The Kansas Jayhawks basketball have had a wild offseason. The transfer portal giveth and the transfer portal taketh away, but as the old saying goes: Faces change, expectations don't. To be honest, expectations haven't been this high in a long time for the Jayhawks, picking up the #1 transfer Hunter Dickinson, returning superstars like Dajuan Harris, KJ Adams, and Kevin McCullar, and of course, having the best active coach in the entire NCAA in Bill Self will do that. Kansas is almost a shoo-in for preseason #1. However, it will all begin with exhibition matchups in Puerto Rico this week, exhibition games that will prove to be tough tests against pro talent.
The Jayhawks landed in Puerto Rico yesterday to begin their excursion in the US Territory. They will face the Puerto Rico Select Team August 3rd at 11am CST, then back-to-back matchups against the national team of the Bahamas August 5th at 4pm CST and August 7th at 11am CST. All games will take place at the Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum in San Juan and be broadcasted on the Jayhawk Radio Network, per KUsports.com. The Puerto Rico squad will be made up of All-Stars from the national league of Puerto Rico the Baloncesto Superior Nacional, in which NBA Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson got his start. The Bahamas team, however, is where it gets really interesting. Former KU guard Remy Martin, along with current NBA players Eric Gordon, Klay Thompson, Kai Jones, known Kansas thorn in side Buddy Hield, and Deandre Ayton will all be a part of the Bahamas squad facing KU, per the Kansas City Star.
This will be the toughest exhibition trip KU has probably ever faced. The Puerto Rican league is certainly no joke, and going up against talents like Klay Thompson and Deandre Ayton along with other notable NBAers will be an uphill battle, but given the talent this Kansas roster has, there's potential for KU to keep their streak of 33 straight exhibition games won alive. It all starts tomorrow though, where we will get our first taste of this star-studded KU roster. Too bad after this we will have to wait until November for more, BUT, KU football season is right around the corner, and for the first time in over a decade there's something to be excited about! More on them later...
Burn Notice: 9/10 Puerto Rican heat
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