Kansas guard Kohl Rosario (7) delivers a dunk after a lob from Kansas guard Melvin Council Jr. (14) during the first half on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025 at Allen Fieldhouse. Photo by Nick Krug

It’s not unusual to see freshman Kohl Rosario practicing his shot on James Naismith Court before or after any given Kansas men’s basketball game.

“Not everybody works like Kohl,” KU coach Bill Self said on Monday.

That might not necessarily be a bad thing: “Kohl’s in the gym too much,” Self added. “He needs to go be a kid.” In fact, the KU coaches have been telling the eager Rosario, who reclassified to join the Jayhawks for the 2025-26 season, that he needs to find something to do other than play basketball since essentially when he arrived on campus over the summer, as Rosario himself said at the time.

“It’s probably too much, but that’s what he loves to do and you can’t keep him out of here,” Self said.

On Monday night, as KU demolished Davidson, it was hard to argue with the results of Rosario’s regimen. The wing from Miami, playing his highest total number of minutes since Nov. 25, took advantage with 13 points, including three 3-pointers. It was his best offensive showing since he scored 16 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Nov. 11.

“It felt good to see a couple go in,” Rosario said. “Every time I shoot, I feel like it’s going in. It actually happened this time, so I’m very grateful for that.”

He did need 10 shots in 19 minutes to get to those 13 points, including seven from long range.

“I thought he got up a lot of shots per minute,” Self said.

Yes, maybe — as with his pre- and postgame routine — too many, as Rosario made a couple of 3s early in the second half and immediately fired two more that were somewhat less justifiable.

But Self also appreciated the rookie’s performance nonetheless.

“He needs to see the ball go in the basket, and he did, and that was good, and (he) made a couple athletic plays,” Self said. “That was fun to see. I also thought Jayden Dawson played well, so that was good to see.”

Indeed, Rosario wasn’t the only contributor off the bench.

Self clearly made a concerted effort to expand his rotation for KU’s final two nonconference games against Towson and Davidson, but he hadn’t been particularly impressed with the showings from non-starters versus Towson. They were better on Monday night. The Jayhawks tallied 23 bench points, a respectable total by the standards of a team that has relied heavily on its starting lineup.

Part of why the reserves got more time was because KU, as has been the case for much of the season, had one less player at its disposal with star freshman guard Darryn Peterson out due to cramping issues. He has played in just four of 13 games and 22 total minutes at Allen Fieldhouse.

“I wish he could have played tonight, but the fact of the matter (is) other guys got some run and they did well,” Self said. “So hopefully, you know, giving some other guys some opportunities will hopefully make us deeper as we get into conference play.”

Samis Calderon, Dawson, Elmarko Jackson and Paul Mbiya all chipped in along with Rosario, and their efforts weren’t exclusively on the offensive end. Rosario, as he usually does, found himself around every possible loose ball, Dawson had a key chase-down block and Jackson dished out five assists in 15 minutes of play — two on back-to-back 3s by Rosario in the second half.

“Obviously it’s great momentum for me, but I think it’s better for the team too,” Rosario said. “… We can all actually enjoy Christmas right now since we all played good, came out with a win. So we’re excited to come back too.”

KU will come back after the holiday and then travel to Orlando, Florida, to face UCF on Jan. 3.

photo by: AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

Kansas guard Kohl Rosario (7) dunks the ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Davidson, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Lawrence.

photo by: AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

Kansas guard Kohl Rosario (7) and Davidson guard Roberts Blums chase a loose ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Lawrence.

photo by: AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

Kansas guard Kohl Rosario celebrates after making a basket during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Davidson, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Lawrence.