It’s time to head to the bench for the latest in our series He Will, He Won’t, He Might, which has sought to outline what we should and should not expect from each member of the Kansas men’s basketball team during the upcoming 2016-17 season.
We began the series with KU’s projected — and almost certain — starting lineup of Frank Mason, Devonte’ Graham, Josh Jackson, Carlton Bragg and Landen Lucas.
Now it’s time to move to the bench, where there are at least a few questions about roles, production and depth.
We’ll start the look at the bench with Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, a foreign-born player who, despite not having a consistent role during his first two seasons as a Jayhawk, has remained one of KU’s most intriguing players and a bona fide NBA prospect.
In case you missed the first few installments of the series, be sure to click on the links below to check out our look at the starting five.
He Will, He Won’t, He Might: Frank Mason
He Will, He Won’t, He Might: Devonte’ Graham
He Will, He Won’t, He Might: Josh Jackson
He Will, He Won’t, He Might: Carlton Bragg
He Will, He Won’t, He Might: Landen Lucas
Now… On to Svi.
He will: Have the best season of his KU career
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During his two seasons as a member of the Kansas men’s basketball team, the young Ukrainian guard has played a total of 740 minutes in 61 games. That averages out to 12.1 minutes per game but the total is barely half of what KU senior Frank Mason logged as both a sophomore and junior with the Jayhawks.
The point? As he enters his third season with the Jayhawks, the 19-year-old guard is staring at his best opportunity to truly contribute to the Jayhawks’ rotation.
Mason’s still here. So are Graham and freshman phenom Josh Jackson. But Svi figures to get every opportunity to become the first perimeter player off the bench and could push for major minutes in some games, depending on foul trouble to teammates.
What’s more, KU coach Bill Self has said that he could play a lot of four-guard lineups this season and that gives Svi another golden opportunity to contribute. At 6-foot-8, 205 pounds, the junior who led the Ukrainian national team in nearly everything this summer provides good size and guard skills in one package.
Known mostly as a three-point shooter by Kansa fans — he shot .361, 52-of-144, from downtown during his first two seasons in Lawrence — Svi has the skills to do more but thus far has not been given the consistent opportunity to deliver.
Not only will the opportunity be there in 2016-17, the need might be, as well. Svi could wind up being the most important player on Kansas’ bench and should be poised to eclipse his career averages of 4.3 points, 1.3 rebounds and 12.1 minutes this season.
He won’t: Disappear for long stretches of the season
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Part of the reason Mykhailiuk disappeared for long stretches during his first two seasons was that he just wasn’t needed. Self gave the young man multiple opportunities to prove he belonged in the rotation, but KU’s depth and Self’s trust, or lack thereof, continually got in the way of Svi carving out a consistent role.
While starting six games as a 17-year-old freshman (the youngest player ever to start in the Bill Self era), Svi began his career with double-digit minutes in seven straight games. He played just 26 total that season, however, and reached double digits in just 14 of those. His longest dry spell came during the heart of conference play when he played single-digit minutes eight times in a nine-game stretch at one point.
Last year, although he did not record a start, his minutes and appearances went up and Svi played in 35 games, reaching double digit minutes in 26 of them. His dry spells became less frequent as he played single-digit minutes in three of four games twice, once in late December and again in mid-February.
The numbers all point to Svi trending in the right direction and with little perimeter depth on the bench and Svi being, by far, the most experienced player on KU’s bench, he not only figures to get more time but also to be counted on to deliver.
He might: Wind up being one of KU’s primary ball handlers
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Svi played with the ball in his hands a lot this summer, leading his national team to an eighth-place finish at the Under-20 European Championships in Finland. While that led to his leading the team in turnovers, it also led to the return of his confidence as a play-maker.
With Devonte’ Graham, Frank Mason and Josh Jackson all on the roster — and in the starting lineup — Svi’s ability to handle the ball and do it well is not critical for this team. But when those guys rotate out or find foul trouble, the scenario exists that easily could make Svi’s ability to handle the ball an important factor for this team.
It’s unlikely that he’ll ever be the primary ball handler on the floor, at least not during a game that is still in doubt. But it seems just as likely that, as teams try to harass Graham and Mason, Svi will need to at least be available to pick up some of that pressure in order to keep KU’s offense humming.
We’ve seen what Svi can do with the ball and, from time to time, he has looked more than capable. Add those glimpses to the confidence he got this summer and the fact that he’s a veteran now and it seems safe to say that even if his turnovers go up, Svi’s importance as a ball handler will go up with them.
