All season long, the Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball team has dealt with doubts as to whether they could really succeed in the ways that Jayhawks teams of the past have. They graduated the Morris twins and lost several other role players from the previous season, and they lacked the incoming star power of guys like Ben McLemore or Jamari Traylor — who will be eligible next season. This was believed to be an in between year in which the Jayhawks were vulnerable to lose the Big 12 title for the first time in eight seasons.
Yet at least one writer believes the Jayhawks are talented enough to make the Final Four behind the massive talents of their main two players — Tyshawn Taylor and Thomas Robinson.
Jeff Goodman writes of CBS Sports writes, “If this Kansas team stays healthy, Thomas Robinson and Jeff Withey remain out of foul trouble and Bill Self’s club gets a decent draw in the NCAA tournament, the Jayhawks could make a run to the Final Four. It sounds nuts, but these guys have a stud in Thomas Robinson — and Tyshawn Taylor is starting to look like the Tyshawn Taylor we all thought we’d see on a consistent basis. I’m not overly concerned with his abundance of turnovers; he needs to make plays for the Jayhawks, so they will continue to be higher than most. The key for KU may be the continued emergence of 7-footer Jeff Withey and consistency from guys like Travis Releford and Elijah Johnson.”