| ESPN Network: ESPN | NBA.com | WNBA.com | NHL.com | ABC | Radio | EXPN | Page 2 | INSIDER | Shop | |
 |
| | Thursday, November 2 Preseason Top 25: No. 6. Kansas | ||||||||
Tom Clyde, Medford, Ore. Follow the rest of the top 25 Click on the following pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | |||||||||
|
|
Why No. 6?: Roy Williams is back and so too is everyone but reserve forwards Nick Bradford and Marlon London. The Jayhawks finally played together during the NCAA Tournament, beating DePaul and losing a close game to Duke, after an erratic regular season. Drew Gooden and Nick Collison had sensational summers for the U.S.,and both players continue to be an opposing coach's nightmare defensively because of their ability to spread the floor. Williams gets Eric Chenowith back, which could work two ways. If he plays up to his potential then the Jayhawks have an all-American center to move in next to Gooden and Collison. If he doesn't, well, then they probably won't win the title. Luke Axtell is another unknown after missing most of the season with a mysterious ailment. He was hurt during a Big 12 all-star tour but played in practice enough to show he's still got his stroke. Kenny Gregory returns as the team's best wing player and threat to score on the break. The key will be how well Jeff Boschee and Kirk Hinrich play sharing the point. Hinrich is more of a shooting guard, and to some extent, so is Boschee. But someone has to jump start this team on the break. No depth makes it harder to put the Jayhawks higher.