Kansas junior Jalen Wilson sees ‘glimpses’ of KU operating even faster on offense next season

By Matt Tait     Jul 21, 2022
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Kansas head coach Bill Self fist bumps Kansas forward Jalen Wilson (10) as he comes out briefly during the second half on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022 at Bramlage Coliseum.

In the seven weeks following his decision to return to school for his junior season, Kansas forward Jalen Wilson has been asked for his thoughts on just how good the 2022-23 Jayhawks can be.

Each time, and without hesitation, Wilson has said something along the lines of: “We’re going to be good.”

The latest such occasion came this week, when Wilson appeared on a podcast with NCAA.com’s Andy Katz to discuss the outlook for the upcoming season.

He was joined by UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Gonzaga’s Drew Timme — two other accomplished upperclassmen who elected to return to school for another year — and Wilson was the first in line given his status as a defending national champion.

In addition to answering Katz’s question about how good these Jayhawks can be with that familiar answer — “we’re going to be good,” he said again — Wilson was asked what had stood out to him so far in KU’s offseason practices.

That answer was easy to find, as well.

“Every day I’m seeing glimpses of what we can be, a very fast team, athletic team, a good scoring team, as well,” he told Katz. “I’m getting looks of kind of just a team that’s going to be up and down (in terms of) how we like to play.”

More than that, Wilson, who along with Dajuan Harris Jr., is by far the most experienced player on KU’s 2022-23 roster, said he was most energized by the hunger and passion he has seen so far from newcomers and returners alike.

“(We have) guys who are willing to learn, no matter if they’re All-Americans or not,” he said. “Everyone’s in here willing to learn from each other, and once we have that mindset I feel like all we can do is grow. … I’m seeing a lot of good things and it’s only, what, July?”

Earlier this summer, shortly after announcing his decision to return to KU, Wilson was asked what he thought of the roster that will be tasked with defending the 2022 national title.

Although it features all kinds of new faces — and several missing faces, as well — Wilson showed then that his expectations for this group would be high.

“I think it’s really good,” he said of the KU roster. “You look at the young guys, you look at the guys who were already here with us last year, I think there’s a lot of potential.”

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.