The Kansas men’s basketball roster drew one player closer to completion on Monday, when Iowa State transfer Jalen Coleman-Lands officially made the move to Lawrence.
Coleman-Lands, who committed to KU in mid-May, is a 6-foot-4, 190-pound shooting guard who, at age 24, is set to begin his seventh season of college basketball.
He’ll play at KU as a super senior and is only getting the opportunity for one more run because of the NCAA’s blanket waiver for an additional year of eligibility because of the pandemic.
Coleman-Lands will turn 25 on July 15 and he comes to KU with his sights set on finishing his basketball career on a high note and making an impact in the community while he’s here.
In addition to his post-graduate studies, Coleman-Lands has founded a non-profit organization, FigurePrint, that is designed to help young people overcome communication barriers in the home. He recently told the Journal-World that he hopes to grow the business in the Lawrence community and beyond.
The Indianapolis native logged 102 starts in 133 career games at Illinois (2 years), DePaul (3 years) and Iowa State (1 year).
After redshirting the 2017-18 season following a transfer to DePaul, the former top-40 prep prospect had a medical redshirt in 2018-19 after getting injured. He started all 41 games he played at DePaul and then started 22 of 23 games with the Cyclones last year.
One day into his time as a Jayhawk, Coleman-Lands said he already felt a deep connection.
“It feels good,” he said in a KU social media video chronicling move-in day on Monday. “It’s the people that make this community and I’m part of it. I’m excited, man. I’m excited to get going.”
Coleman-Lands is one of 10 new faces added to the program in the offseason — eight scholarship players and two walk-ons.
And while his exact role will be determined gradually throughout the next few months, his experience, maturity and versatility — as an offensive and defensive weapon — should allow him plenty of opportunities to crack the rotation.
His prognosis for increased playing time will only go up if any of the trio of Ochai Agbaji, Remy Martin and Jalen Wilson elect to stay in the NBA draft instead of returning to KU for the 2021-22 season.
On Monday, none of that mattered to Coleman-Lands, who had been to Allen Fieldhouse one time before Monday as a member of the Cyclones.
“Right now, even just seeing the arena and being welcomed as part of this family has a whole different feel (than) coming in as an opponent,” he said in the video. “It’s big time.”
By Tuesday morning, Coleman-Lands had officially been added to KU’s roster online.
After wearing No. 5 throughout his career, including last season at Iowa State, Coleman-Lands will wear No. 55 with the Jayhawks. On a recent episode of our “Basketball Friends” podcast, he explained why.
“Wearing 5 throughout my whole college career, and with this being my last stop, I just wanted to double down and double up,” he said.
KU coach Bill Self, on a Monday appearance of the podcast Courtside with Greenberg and Dakich, said Coleman-Lands’ biggest strength was his ability to put the ball in the basket.
“I’m excited about him,” Self said. “The biggest reason is he can shoot. He is a 40%, six-year college player. He’s transferred and sat out and got a redshirt hardship health injury and then got another year back. I’m really excited about him.”
There’s a new guy on campus…
Jayhawk Nation, join us in welcoming ???????????????????? ????????????????????????????-???????????????????? to the 785! ???? pic.twitter.com/deZfK3OHsO
— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) June 22, 2021
