Old and new mingle at KU camp scrimmage

photo by: Chance Parker

Kansas alumnus Ben McLemore smiles during the Bill Self Basketball Camp scrimmage on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at Allen Fieldhouse.

On a day when Bill Self Basketball Camp attendees were oohing and aahing at every Hunter Dickinson pull-up 3 or Arterio Morris dunk, a much less recent addition to Kansas men’s basketball stole the show.

Ben McLemore, a onetime redshirt-freshman standout for the Jayhawks during the 2012-13 season who spent nearly a decade in the NBA, returned to Allen Fieldhouse and connected on seven 3-pointers during a KU scrimmage Wednesday afternoon. As one of a pair of Jayhawk alumni (along with Tyshawn Taylor) joining scholarship players and walk-ons in an exhibition for the gathered young campers, McLemore tallied 23 points, including back-to-back 3s late that helped his “red team” squad earn the 71-66 victory.

“Every second on that floor was just giving me more memories, more memories of playing here in the Allen Fieldhouse, in front of all these thousands and thousands of fans,” said McLemore, 30, who spent last season playing professionally in China. “It means so much playing for this program, what KU (has) done for me as well on and off the court, so being able to go back out there and shoot some 3s again was awesome.”

McLemore also expressed his admiration for the new generation of Jayhawks on the floor with him Wednesday.

“Definitely a talented group this year, I’m excited to watch this year, so I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “It was good to get up and down, get some cardio in, conditioning, things like that.”

A pair of freshmen scored in double digits. McLemore’s team got a boost from guard Elmarko Jackson, who announced his presence with an alley-oop dunk from Morris late in the first period, sank a corner 3 soon after, and wound up with 15 points. Jackson said after the scrimmage he wanted to show “a little something” of his skill set — though he believes his primary utility as a freshman will be on defense. Just a few days in, he’s getting to know the team well.

“I was talking to Nick (Timberlake), my roommate — it’s only been a couple days but it feels like we’ve known each other so much longer,” Jackson said. “I’m already knowing this season and the year’s gonna be great, because the chemistry in the locker room is amazing. We have no guys that are jealous or anything like that.”

Fellow guard Jamari McDowell, playing for the blue team, came out flying around with high energy from the opening whistle, converting a 3 and a dunk for his team’s first five points and showing some great interplay with Dickinson, as the two combined for 24 of the blue team’s first 26 points. The center Dickinson slid out frequently to the perimeter and displayed the shooting stroke that could help him score in multiple ways for KU this season. Not to mention that his 7-foot-1 stature caused problems for the undersized opposition. (Santa Clara transfer Parker Braun, who is 6-foot-10, has yet to arrive.)

“I kept saying it every time he set a screen on me, ‘Hunter, you a big guy, boy,'” McLemore said with a laugh.

The Dickinson-McDowell pairing helped their team jump out to a 22-13 lead before McLemore, Jackson and walk-on Dillon Wilhite (12 points, the highest among walk-ons) got hot from long range and seized a 35-29 lead for the red team entering halftime.

That’s when Timberlake came to the fore, showing off the pure shooting ability that made him an appealing acquisition after five seasons at Towson, and winding up with 15 points thanks to a pair of late pull-up 3s and a transition dunk that put the blue team back up 64-63.

“I didn’t believe I was gonna be here when I entered the portal … Kansas calls the second day, and I was ecstatic,” he said.

Like Jackson, he raved about the nascent chemistry.

“It was a quick transition; you would have thought we’d known each other for years,” he said. “It’s actually insane. We’ve been saying it the whole week. First two days we were here, we were all together all hanging out — it’s a family already.”

His late efforts were not enough on this day, as following his dunk, McLemore hit twice in succession from deep. That put the red team one point away, at 69-64, from hitting the arbitrary game-ending 70-point threshold. Dajuan Harris Jr. drove for a layup, but Morris banked in a close-range shot to cement the outcome for the red team. The Texas transfer finished with 10 points of his own.

photo by: Chance Parker

Kansas transfer Hunter Dickinson participates in the Bill Self Basketball Camp scrimmage on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at Allen Fieldhouse.

photo by: Chance Parker

Kansas alumnus Tyshawn Taylor smiles during the Bill Self Basketball Camp scrimmage on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at Allen Fieldhouse.

photo by: Chance Parker

Kansas’ Hunter Dickinson takes part in the Bill Self Basketball Camp scrimmage on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at Allen Fieldhouse.

photo by: Chance Parker

Kansas freshman Elmarko Jackson shoots the ball during the Bill Self Basketball Camp scrimmage on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at Allen Fieldhouse.

photo by: Chance Parker

Kansas’ Arterio Morris dribbles the ball during the Bill Self Basketball Camp scrimmage on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at Allen Fieldhouse.

photo by: Chance Parker

Kansas alumnus Ben McLemore drives the ball during the Bill Self Basketball Camp scrimmage on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at Allen Fieldhouse.

photo by: Chance Parker

Kansas walk-on Patrick Cassidy defends during the Bill Self Basketball Camp scrimmage on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at Allen Fieldhouse.

photo by: Chance Parker

Kansas transfer Nicolas Timberlake shoots the ball during the Bill Self Basketball Camp scrimmage on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at Allen Fieldhouse.

photo by: Chance Parker

Kansas guard Dajuan Harris drives the ball during the Bill Self Basketball Camp scrimmage on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at Allen Fieldhouse.

photo by: Chance Parker

Kansas transfer Nicolas Timberlake takes questions from the media after the Bill Self Basketball Camp scrimmage on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at Allen Fieldhouse.

photo by: Chance Parker

Kansas transfer Nicolas Timberlake dunks the ball during the Bill Self Basketball Camp scrimmage on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at Allen Fieldhouse.

photo by: Chance Parker

Kansas freshman Jamari McDowell dunks the ball during the Bill Self Basketball Camp scrimmage on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at Allen Fieldhouse.

photo by: Chance Parker

Kansas alum Tyshawn Taylor (middle) takes part in the Bill Self Basketball Camp scrimmage on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at Allen Fieldhouse.

photo by: Chance Parker

Kansas’ Hunter Dickinson smiles during the Bill Self Basketball Camp scrimmage on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at Allen Fieldhouse.

photo by: Chance Parker

Kansas’ Hunter Dickinson dunks the ball during the Bill Self Basketball Camp scrimmage on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at Allen Fieldhouse.

photo by: Chance Parker

Kansas’ Hunter Dickinson participates in the Bill Self Basketball Camp scrimmage on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at Allen Fieldhouse.

photo by: Chance Parker

Kansas freshman Jamari McDowell and his teammates laugh during the Bill Self Basketball Camp scrimmage on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at Allen Fieldhouse.

photo by: Chance Parker

Kansas coach Bill Self picks teams during the Bill Self Basketball Camp scrimmage on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at Allen Fieldhouse.

photo by: Chance Parker

Kansas coach Bill Self introduces his team during the Bill Self Basketball Camp scrimmage on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at Allen Fieldhouse.

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