Kansas guard Kevin McColar Jr announced Wed He will return to the Jayhawks for the 2023-24 season to use his final year of eligibility after passing NBA Draft Collect in Chicago last week. McColar started 33 games for the Jayhawks last season after transferring the next three seasons at Texas Tech. He immediately emerged as Kansas’ top fullback and a reliable second choice on offense.
“How about another year of Jihok Nation,” McCullar said in the KU announcement of his decision. “To be able to play in front of the best fans in the country; to play with the best coach in the country, I really think we have the chops to hang another banner in Phog. Rock Chalk! Let’s do it!”
McCuller struggled to integrate with CBS Sports’ NBA draft writer Kyle Boone noting that “there’s not a lot of optimism about what he can bring to the table in NBA. At the collegiate level, however, McColar is a proven commodity who will further bolster a Kansas team that was already number one in Gary Parish. top 25 and 1 before this season.
“This is an important day for Kansas basketball,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “We’ve had a lot of good things happen with this offseason recruit, but nothing that happened this offseason has been greater for KU basketball than the return of a seasoned veteran like Kevin McColar to our program.”
Solid KS offseason
The Jayhawks lost top scorers Jalen Wilson and Gradey Dick in the NBA Draft after a 28-8 season in which they won their Big 12 regular season titles. McColar’s loss also meant three starters were replaced.
But the month of May was excellent for the JHook family. First up, former Michigan center Hunter Dickinson, the #1 rated player on CBS Sports conversion ratings, committed in Kansas. Add to that McColar’s return, and the outlines of the 2023-24 team’s nucleus are clear.
Dajuan Harris, McCullar, and KJ Adams Jr. are back. For starters, the Jayhawks have been promoted at center position in an important way with Dickinson. The fifth starting spot is likely to be a contest between members of the seventh-ranked freshman class in the country and a pair of transfers in Arterio Morris (Texas) and Nicolas Timberlake (Towson).
McColar’s role this season
With Dick and Wilson so much offended by the winger last season, McColar can focus on being a tight defender without having to shoulder too heavy a burden. He still averages a career-best 10.7 points per game, but his role could expand next season.
KU will almost certainly play more through Dickinson in the post than it did through any of the seniors last season, but McCullar’s vast experience and traditional offensive game put him in line to claim an increasingly offensive role on the perimeter. Despite being only a 29.8% 3-point shooter in his career, McColar is effective inside the arc and has the size and skill that can be elevated to appear late on the shot clock in a way that sets him apart from the other players on the roster.
Don’t expect a huge leap like the one Wilson made last season when he became Kansas’ leading scorer, but don’t be surprised if McCullar takes his offensive game to the next level in his final college season.