Kansas guard Kelly Oubre Jr. (12) celebrates before his teammates during a timeout in the first half on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2014 at Allen Fieldhouse.

For years, the Kansas University basketball program has prided itself on scoring balance. At the same time, the Jayhawks routinely have had a player who could get hot and take over a game on those nights when everybody else was firing blanks.

So far this season, the No. 13 Jayhawks have not had a player score more than the 24 points Perry Ellis totaled in an 82-67 victory vs. Tennessee in Orlando.

KU doesn’t have a player who can explode for 41 points the way Andrew Wiggins did in Morgantown last March to keep the team in the game in a game Kansas would lose by six points to West Virginia, but 30-point games are realistic possibilities.

Five KU players capable of producing a monster scoring night, ranked in order:

• No. 1: Kelly Oubre: He’s the one most capable of putting up points in a hurry because he’s such a good scorer in so many different ways. His anticipation skills, long arms and quick feet make him a natural for stepping into the passing lane for a steal that results in him dunking it or laying it in. He has shown the ability to get really hot from three (.478 on the season), can finish drives to the hoop and uses his length and explosive jumping ability for multiple put-backs.

Now that Oubre has figured out what it takes to stay on the court and has earned a starting spot, look for big contributions from him regularly as a defender, rebounder and scorer.

Oubre has reached the 25-minute threshold twice, delivering 23 points in 25 minutes vs. Lafayette and 20 points in 31 minutes against Kent State.

Oubre scored 15 points in a second-half stretch of 12:21 in the Lafayette game and had 16 points in the opening 14:54 vs. Kent State.

• No. 2: Brannen Greene: Recruited to Kansas to lend scoring punch, the sophomore from Georgia has played in 40 games. Off the top of your head, guess how many times he has reached double figures in scoring. Did you say 10? Wrong. Way too high. Just three times.

Playing time has been his biggest impediment to reaching double figures. Defense has been his biggest hurdle to gaining minutes, and not just by getting yanked after getting burned. Foul trouble has plagued him at times. Greene seems to have trouble getting into the defensive crouch and sliding his feet.

But if he can stay out of foul trouble, avoid taking bad shots, and not get burned too badly on defense, he’ll stay on the court for long stretches, and the longer he plays, the better the chance he’ll catch fire.

Greene scored 19 points in 18 minutes in the five-point victory at Georgetown on a night in which he made 5 of 5 three-pointers and 4 of 4 free throws. He lit up Rider for 17 points in 19 minutes, scoring a pair of three-pointers and three two-pointers. His first double-figures game, a 10-point effort, came in 15 minutes at Kansas State as a freshman.

In his three double-figure scoring efforts, Greene combined for 52 minutes, scored 46 points, was whistled for eight personal fouls, made 13 of 18 field goals, 7 of 10 threes and 13 of 13 free throws.

Wayne Selden’s poor shooting (.333 from the field, .341 from three, .622 from the line) has opened the door for more minutes, but Greene hasn’t yet figured out what it takes to step through it.

• No. 3: Perry Ellis: He reached 30 points twice last season, so he could do it again. His first outburst came against TCU, when he scored 32 points. He went for 30 against Iowa State in the Big 12 tournament and Joel Embiid was sidelined, so it’s not as if Ellis just cashed in on all the attention being paid to the 7-foot basketball savant. Ellis’ combined shooting statistics in those games: 24 of 27 field goals, 3 of 3 threes, 11 of 12 free throws. Shooting percentages this season: .417 overall, .250 from three, .721 from the line.

• No. 4: Frank Mason: Devonté Graham would need to return from his toe injury for Mason to have a huge scoring game. If Mason’s the lone healthy point guard on the roster, he’ll be looking to get teammates going, more than seeking opportunities to carry the scoring load.

Mason is a versatile scorer, with hard drives to the hoop he can finish by contorting his body at the rim or by looping floaters over much taller defenders. He has shown a stop-and-pop mid-range jumper and is shooting .531 from three. He also makes his free throws (.865), so he doesn’t give away scoring opportunities there.

• No. 5: Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk: He doesn’t turn 18 until June 10. His body is far from a finished product. He has attempted just six free throws, averages just 4.8 points in 18 minutes and has a shaky .323 three-point percentage. So why is he on this list? Because all the elements are there, he’s just so young that he hasn’t put it all together yet. But he’s so smart and so skilled that he’s capable of a huge night from out of left field, even as soon as this season.

The best NBA prospect on the team, Mykhailiuk’s jumper is so smooth it’s shocking that more of his threes haven’t dropped. They will soon enough. And, in fact, he already has shown improvement there, shooting .421 from long distance in his past seven games.

Quick afoot and a strong ballhandler, he has had a few drives that have left defenders embarrassed. And he doesn’t miss free throws, he just hasn’t played aggressively enough to get to the line or attempt many drives. As his body matures, he’ll become a better, more confident finisher.