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The Blue Devils are in Las Vegas to face a No. 1-ranked Kansas team in the second game of an early-season test in the West. 17Arizona. Like every game with the top team in the country, Kansas is at the top of head coach Jon Scheyer’s schedule.

The Jayhawks have also literally towered over other teams. Kansas’ style of play is based on 7-foot-2 star center Hunter Dickinson, who played three years at Michigan and was a hit in his first season in Lawrence, Kansas, last year. Any player who can produce a nearly 20-minute highlight reel in just one season is a force to be reckoned with. The preseason First Team All-American is just that – simply put, Dickinson is good at everything.

Although Dickinson leads the Jayhawks in points, rebounds, steals and blocks, the Jayhawks are more than a one-man show. Fellow transfer Zeke Mayo is tied for the lead behind Dickinson as the former South Dakota State guard averaged 12.6 points per game, second most on the team. In his time as a Jackrabbit, Mayo has never posted a mark below 36.9% from behind the arc, a number he is warming up to at an early 31% so far.

Dajuan Harris Jr. plays Mayo’s partner in the backcourt and leads the team in assists while playing as a traditional point guard. The vast majority of the senior’s 9.2 points per game came from inside, and he only shot two three-pointers per game, a meager 20%. In his redshirt junior season, Harris was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, and he continues to be a standout in that area. His defense often leads to offense as he catches his opponent in transition, allowing him to take advantage of his big basket with layups or his playmaking ability while he has the ball in his hands.

The Jayhawks’ other two starters are Rylan Griffen and KJ Adams, who play at the three and four, respectively. Griffen is a sharp-shooting guard-forward combination who played his freshman and sophomore seasons at Alabama. He’s done the same job with his shooting for head coach Bill Self’s team this season, posting a 40.9% shooting percentage from distance and making at least one three-pointer in every game he’s played so far.

Adams was the second-leading paint scorer behind Dickinson, averaging 8.6 points per game, despite never making a 3-pointer in his college career. He is a unit in the post, playing 28 minutes per game and making 53.1% of his shots. Despite Adams’ activity in the post, he was not a decisive player for a player of his stature, scoring just 3.2 points per game in his career so far.

Dickinson, Mayo, Harris, Griffen and Adams — Self’s starters — are all juniors or older, a team built very differently than the Blue Devils. These players have all experienced years of college basketball action in a variety of environments against numerous opponents and will not be put in their place by Duke. This combination of experience and talent should make the Jayhawks a formidable opponent for young Cooper Flagg and Co.

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