The Kansas basketball team is expected to be one of the best in the country next season after returning All-American center Hunter Dickinson and reeling in transfers AJ Storr, Rylan Griffen, and Zeke Mayo in the portal. HC Bill Self quickly found replacements for the departures of Kevin McCullar and Johnny Furphy to make the Jayhawks a premier squad once again.

Many outlets have dubbed KU as the best team in the country heading into the 2024-25 campaign. However, On3.com writer James Fletcher III does not believe that is the case. He has the Jayhawks ranked No. 3 in the country behind Alabama and Houston, respectively. What do we think?

“Kansas waited until the deadline to find out for sure whether Johnny Furphy would return or enter the NBA Draft, with the decision to go ending up giving the Jayhawks an addition roster spot if they choose to use it.”

– On3.com’s James Fletcher III

In previous editions of Fletcher’s power rankings dating back to late May, Kansas hung around the No. 1 and 2 spots. However, they have stayed at No. 3 in each of his June rankings.

There are several factors that could have played into this, such as Elmarko Jackson’s season-ending injury earlier this month or Johnny Furphy’s decision to stay in the NBA Draft. Additionally, Alabama claimed the top spot after Nate Oats made a flurry of additions in the transfer portal and returned several starters from last year’s Final Four team.

As we’ve learned from this past year, the No. 1 spot does not automatically mean the team will compete for a national title. KU had one of its worst seasons under Coach Self after being awarded the top spot in preseason rankings. Perhaps it’s better to hover around two or three.

Even though Kansas is no longer No. 1 in his rankings, Fletcher notes that the Jayhawks can still add another player from the transfer portal. They can use their 13th scholarship or keep the last spot empty to finish the program’s self-imposed scholarship reduction for the NCAA infractions case.