A deeper look at who might lead the Jayhawks in scoring this season

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas guard Devonte' Graham (4) puts a three over West Virginia guard Tarik Phillip (12) during the second half, Saturday, March 12, 2016 at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.

With another season of Kansas basketball officially under way and the Jayhawks slated to host their first actual practice of the 2016-17 season today, all of the usual questions surrounding the Jayhawks have started to pop up.

Will Kansas keep alive its streak of 12 consecutive Big 12 regular season titles?

How good will the new hot-shot freshman (in this case Josh Jackson) be for this team during the upcoming season?

Will this be the year that the Jayhawks get back to the Final Four for the first time since 2012 and second time since 2008?

Will the Jayhawks win it all this season?

You’ve heard all of them. And while some of them are easy to speculate about, most require time to reveal the true answer.

There’s another, however, that is a little more interesting in the here and now and it’s one that’s open for all kinds of debate and speculation. Heck, even KU coach Bill Self himself is wondering about this one. And, by now, you’ve surely heard the quote from Self following last weekend’s Late Night about it.

If not, here’s a look.

“I asked our guys the other
day who they thought would lead us in
scoring,” Self said. “I think Frank had five votes,
Devonte’ had four, Josh had three,
Carlton had three, I think Landen
had two. The bottom line is, I
think we could have six or seven guys
that could lead us in scoring at
different times throughout the
season.”

Outside of the fact that it’s hard to believe that anybody actually voted for Lucas to lead this ultra-talented team in scoring — not even Lucas himself would predict that — Self’s words inspired a Twiter poll and the more than 1,100 KU fans who voted in the 24-hour poll gave one player more than 50% of the vote.

Here’s a look:

Self’s exercise and that poll present a very interesting opportunity for us to dive into some serious speculation as we sit less than four weeks away from the Jayhawks’ exhibition opener on Nov. 1 against Washburn at Allen Fieldhouse.

In the spirit of the percentage wheel, here it goes…

Let’s project, throughout the course of the upcoming season, who will lead the Jayhawks in scoring — how many different players and how many times for each guy.

For this exercise, we’ll just go with the Jayhawks’ regular season since we don’t know yet who they will play and how far they will advance in the postseason.

The basis for the following predictions clearly is not scientific, rather based on common sense and a little bit of history. It’ll definitely be interesting to see how close to accurate this is at the end of the season.

For now, though, let’s dive in to a game-by-game look at projected leading scorers for the 2016-17 season and a brief explanation of why. Keep in mind that Self also said last Saturday that he could see “six or seven” different guys leading the Jayhawks in scoring at one point or another this season, so we’ll try to fit that guess, from the man who would know better than any of us, into the following exercise.

Real quick before moving on, here’s a quick look at who led the team in scoring last season and how many times: Perry Ellis (17), Wayne Selden (9), Frank Mason (5), Devonte’ Graham (3), Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (3), Brannen Greene (1).

Now, moving on to 2016-17…

Indiana (Honolulu) – DEVONTE’ GRAHAM – Season openers are for veterans and with Indiana having some serious size and talent inside, I think this one comes down to guard play. Graham has more confidence than ever and will be eager to get his season off to a great start.

Duke (NYC) – JOSH JACKSON – The Blue Devils, like Indiana, have some bulk down low, so we’ll go with the rookie in this one. Like Andrew Wiggins three years ago, Jackson will shine on the big stage.

Siena – CARLTON BRAGG – His combination of size and quickness along with his ability to play inside and out will be too much for the Saints to handle.

UAB – UDOKA AZUBUIKE – The Blazers were nearly out-rebounded by opponents last season and feature a roster with just one player (sophomore Thomas Smallwood) taller than 6-foot-9. Could be the perfect recipe for a coming out party for Azubuike in late November.

CBE Final – DEVONTE’ GRAHAM – Graham was great in KC last season at the Big 12 tournament and he’ll have that mojo going again in this one, regardless of if the Jayhawks are playing Georgia or George Washington.

UNC Ashville – FRANK MASON – The Bulldogs are young in the backcourt, so this will be the perfect time for KU’s own Bulldog to lead his team to victory.

Long Beach State – CARLTON BRAGG – The 49ers lack size and will likely be so focused in slowing down KU’s perimeter players that they could leave Bragg wide open for some easy jumpers. He’ll knock ’em down and lead the Jayhawks in this one.

Stanford – DEVONTE’ GRAHAM – Jerod Haase’s first Cardinal team has some decent guard play and athleticism, but those guys will have their hands full with Mason and Jackson. That should make Graham the beneficiary and lead to a big night.

UMKC – SVIATOSLAV MYKHAILIUK – On a night when KU should wrap this one up early, look for some of the reserves to play extended minutes.

Nebraska – LANDEN LUCAS – All four of the The Huskers’ who stand 6-foot-8 or taller are freshmen or sophomores. Give the nod to the crafty veteran on a night when his teammates make it very easy for him.

Davidson – DEVONTE’ GRAHAM – Graham shines back in KC, where the Wildcats’ big front line makes this a game in which the KU guards have to deliver.

at UNLV – JOSH JACKSON – Another game with a prime time feel, Jackson is too good and too much for the Runnin’ Rebels in Sin City.

at TCU – FRANK MASON – Balance was the name of the game in two meetings with the Horned Frogs last season, and Mason has a knack for scoring in the 10-12 point range most nights. That could do it in this one.

Kansas State – SVIATOSLAV MYKHAILIUK – None of the returning players really stood out in three meetings with KSU last season and Svi hit a combined 6-of-12 three-pointers in his three games against the Wildcats.

Texas Tech – FRANK MASON – Averaged 16.5 points per game against the Red Raiders last year and got to the free throw line a lot in both games.

at Oklahoma – DEVONTE’ GRAHAM – The last time Graham played at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, he was the best player on the floor in a game that included three NBA draft picks including OU stud Buddy Hield. Graham will be fired up for this game.

Oklahoma State – JOSH JACKSON – With Jawun Evans and Phil Forte scrapping and clawing in the Cowboys’ backcourt, the floor will be open for Jackson to take over. And he will.

at Iowa State – CARLTON BRAGG – Bragg didn’t do much against the Cyclones last season, but he also didn’t play much, recording just eight total minutes in two games. He’ll play much more than that this time around and he’ll be a match-up nightmare for the Cyclones.

Texas – DEVONTE’ GRAHAM – KU’s guards were effective in both meetings with Shaka Smart’s Longhorns last year. Although UT will be a year older and deeper into Smart’s system, they won’t quite be ready for the KU duo and their veteran ways. Flipped a coin here and it came up Graham.

at West Virginia – JOSH JACKSON – Huggy Bear’s team makes life miserable on guards and both Mason and Graham have fallen victim to Press Virginia’s ways in the recent past. That’s where Jackson’s cool, calm and collected demeanor — and freakish athleticism — will take over for the Jayhawks.

at Kentucky – JOSH JACKSON – Back-to-back big games for the standout freshman, who gets jacked up by the challenge of facing Big Blue Nation and once again shows the country why he’s a one-and-done player.

Baylor – DEVONTE’ GRAHAM – Graham and Selden both fared well against the Bears during the 2015-16 season, and with Selden gone that opens the door for Graham to have a big night at Allen Fieldhouse.

Iowa State – DEVONTE’ GRAHAM – Graham was great in No. 1 KU’s win over the Cyclones in Lawrence last year. He’ll be great again this time around in out-dueling ISU guard Monte’ Morris.

at Kansas State – FRANK MASON – The Wildcats had a hard time staying in front of Mason a year ago and staying with his grind-it-out style of play. Mason has no plans to lose his last game in Manhattan and steps up to lead the team in this one.

at Texas Tech – CARLTON BRAGG – Ellis was great in one game against the Red Raiders last season and got plenty of opportunities to be great in the other. Bragg will get the same.

West Virginia – LANDEN LUCAS – Much to the chagrin of Bob Huggins, Lucas was a man among boys in the WVU game at Allen Fieldhouse last season. He’ll remember that feeling this time around and be overjoyed that former WVU hoss Devon Williams is no longer in a Mountaineers uniform as his teammates set him up for easy buckets all night and he gets more than a few of his own doing on the offensive glass and at the free throw line.

at Baylor – DEVONTE’ GRAHAM – The Bears always bring it physically, particularly at home. So look for Mason and Jackson to be facilitators in this one and for Graham to be the beneficiary and zone buster against that BU defense.

TCU – FRANK MASON – Mason’s toughness and ability to attack the rim could be called upon against first-year TCU coach Jamie Dixon’s scrappy defense.

at Texas – CARLTON BRAGG – The UT guards will be jacked for this rematch on their home court. But somebody better remind them that stopping KU’s guards is not all that’s required to beat Kansas. Bragg benefits from all of that attention on the KU backcourt and has a monster game.

Oklahoma – CARLTON BRAGG – Fresh off of the Texas game and with OU big man Khadeem Lattin having his hands full with Lucas and Azubuike, Bragg is freed up for another big game as the Sooners make sure Graham doesn’t get ’em again.

at Oklahoma State – DEVONTE’ GRAHAM – Perhaps more than any player on this roster, Graham likes the feeling of going into another team’s home arena and quieting the crowd. He’ll do that here in hostile Gallagher-Iba Arena to send the Jayhawks into the postseason on a high note.

Now for a few final notes…

• Here’s a look at the final tally for those of you who don’t want to scroll up and add them up yourselves: Graham (10), Bragg (6), Jackson (5), Mason (5), Lucas (2), Svi (2) and Azubuike (1).

• Last year, KU guards led the Jayhawks in scoring 55 percent of the time. These projections have that number going up to 71 percent of KU’s regular season games. That’s what losing a guy like Perry Ellis can do for a program.

• As Self suggested, these projections have seven different Jayhawks leading the team in scoring at one point or another this season. The number drops to six if you don’t believe Azubuike will get it done, but that’s still right in that “six or seven” wheel house that Self talked about.

• Finally, like more than half of those who voted in the Twitter poll, I, too, am on board with the idea that Devonte’ Graham will lead the Jayhawks in scoring this season.