Welcome back: Current Kansas Jayhawks practice against KU’s entry in the upcoming TBT

Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self and his Jayhawks players welcomed the Mass Street TBT KU alumni squad into the practice gym adjacent to Allen Fieldhouse for a workout Monday afternoon.

“It wasn’t a scrimmage. We just practiced, but we did competitively go against each other. It was good,” said Self, beginning his 21st season in Lawrence.

The KU alumni team, led by former Jayhawk/European sensation Keith Langford, will meet We are D3, a collection of former NCAA Div. III all-stars at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Koch Arena in Wichita. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.

If KU wins its opener in the single-elimination, $1 million winner-take-all 64 team tourney, it would meet either a Missouri Tigers alumni team or UNLV alumni squad at 3 p.m. Saturday at Koch Arena. A win in that game would mean a spot in Sunday’s regional final, set for a 2 p.m. start at Koch Arena. Saturday’s game will be streamed on ESPN+, Sunday’s game on ESPNU.

“I tell you, Thomas Robinson can still play and Keith Langford can still play. That stood out. Jamari (Traylor), Mario Little, Kevin Young … they had a pretty good group. Fresh legs prevailed,” Self added, ostensibly referring to the current Jayhawks outlasting the older TBT squad.

Asked which TBT players stood out to him, Self said: “I haven’t seen Thomas play in a while. His conditioning impressed me. He looks like he’s put on muscle and lost weight. He looks good.”

Robinson, 32, is a former NBA player who competed overseas in 2022-23.

“Ty (Taylor, former KU guard) didn’t practice today,” Self said. “They played Lagerald (Vick) and Keith at the point. They can play that way. I think Ty can help them when he gets back. They need Ty.”

Taylor, 33, who did not play pro ball last season, instead training athletes in Lawrence, informed The Star in a text message that he has a calf injury and is questionable for the team’s TBT opener.

Of the current Jayhawks’ play against the elder former Jayhawks, Self said: “We all did pretty well. I thought Kevin (McCullar) and Juan (Harris) had really good days for sure.”

The Jayhawks have been practicing four hours a week and playing pickup games in Lawrence since early June. They can hold 10 official regular season-style practices in advance of their Aug. 1-8 trip to Puerto Rico for three exhibition games.

“I think they’ve done well this summer. I think they like each other, like playing with each other,” Self said of the 2023-24 Jayhawks. “I think Kevin McCullar, Juan and KJ (Adams) have been great. I think they are spearheading everything right now,” he added of the squad’s three returning starters.

Of super-senior McCullar, who elected to exit the 2023 NBA Draft pool and return to KU for a second season in Lawrence after three at Texas Tech, Self said: “Kevin is a different player than he was last year. He’s a lot more aggressive, a lot more confident offensively.”