Kansas guard Melvin Council Jr., center, laughs with Kansas guard Tre White, left, in the team locker room prior to practice on Thursday, March 19, 2026 at Viejas Arena in San Diego. Photo by Nick Krug

SAN DIEGO — Kansas had an unusually accomplished water boy at Sunday’s practice back in Lawrence.

Fifth-year senior guard Melvin Council Jr., given an unexpected day off by head coach Bill Self, found other ways to make himself useful: besides handing out water, of course, he was “rebounding, clapping, keeping the energy alive and stuff like that,” he said on Thursday.

As Self explained on Sunday, he thought it was in his point guard’s best interest to get an additional day of rest –beyond the day without a game he had already received on Saturday because KU lost in the Big 12 semifinals the night before.

“You guys could probably tell that his body’s getting a little run down,” Self said, adding in a bit of an understatement: “We’re only playing him 39 minutes a game, and asking him to basically do a lot of stuff.”

Council frequently initiates the offense in the halfcourt, pushes the pace on the fast break and guards the opposing team’s best player, all while averaging 12.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game this season.

“Melvin’s our energizer,” Self added at the podium on Thursday at Viejas Arena. “He’s our personality. People feed off his energy and personality probably more so (than) they do on anybody else on the team.”

But while Council has never been the most efficient scorer, he didn’t look himself in either the Big 12 quarterfinal win over TCU (seven points on 3-for-12 shooting in 40 minutes) or the semifinal loss to Houston (four points on 1-for-14 shooting in 35 minutes), at times vanishing for long stretches.

Those minute totals aren’t unusual. Council is averaging 35.6 per game in league play, which almost feels low considering how rarely he subs out when games hang in the balance in the second half. It’s actually somehow significantly less than what he played in league games at St. Bonaventure last season: 39.6 minutes per game.

“I’ve been doing that since I was young,” Council said. “So it’s no big deal with me.”

He ranks among the Big 12 leaders in minutes this season.

“We say it all the time, ‘God, we’re beating him up, we’re wearing him out,'” Self said. “And regardless of what anybody thinks, even though (they’re) world-class athletes and everything, his body’s never been through anything like this before, or his mind, and I think it causes some fatigue.

“But he’ll be fresher and ready to go, in large part because of a little bit of extra time, give him an extra day, but also the fact that we didn’t play well over there (in the Big 12 tournament), so that created an extra day as well.”

As it turned out, Council did not actually want to sit out on Sunday: “I’d say it was an honor, but I was kind of hurt too at the same time.”

“I was kind of upset, because I didn’t know (I) was going to get a day off,” he added. “I wanted to be there with my brothers. I’m good, though, you know. Coach Self (knew) what was best for me.”

When Council is at his best, his stamina is one of his greatest strengths. It allows him to retain the speed that sets him apart from opposing guards, and to hunt for angles elevate for significant shots late in games when opponents start to flag, as he did in big home wins against BYU and Arizona this season.

He said his ability to be out on the court for long stretches derives from his “fight.”

“I don’t like losing, I just want to be with my brothers,” he said. “Anything I got to do, I’m willing to do it.”

Council and the Jayhawks will face Cal Baptist at 8:45 p.m. Central time on Friday.