2011–12 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team

Pre–season

Departures

The Jayhawks lost graduating seniors Brady Morningstar, Tyrel Reed, and Mario Little. Juniors and twin brothers Markieff Morris and Marcus Morris, plus freshman Josh Selby, departed early to enter the 2011 NBA draft. On June 23, Markieff and Marcus were drafted #13 and #14, respectively, in the first round of the draft, while Selby went in the second. Royce Woolridge also announced on April 16, 2011 his intent to transfer to another school for the following year, signing with Washington State.

Recruiting

On October 12, 2010, 4-star point guard Naadir Tharpe signed a letter of intent to join the Jayhawks as a freshman for the 2011–12 season. The 6-foot prep all-star chose Kansas over offers from Oklahoma, Minnesota, Boston College, Marquette, NC State, UNLV and others. He was previously committed to Providence. On January 24, 2011, combo-guard Christian Garrett joined the team as a walk-on. He was also recruited by NC State, Auburn, Alabama, and others. On April 3, 2011, 5-star shooting guard Ben McLemore from St. Louis, Missouri, verbally committed to Kansas after the Next All-American Classic High-School All-Star Game, over offers from Missouri, Tennessee, Illinois, Arkansas, Purdue, and others. On April 10, 2011, Canadian forward Braeden Anderson committed to the Jayhawks over Kentucky, Arizona, Memphis, and Missouri. Jamari Traylor joined in May, while June saw the additions of Kevin Young and Merv Lindsay.

Eligibility

Three of Kansas' six recruits were declared ineligible for the 2011–12 season. Braeden Anderson was not approved to play by the Big 12 Conference due to their policy on partial qualifiers. Ben McLemore and Jamari Traylor were also declared ineligible but were able to practice with the team during the spring semester, and would be eligible to play in the 2012–13 season.

Class of 2011

|- |} Transfers |}

Roster

• Bill Self ()
• Danny Manning ()
• Joe Dooley ()
• Kurtis Townsend ()

Schedule

|- !colspan=12 style="background:#00009C; color:#FFFFFF;"| Exhibition Network](espn-plus) Network |- !colspan=12 style="background:#00009C; color:#FFFFFF;"| Non-conference regular season Network Network Network |- !colspan=12 style="background:#00009C; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big 12 Tournament |- !colspan=12 style="background:#00009C; color:#FFFFFF;"|NCAA tournament

Rankings

Awards

;Bill Self

• Big 12 Co-Coach of the Year
• Naismith College Coach of the Year
• Sporting News National Coach of the Year and Big 12 Coach of the Year
• Adolph Rupp Cup

;Thomas Robinson

• 1st Team All-American (Sporting News, USBWA, NABC, ESPN.com, AP, John R. Wooden)
• ESPN.com National Player of the Year
• Big 12 Player of the Year and 1st Team All-Big 12
• Sporting News Big 12 Player of the Year
• Associated Press Big 12 Player of the Year and 1st Team All-Big 12
• 4x Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week (November 28, December 12, January 2, February 27)

;Tyshawn Taylor

• 1st Team All-Big 12
• Associated Press 1st Team All-Big 12
• 2x Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week (January 16, March 4)
• Sporting News 3rd Team All-American
• USBWA 3rd Team All-American
• NABC All-District 8 First Team
• Associated Press 3rd Team All-American

;Jeff Withey

• Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year
• Big 12 All-Defensive Team and 3rd Team

References

References

1. "Thomas Robinson, Kansas thwart Missouri in OT for share of Big 12 title". ESPN.com.
2. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100325122627/http://rivals.yahoo.com/basketballrecruiting/basketball/recruiting/commitments/2011/kansas-20 Kansas Class of 2011 – Rivals]
3. "2011 Kansas Basketball Recruiting Commits".
4. "College Basketball Recruiting Schools - ESPN".
5. [http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1225007 Rivals Team Rankings]
6. "Kansas Men's Basketball To Face Traditional National Powers In Challenging 2010–11 Non-Conference Schedule".
7. (2012-03-06). "Kansas' Bill Self is the Sporting News Coach of the Year". Sporting News.
8. (2012-03-06). "Sporting News All-American team: Thomas Robinson, Kansas". Sporting News.
9. (2012-03-05). "Kansas' Robinson earns Big 12 honor {{!}} FOX Sports". FOX Sports.
10. "Withey, Allen Earn Men's Basketball Weekly Awards". Big12Sports.com.
11. (2012-03-07). "Sporting News 2012 All-American college basketball teams". Sporting News.