Have any newcomers stood out at KU hoops Boot Camp? Agbaji, Cam Martin offer takes

Kansas’ 7 to 8 a.m. Boot Camp conditioning sessions are designed to challenge all 18 of the Jayhawks’ men’s basketball players, particularly the newcomers experiencing coach Bill Self’s two-week training program for the first time.

So which of the 10 first-year Jayhawks have impressed the most through the first three sessions of the 2021-22 school year?

“I’d say KJ. He’s been in my group for when we do stations. I’m helping him, but he’s been working hard,” KU senior guard Ochai Agbaji said Wednesday, referring to KJ Adams, a 6-foot-7, 220-pound freshman forward out of Austin, Texas.

“They are all hard working,” Agbaji added of freshmen scholarship players Adams, Zach Clemence, Kyle Cuffe and Bobby Pettiford, transfers Jalen Coleman-Lands, Cam Martin, Remy Martin and Joseph Yesufu plus freshman walk-ons Charlie McCarthy and Dillon Wilhite.

“All the newcomers are doing a really good job so far. It’s cool to see how they adjust and how we’re bringing them along and helping them through.”

Cam Martin, a 6-9, 230-pound Super Senior transfer forward from Missouri Southern, also cited Adams first when asked who’s impressed him the most out of the newcomer group during the early portions of Boot Camp.

“He (Adams) has been doing well. And also Zach Clemence, he’s a big who has been doing really well too,” Cam Martin said of Clemence, a 6-10, 220-pound freshman forward from San Antonio, Texas. “He’s in my group. So I get to see them more than I get to see a lot of the other guys just because we’re in our own little groups. But yes they’ve both done really well.”

The two Jayhawks who met with media members Wednesday — Agbaji and Cam Martin — appear to be in top shape themselves.

“I’m down 14 pounds since I’ve been here,” said Martin, who reported for summer school on June 5. “That was a big (goal),” he added of slimming down. “Just to get quicker. We’re not too worried about the scale, but just being more explosive. Coach (Bill) Self wants me playing above the rim. And just being as athletic as possible.”

Agbaji, 6-5, 215 out of Oak Park High School, says he’s in the best shape of his life coming off a summer in which he worked out for several NBA teams while deciding whether to keep his name in the 2021 NBA Draft or return to school for a senior season. He elected to return.

“I’d be working out two or three times a day, seeing how far I can push my body,” Agbaji said. “The trainer I was working out with, his main guy is Damian Lillard (of NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers). He (trainer) was always talking about how hard he worked out. He’d be going two or three times a day. The pace and work ethic of his workouts were 100% every single time, every single rep. Seeing that at the highest level of an all-star, that’s special,” Agbaji added.

Agbaji said “a lot of things come with conditioning — decision making, shooting, getting to the basket, getting to the free throw line, different things like that. That’s what I’ve learned through the summer.

“I’ve been focusing more on my diet, taking better care of my body, recovery,” Agbaji explained, noting he’s at the same playing weight as he was as a junior. “Taking care of my body so I can last throughout the season. Once we get into February and March when you are trying to make that final push, that’s key to keep your body fresh and healthy.”

It seems the team’s most-hyped newcomer, former Arizona State standout point guard Remy Martin, has fared well not only at Boot Camp but in workouts and pick-up games.

“He kind of reminds me a little bit of Devon,” Agbaji said, comparing the 6-foot, 175-pound Martin, a two-time first-team all-Pac 12 selection, to Devon Dotson, a 6-2, 185-pound second-year member of the NBA’s Chicago Bulls. “The way he can switch speeds, get downhill from different spots on the floor .... his quickness I think matches Devon’s.”

Cam Martin agreed Remy Martin has been a bright spot.

“So far he’s been a great teammate. He’s been a great facilitator. He’s playing like a true point guard, just getting everybody shots, playing downhill. Very quick first step. Great passer,” Cam Martin said.

Cam Martin was asked what’s been the toughest thing about Self’s Boot Camp compared to former KU guard Jeff Boschee’s conditioning program at Missouri Southern.

“Playing at Missouri Southern, coach Boschee, actually he played at KU, not under coach Self, but he played under coach (Roy) Williams. And our conditioning program is pretty similar. It was spaced out longer, but we still did about eight, nine days over three weeks. And it’s been a good experience so far, just building with your teammates and stuff like that. It’s really fun,” Cam Martin said.

“(There have been) no surprises. I kind of struggle waking up every day at 6 a.m., but that’s been really the only difference,” Cam Martin stated.

He said the Jayhawks actually accomplished a lot conditioning-wise this summer under strength coach Ramsey Nijem.

“I think we are in pretty good shape,” Cam Martin said. “We came into Boot Camp in shape. Mitch (Lightfoot, sixth-year Jayhawk forward) brought it up, that he wants this to be his best Boot Camp yet. And so we’ve been working hard since school started. And I think it’s been showing so far.”

Boot Camp will run through Friday, then the players will be awarded the weekend off before continuing Boot Camp next Monday through Thursday or Friday.