photo by: AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

Kansas guard Zeke Mayo (5) celebrates after making a basket during the second half of an exhibition NCAA college basketball game against Washburn Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, in Lawrence. Kansas won 84-53.

After enduring a long offseason following a second straight second-round exit from the NCAA Tournament, then playing a pair of disparate exhibition games, the Kansas men’s basketball team returns to the court for real on Monday.

The Jayhawks will host Howard at Allen Fieldhouse at 7 p.m. Monday night. The game is both the second annual McLendon Classic — honoring John McLendon, a KU alumnus and the first African American basketball coach at a predominantly white university — and a rematch of the 2023 NCAA Tournament first-round matchup that KU won 96-68.

Head coach Kenny Blakeney then led the Bison to a second straight tournament berth, and just the fourth in the program’s history, last season. (Incidentally, they have lost two of those four tournament games to KU; last year they bowed out against Wagner in the First Four.)

Howard expects another strong campaign in the MEAC this year, with a projection to win the league and preseason conference player of the year honors for Bryce Harris, a senior guard who led the team in points (16.6) and rebounds (7.5) per game last season. Fellow backcourt starter Marcus Dockery, another double-digit scorer, was a second-team preseason all-league selection.

In last year’s McLendon Classic, also the season opener, KU beat North Carolina Central 99-56 behind 20-plus-point performances by Kevin McCullar Jr. and Hunter Dickinson. North Carolina Central ended up one spot ahead of Howard in last season’s final NCAA NET rankings.

Dickinson, who debuted for KU in that game last season, will be in the spotlight this time around as he is expected to make his first appearance of the new year after missing both exhibition games due to a foot sprain. The same is true for backup point guard Shakeel Moore, a Mississippi State transfer who missed nine weeks of practice with a broken bone in his foot. Head coach Bill Self said on Friday that Dickinson and Moore had not recently been limited in practice, “so yeah, unless something unforeseen happens, we should be good.”

The Howard game will provide an opportunity for Dickinson to demonstrate his offseason improvement, though Self said it might not necessarily be evident right away as he looks to regain his rhythm.

“His touch around the basket’s been almost perfect,” forward Zach Clemence said of Dickinson. “His shooting, it’s always been good, but it’s falling a lot more. He’s got a good mindset going into his last (year) for sure, you can just see it in his eyes.”

Exactly who could start the game along with Dickinson is not yet known, though the long-hypothesized lineup of Dickinson with fellow returnees KJ Adams and Dajuan Harris Jr. and transfers Zeke Mayo and AJ Storr — essentially the Arkansas lineup with Dickinson back in for Flory Bidunga — could be a strong possibility.

Self, who stated on Friday he hadn’t made a decision with regard to the starting lineup or possible redshirt candidates, previously said the only reason he benched Mayo for the Washburn exhibition was that he couldn’t get Mayo to shoot the ball in practice; Mayo responded by shooting both frequently and accurately against the Ichabods.

No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks vs. Howard Bison

• Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, 7 p.m.

• Broadcast: ESPN+

• Radio: Jayhawk Radio Network (in Lawrence, KLWN AM 1320 / K269GB FM 101.7 / KMXN FM 92.9)

Keep an eye out

Storr steadying: Storr, who arrived from Wisconsin in the offseason as one of the top transfers in the portal, didn’t look comfortable in either exhibition game, averaging eight points and two rebounds on just 33% shooting. Self has taken responsibility for Storr’s current state, noting that the player is trying to reconcile his own idea of what it means to be aggressive on the court with Self’s and may be thinking too much as a result. Whatever the case, KU has big games coming up as early as Friday against North Carolina, so the opener could be a significant opportunity for Storr to demonstrate his considerable promise and find some sort of stride.

Moore’s minutes: Moore is coming off a longer absence due to injury than Dickinson and didn’t have too long to get acclimated to KU basketball before he got hurt. Self has spoken highly of his experience and his defensive potential, also drawing a line between his role as a point guard and David Coit’s playing off the ball. In this game, it’ll be interesting to see whether Self goes to Moore as the first point guard off the bench or shifts Mayo over to handle the ball when Dajuan Harris is out, and how that arrangement might evolve over the course of the season.

McLendon recognition: This year’s iteration of the McLendon Classic doesn’t feature a community event the prior day like last year’s inaugural edition, but along with patches for the coaching staffs and pregame shooting shirts for the players, there will be moments dedicated to honoring McLendon during the game. There will be opportunities to “highlight current affinity groups at KU that are continuing McLendon’s legacy of inclusion, proactivity and perseverance,” according to a press release.

Off-kilter observation

Five players who played for Howard in its 2023 matchup against KU are still on the roster: Dockery, Bryce Harris, Ose Okoije, Miles Stewart and Ayodele Taiwo. KU has three from that game in Adams, Zach Clemence and Dajuan Harris.