Seldom-used 4-guard lineup coming to a Kansas basketball team near you

Kansas guard Josh Jackson sits for questions from reporters during Media Day on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016 at Allen Fieldhouse. One of the big topics at this year's media day was KU coach Bill Self discussing a likely four-guard lineup, in which Jackson would play a big role.

The details have not yet been ironed out but the idea is in place and does not appear to be going away.

Loaded with talented, athletic guards in the backcourt and a hint of uncertainty in the frontcourt, the Kansas men’s basketball team will play plenty of four-guard lineups during the upcoming season.

“I see us playing small quite a bit,” KU coach Bill Self reiterated at KU’s annual media day, where, among other things, he discussed the logistics and reasons for the strategy that has rarely been used during his 14 years at Kansas and figures to give this KU team more flexibility than many recent Self teams

The reason for it is simple.

“Personnel dictates it,” Self said.

With veterans Frank Mason III, Devonte’ Graham and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk returning and young guns like sophomore Lagerald Vick and freshman phenom Josh Jackson on the rise, KU’s strength heading into the season clearly is in the backcourt. And with three of those five players standing 6-foot-5 or taller, including Jackson and Mykhailiuk standing 6-8, Self’s 2016-17 team has a certain amount of versatility that has been rare around here.

Add to that the fact that senior Landen Lucas is the only truly proven big man on the roster, and it’s easy to see why Self’s trust, at least as of today, lies in his guards.

“I think we’d be a hard team to guard if we can spread the floor with those four guards out there,” Self said. “With Josh and Lagerald and Svi, you’re big enough to play two of those three at the 3 and the 4.”

That turns out to be good news for Jackson, who, throughout his career, has played every position on the floor at one time or another.

Most often that meant Jackson manning the 2, 3 and 4 spots. But during his sophomore season of high school back in his hometown of Detroit, Jackson played center. And at times this year, during his first few practices with the Jayhawks, Jackson has been the man with the ball in his hands.

“Mostly I’m playing the 2 or the 3,” Jackson said Thursday. “But (Self’s) talked about we’ll go small, so I may be playing some four. Probably playing four different positions this year.”

If, or perhaps more appropriately when that happens, it will mark Self and the Jayhawks joining what the Kansas coach believes is a bit of a trend throughout the game of basketball at all levels.

“I think the game is getting smaller,” Self said. “We’ve always been a conventional, three-out, two-in team, but I think this year we’re gonna get away from that a little bit.”

That does not necessarily mean that’s the way Self wants it, but it does mean that Self and his staff believe going with the smaller, faster lineup, at least at times, gives this team the greatest chance to be successful.

Still, if it were up to him, Self would continue to make Kansas a factory for big men.

“I think it’d be great to play two 7-footers and one of be a guard and one of ’em could really shoot,” he joked. “That’s the way I really want to go, but we don’t quite have that luxury this year.”

Instead, poor Kansas, which on Thursday found out it was the unanimous favorite to win a 13th consecutive Big 12 title, will have to make do with the luxury of having one of the most talented and deep backcourts in the country and figuring out creative ways to get as many of those guards on the floor at the same time as possible.

“I think that’ll be challenging,” Self said. “And that’s something we have not figured out yet as a staff, how we’ll do that. We will do it, but we’re still trying to tinker with what mode we want to play to make it easy for our guys so we don’t have to change how we play.”