidunga, the No. 1 player in the portal, to Louisville is a major blow no matter how you slice it. Losing Tiller to arch-rival Missouri? It’s bad optics, but there’s a good chance KU may have upgraded in the short term with Utah transfer Keanu Dawes, who profiles as an excellent complementary role player. The 6-foot-9 forward should team up with Stokes to give Self another skilled forward who rebounds and can stretch the floor a bit.
Kansas is currently slated to give Toledo transfer Leroy Blyden Jr. and five-star freshman Taylen Kinney a huge chunk of the minutes in the backcourt. Blyden is small but extremely fast and owns a strap. He shot over 40% from downtown for Toledo on 5.6 attempts. Kinney has to shore up his decision-making — both as a shooter and as a passer — but the talent is obvious. Kansas is also exploring a reunion with Tre White in the five-for-five market. White had the best season of his well-traveled career at Kansas, averaging 13.5 points and 6.7 rebounds while draining 40% of his triples.
But Bidunga’s absence opens up a major hole at center. Kansas used Moneyball to replace Bidunga, who earned a $5 million check from Louisville. Returning sophomore Paul Mbiya and Charleston transfer Christian Reeves are expected to platoon at the 5, but Reeves is still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.
“We’re a better shooting team,” Self said. “We’re not as freakishly athletic, but we’re well above average athletically. I think we’ll have the most talented player on the floor basically every night we play. That’s fairly undeniable in Tyran. We got pieces around him, but we’re unproven. Can Keanu Dawes be a 14-and-8 guy? Can Tyran do something like Melo did with Syracuse? Can Leroy Blyden Jr. and Taylen Kinney and our respective bench be consistent enough and make enough shots to shoot 37 or 38% from 3? Do we have a 5-man who can anchor? I think the answers to all of those questions is yes, but that’s if everything goes perfect. We don’t have as much margin for error as a lot of teams, but I do like our team. We do need to stay healthy.”
Carmelo Anthony only averaged a casual 22.2 points and 10.0 rebounds and was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player after leading Syracuse to the 2003 National Championship.
No pressure, Tyran.
Kansas
2025-26 record: 24-11 overall, 12-6 in Big 12 play
Postseason: No. 4 seed; lost in the Round of 32
Projected 2026-27 starting lineup
Top bench options: G Kohl Rosario, C Christian Reeves, G Dennis Parker Jr., F Davion Adkins, G Trent Perry, G Luke Barnett
