Ahead of Puerto Rico trip, Kansas basketball coach Bill Self praises Kevin McCullar Jr.

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LAWRENCE — The newcomers have been as advertised, Kansas basketball coach Bill Self said last week.

Transfer center Hunter Dickinson (Michigan) is the player Self thought he’d be. The same goes for a few other transfers in guard Nicolas Timberlake (Towson), forward Parker Braun (Santa Clara) and guard Arterio Morris (Texas), as well as freshman guard Elmarko Jackson. To date, ahead of the team’s Aug. 1-8 trip to Puerto Rico, there hadn’t been any surprises.

But, Self added, he has been impressed with the progress made by one returner. Self said Kevin McCullar Jr., a veteran guard, has been the Jayhawks’ most improved player. And it hasn’t been close.

“He’s by far the most improved player that I’ve seen, that we’ve seen, so far, and certainly been the best player, I think, on our team, so far,” Self said. “That can obviously — it could be somebody a different day, but he’s been the most consistent so far.”

When Self thinks about the potential breakthrough McCullar is trending toward, he thinks about former Jayhawks Ochai Agbaji and Jalen Wilson. Both players went through the NBA’s pre-draft process, before returning to college for one final season. McCullar, who has gone through it multiple times now, is doing the same.

Self said going through that process allowed them to get a feel for what it takes to play at that level, and discover what they need to address about themselves. For Agbaji and Wilson, Self explained, that was confidence and aggressiveness. And for McCullar, Self noted, the answer is the same.

McCullar may have showcased aggressiveness defensively a season ago at Kansas, after he transferred in from Texas Tech. But there’s an emphasis on expanding that to all aspects of McCullar’s game. It’ll help McCullar hold his own the next time he tests how much his Big 12 Conference success can translate to the professional ranks.

“You realize that you go to a combine and you hope like heck you shoot it well in the drills during a…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ahead-puerto-rico-trip-kansas-092048759.html?src=rss

Author : The Topeka Capital-Journal

Publish date : 2023-08-01 09:20:48

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