photo by: AP Photo/Jeff Dean

Wagner's Melvin Council Jr. gestures during the first half of the team's First Four college basketball game against Howard in the men's NCAA Tournament on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, in Dayton, Ohio.

If you have heard anything about the 2025-26 Kansas men’s basketball team, you have probably heard that Melvin Council Jr.’s play style is reminiscent of former Kansas guard Tyshawn Taylor’s.

That’s a cross-decade comparison KU coach Bill Self has made on several occasions, equating the incoming fifth-year transfer from St. Bonaventure with the respected former All-American point guard.

“Melvin will remind our fans physically and athletically of Tyshawn Taylor,” Self said in a press release when he announced Council’s signing in April.

As it turns out, he had in fact pointed out the same resemblance to Council himself, both on phone calls and when Council visited KU, before he ultimately picked the Jayhawks over Georgia, Georgia Tech and Mississippi State: “So I looked into it a lot,” Council said, per JayhawkSlant.

“I seen a couple clips of him,” he continued. “He (is) long, athletic, he just got that heart and dog in him. That’s what I got.”

And yes, Taylor has heard it too from plenty of people. Not only that, he had the chance to meet Council recently as part of festivities for the Rock Chalk Roundball Classic.

“He was like, ‘I’m going to go stand by him,’ and I thought that was pretty cool,” Taylor told the Journal-World.

The two have plenty in common on the court, for one. They’re long and athletic guards, about the same height, who can get downhill and play a high-intensity style on both ends of the court. Council helped lead Wagner to the NCAA Tournament in 2024, then last season at St. Bonaventure averaged 14.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals; as one of the most experienced players on KU’s 2025-26 roster, he’ll undoubtedly figure prominently into the Jayhawks’ plans for the year ahead.

But Taylor, for his part, hasn’t had the chance to watch his younger counterpart play much at all yet. He’s instead noticed an off-court similarity between the two: “He’s an East Coast guy, which I feel like there’s maybe some relatables there.”

Indeed, Council has spoken with pride about representing his home city of Rochester, New York: “A lot of people from Rochester, they’re good at basketball. Some people went Division I, Division II — nobody really came to this stage. Coming from Rochester, that means a lot. (I) got the city behind me, and I just want to prove to everybody, inner-city Rochester kids, that you guys can make it out of Rochester just like me.”

Taylor, meanwhile, hails from Hoboken, New Jersey, a city whose local Patch site he once told, “Being where I’m from gave me my attitude and hunger — always wanting to be the best and be great.”

Taylor, who now trains young athletes, believes Council can be great, too.

“I told him, I’ve said, ‘Bro, you’re better than me. You’ll be better than me,'” Taylor said. “… If the kid is anywhere as good as they say he is, he’ll be fine. If he works as hard as they say he does, he’ll be fine. So I’m looking forward to actually watching him.”

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas guard Tyshawn Taylor signals three after a bucket against Iowa State during the second half on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012 at Allen Fieldhouse.