On April 13, 2009, key players
Sherron Collins and
Cole Aldrich announced that they would forgo the NBA draft and return for the 2009–10 season. The Jayhawks will return all players who saw significant minutes on last years Sweet 16 team. In early polls for the season, The Jayhawks were almost the consensus #1 ranked team for the 09–10 season, the only other team that was #1 in any other pre-season polls, was
Michigan State, which defeated KU in the Sweet 16 of the 2009 NCAA tournament.
Departures In the offseason the Jayhawks lost Senior walk-ons Matt Kleinmann and Brennan Bechard from the
2008–09 roster. On April 9,
Quintrell Thomas and Tyrone Appleton announced their intention to transfer to other schools due to lack of available playing time. Appleton averaged 0.8 points on 2.2 minutes per game in 2008–09 and Thomas averaged 1.5 points on 5.4 minutes. Thomas announced that he will be joining the
UNLV squad, however will not be eligible to play until the 2010–11 season. Appleton transferred to
Southwest Baptist University in Missouri.
Recruiting In October 2008, the Jayhawks received commitments from a pair of five-star recruits, Elijah Johnson from
North Las Vegas and Thomas Robinson of
Washington, D.C. On Thursday April 23, 2009 McDonald's All-American
Xavier Henry of
Oklahoma City announced his intention to play at Kansas, prompting
ESPN to name the Jayhawks as "the team to beat in 2010." The Jayhawks will add center Jeff Withey, who transferred from the
University of Arizona, and
C.J. Henry who will transfer from the
University of Memphis to join his brother Xavier. C.J. will walk on as his tuition is paid by the
New York Yankees who took him in the 2005 MLB Draft. Withey will not be eligible to play until the end of the fall semester.
Class of 2009 Transfers Accolades Team: • Big 12 Preseason #1 (unanimous) •
Blue Ribbon Yearbook preseason #1 team •
Sporting News preseason #1. • Associated Press Preseason #1 • ESPN/USAToday Preseason #1
Sherron Collins: • Big 12 Preseason Co-Player of the Year • John R. Wooden All-American and player of the year candidate • Blue Ribbon Yearbook preseason all-American team candidate • Associated Press preseason All-American
Cole Aldrich: • Big 12 Preseason Co-Player of the Year • John R. Wooden All-American and player of the year candidate • Blue Ribbon Yearbook preseason player of the year candidate. • Associated Press preseason All-American == Season summary ==