College basketball notes on three teams who should be ranked high.
- From the rankings I’ve seen from different writers this summer, I’d say that the Kansas Jayhawks are likely to begin the season at #1. KJ Adams, Kevin McCullar Jr., and Dajuan Harris Jr. return to Lawrence while transfers Hunter Dickinson (Michigan), Nick Timberlake (Towson), and Arterio Morris (Texas) join head coach Bill Self’s team for 2023-24. And I can’t forget polished freshmen Elmarko Jackson, Johnny Furphy, and Jamari McDowell.
- The Purdue Boilermakers return a bunch of production from last year (most notably Zach Edey, Fletcher Loyer, and Braden Smith) and should be ranked in the top 5, but that 2023 Fairleigh Dickinson (16 seed) NCAA tourney loss will still be on the minds of many throughout the season. So I don’t know how high/serious the nation will be on head coach Matt Painter’s group like the last few years, they’re gonna have to prove it with tournament wins. I’m also interested to see how much Southern Illinois transfer Lance Jones and talented freshman Myles Colvin will contribute this season.
- Jordan Hawkins, Andre Jackson, and Adama Sanogo going to the NBA shouldn’t hurt the UConn Huskies roster that bad. I believe returning players Tristen Newton, Alex Karaban, and Donovan Clingan plus Rutgers transfer Cam Spencer will help head coach Dan Hurley’s squad remain as a national power in 2023-24. Connecticut also brings in five top 150 recruits that includes Stephon Castle, Solomon Ball, Jaylin Stewart, Jayden Ross, and Youssouf Singare.
