KANSAS CITY, Mo. — College basketball season is fast approaching, and both Kansas and Kansas State men's basketball teams are preparing for the long grind with revamped rosters.
In his 23rd season, Kansas men's basketball head coach Bill Self is embracing the uncertainty.
“We returned one guy that played in a game last year, or scored a basket last year,” Self said Wednesday at Big 12 men's basketball media day at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. “I think the unknown is different, but I also think the excitement of the unknown is refreshing too.”
The Jayhawks finished 11–9 in Big 12 play last season.
They enter the upcoming season with the Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year, Darryn Peterson.
“His talent is as good as any of them,” Self said. “His basketball IQ and feel stack up with the best we’ve ever had here, regardless of talent. He’s a terrific prospect and a terrific player.”
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Kansas State, which went 9–11 in the Big 12 last year, also looks re-energized. Head men's basketball coach Jerome Tang said he rebuilt his roster around players focused on winning.
“We find guys who want to win, and when the first thing they want to talk about is winning — those are my kind of guys,” Tang said. Among Tang’s key additions is PJ Haggerty, the former Memphis Tigers guard and last season’s AAC Player of the Year.
“I followed him from eighth and ninth grade — he was always a bucket-getter,” Tang said. “We recruited him to Baylor, but he didn’t want to redshirt. Luckily, things played out, and I get the opportunity to coach him now.”
Both programs are balancing promise and pressure as preseason honors roll in.
“Obviously, I feel some of it, but not really,” Peterson said. “At the end of the day, it’s just basketball for me... this is my destiny and my purpose.”
Haggerty told KSHB 41 sports anchor/reporter McKenzie Nelson he's ready for the challenge of the upcoming season.
“This year I’ll be more of a leader,” Haggerty added. “Being able to make plays for my teammates and just being a leader on and off the court.”
Kansas State heads to Columbia, Missouri, on Friday for a scrimmage with Missouri. Kansas will travel to Kentucky to face Louisville.
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