Kansas basketball’s free fall is now at an all-time speed. The Jayhawks are desperate for this embarrassing streak to end. A preseason consensus No. 1 and a popular pick for national champions, they brought in top portal players, spending big money on the likes of AJ Storr and Zeke Mayo. They even returned Hunter Dickinson, who at this point might as well be collecting Social Security checks. I mean, this team is stacked sooo they should be winning, right? Wrong.
Instead, they’ve recently fallen to 17-9, including losses to two non-tournament teams, Kansas State & Utah, followed by a drubbing at the hands of BYU...a bubble team fighting to stay in the conversation.
So what happened? That’s the big question. Kansas has the money, the lore, the players, the aura! How does a team with this much talent and a Hall of Fame coach completely fall apart? Is this just a rough patch? Maybe. Or is it a bigger issue...one that could start plaguing teams across the country?
Now, this isn’t an argument that “players shouldn’t make this much money.” No. Instead, coaches and players need to figure out how to balance it all. Kansas is proving that just because you have one of the highest “payrolls” doesn’t guarantee wins.
And this problem could spread. Schools are grabbing players just for the sake of it...without truly figuring out what they want, whether they fit the team, the staff, or the system.
As a coach, I know that a connected team is a dangerous team. If the players aren’t in it together, the whole thing will collapse...no matter the talent. You can offer all the NIL money in the world, but at the end of the day, that doesn’t win you a championship. Kansas is proof of that. So for those who claimed that the schools with the most money would dominate? You might want to quiet down for a bit.
And let’s not forget about Arkansas, also lots of money not translating on the court.
Now, look at the flipside...Kentucky, a program very comparable to Kansas, took a different approach. Instead of just grabbing top talent, they went after players who fit within their system. And because of that, they’ve completely outperformed their preseason expectations.
NIL is a great asset...don’t get me wrong buuuuttt coaches and players still need to be smart about how they make their choices. A single million-dollar year isn’t going to cut it long term. Players need to make sure they’re stepping into a situation that gets them exposure, not one that exposes them.
Bet Recap: 1-2 which kind of sucks, but we still can get it going
Bet of the Day:
George Washington ML +110
South Dakota +3.5 -112
Alabama ML +110
Gonzaga -12.5 -105
IF You parlay Odds: +1529
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