photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas center Udoka Azubuike (35) gets his jitters out in the back row as he and the rest of the team, coaches and student managers prepare for a team portrait during Media Day on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016 at Allen Fieldhouse.

As we close in on the unofficial start of the 2016-17 Kansas basketball schedule — the Jayhawks host Washburn at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Allen Fieldhouse — we also wind down to the end of our He Will, He Won’t, He Might series that previews what to expect from each individual player during the upcoming season.

We began with the projected starting five and moved to the bench and are now down to the final two players who figure to factor into the rotation this season — freshmen Udoka Azubuike and Mitch Lightfoot.

Today’s installment takes a look at Azubuike, the 7-foot center from Nigeria who Bill Self has said has a chance to be a special player during his two (or more) seasons as a Jayhawk.

Incredibly young and still a little raw, Azubuike is not quite a project, but also far from a polished product.

His development figures to be one of the more interesting and entertaining aspects of the 2016-17 season and could play a huge role in just how good this Kansas team will be.

In case you missed the earlier installments of this series, follow the links below:

He Will, He Won’t, He Might: Frank Mason

He Will, He Won’t, He Might: Devonte’ Graham

He Will, He Won’t, He Might: Josh Jackson

He Will, He Won’t, He Might: Carlton Bragg

He Will, He Won’t, He Might: Landen Lucas

He Will, He Won’t, He Might: Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk

He Will, He Won’t, He Might: Dwight Coleby

He Will, He Won’t, He Might: Lagerald Vick

Now, back to what to expect from Azubuike…

He will: Be an X-Factor for this year’s team

We all know about the talent that Kansas possesses on the perimeter. And it’s obvious that Landen Lucas is a very solid starting option at one forward spot and Carlton Bragg Jr. is poised for a breakout season at the other.

But Self would not continue to talk so much about his team needing to figure out ways to throw it inside and score in the paint if he wasn’t at least a little worried about whether or not this team had a guy who could do that.

Azubuike is that guy.

Lucas, though constantly improving and as intelligent as anyone on this team, still is not a natural scorer down low. And it remains to be seen if Bragg’s bigger frame can help him handle the beating he’ll have to take if he wants to score at the rim.

Azubuike’s not ready yet. And it’ll take some time for him to get move past either of the aforementioned options. But as long as he continues to post steady improvement, both in terms of developing his body and learning the game, he easily could become one of the more important players on this team by March, even if he’s not the most talented.

He won’t: Run the floor like many Self big men of the past (but Self won’t mind)

Azubuike has good feet and Self has marveled at his athleticism. But after missing almost all of Boot Camp the young man is still a ways away from being in the kind of shape required to play basketball for Bill Self and the Jayhawks.

That’s not to say he won’t play during the first couple of months of the season. He will. Even if it’s not against Indiana or Duke to open the season.

But he will play throughout the rest of November and December and his minutes should increase as the season goes on.

Even with that being the case, Azubuike is not the kind of beat-you-down-the-floor big man that Kansas has had in the past. Asked about his mindset and skill set during the recent Big 12 Media Day in Kansas City, Self described Azubuike as the kind of player who knows where he should be at all times on the floor on offense — down low, with his back to the basket, working to get position for an easy bucket.

Azubuike showed a desire during camp games this summer to stroke jumpers from beyong the three-point line. And even though he’s got a good shot and soft touch, you can bet he won’t pull many (if any) of those during the upcoming season.

In fact, Self chuckled when the idea of Azubuike shooting from the outside was brought up earlier this week.

The bottom line is this: When Azubuike is in the game, the Jayhawks will play through the post, run their high-low stuff and operate more like a 3-out, 2-in team. When the Jayhawks want to run and get up and down the floor, Azubuike will not be in the game.

It’s as simple as that.

He might: Rip down a backboard at some point this season

That’s the stated goal of the freshman big man every time he goes to dunk the basketball. And even though this one is a little tongue and cheek, it still applies as a legitimate possibility. And who’s the last Jayhawk you could say that about?

Thomas Robinson tried to hurt the rim every time he dunked, but he shined with his athleticism as much as his power. Joel Embiid has grown a ton since leaving KU and never was really that rip-the-rim-down kind of force during his lone season at Kansas. And even though it looked in high school as if all Cliff Alexander ever wanted to do was rock the rim, he proved to be less Shaq and more shackled during his days as a Jayhawk.

I’ve had multiple Azubuike teammates tell me that if the Nigerian freshman gets you sealed off, it’s over. Those were the exact words they used. It’s. Over. With that wide body, big frame and good footwork, the hard part is done as soon as Azubuike catches the ball after sealing his man. From there, it’s just a matter of how angry he is and how much energy he wants to exert at that particular moment.

It may be a longshot, but it would not surprise me for one bit if we find ourselves sitting through a repair-the-basket delay at some point during the 2016-17 season.