photo by: Nick Krug

Blue Team guard Josh Jackson comes in for a dunk.

Bill Self ranks “hard to guard” as one of the most important qualities in a basketball player when he wears the general manager’s hat and determines which players to offer scholarships.

Self likes to have a minimum of four “hard-to-guard,” call it HTG for short, players on the floor at all times, and if three of them can play point guard, all the better.

Having so many HTG players results in balanced scoring, a feature that also flows naturally from the offense Self runs.

In a nutshell, his philosophy is move the ball so swiftly attacking with the dribble and passes, and swing the ball from side to side so rapidly that the defense has trouble keeping up. When the defense is behind, somebody is open, and when the ball ends up in the open player’s hands, that’s who gets the shot.

Self the GM, with the help of his assistants, also has done a terrific job of making sure Kansas remains elite every year by blending one-and-done sensations with athletic, HTG talents who blossom from supporting roles to leads, others from the bench to the rotation.

The balanced offense and blended classes are factors in why trying to guess which player will lead Kansas in scoring on a given year presents a difficult challenge. This coming season is no exception.

Before looking at the candidates, a study of Self’s past Kansas teams might help.

A junior has led KU in scoring six of 13 seasons under Self, a senior three times, a freshman three times (Brandon Rush, Ben McLemore and Andrew Wiggins) and a sophomore once.

No one other than Wayne Simien as a senior in 2004-05 has reached 20 points per game, 20.3 to be exact. The next highest total belongs to Sherron Collins, who averaged 18.9 points in his junior season.

Rush’s 13.3 points a game as a junior for the remarkably consistent scorer and strong defender was the lowest leading-scorer total under Self. Rush is the lone Self Jayhawk to lead the team in scoring in three seasons. His averages: 13.5, 13.8, 13.3.

Simien, Collins and Perry Ellis are Self’s other multi-year scoring leaders.

So a look at the past reveals nothing helpful in trying to formulate a guess for 2016-17 because Self doesn’t have a problem with a freshman leading the team in scoring and almost always has balanced scoring. In fact, KU has had three double-figures scorers six times and four scorers in double digits in three seasons, as well as just two in four seasons.

OK, enough stalling. It’s time to formulate a guess starting with the least likely of five candidates and building to the favorite:

Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, 50-1 odds: The two biggest scoring games of Svi’s career came against weak competition. He lit up Austin Peay for 23 points, Chaminade for 18. But as his body matures and his confidence grows, that should enable him to expand his range and sharpen his three-point accuracy, which already was .402 as a sophomore. But enough to lead the team in scoring as a long-shot artist of a sixth man? Extreme long shot.

Carlton Bragg Jr., 7-1: Talk about HTG, Bragg is a threat from mid-range, as an offensive rebounder and beyond the three-point line. If he can make a big leap in aggressiveness and confidence as a sophomore starter, he could average 15 points.

Devonté Graham, 4-1: He had 27-point games against Oklahoma and West Virginia and 17 vs. Villanova, so elite competition doesn’t slow him at all. If he set out to lead the team in scoring, he could do it, but he won’t. He has a good knack for knowing when he needs to get others involved and when they need him to get them involved.

Frank Mason III, 4-1: He is noticeably thicker and stronger, which should enable him to withstand the punishment he takes on his relentless drives to the hoop. Also, the trend toward Graham having the ball in his hands more often should continue, which will allow Mason to bring his scorer’s mentality without guilt. He once scored 52 points in a high school game. That won’t happen at Kansas, but he could have a few big games.

Josh Jackson, 3-1: He’s a freshman, which by definition makes him a mystery, although far less so than most freshmen. He is armed with such quickness, both laterally and vertically, that he will get to the hoop, finish and draw fouls. He also has the means to get garbage buckets by hitting the offensive boards. Even a player as driven and talented as Jackson will need time to adjust to facing more muscular, physical players and will need to figure out how to fit his talents into the structure of a fairly complex offense.