KJ Adams Jr. says his jumper could decide his role as a sophomore with KU basketball

LAWRENCE — KJ Adams Jr. knew how much trust Bill Self had in him defensively when the Kansas basketball coach put him in at the end of the national championship game in April.

It meant a lot to Adams, then a freshman. Even if he wasn’t playing a lot of minutes, he was willing to do what he could to help the team. Self, who captured a second national title as the Jayhawks’ head coach with that victory against North Carolina, would later remind everyone at the team’s banquet later that month about it all.

►RELATED: Why Tyshawn Taylor wants to put together a Kansas-led team for The Basketball Tournament

►RELATED: KU basketball players have high hopes for Ochai Agbaji, Christian Braun in NBA draft

But, speaking this past week, Adams expressed a desire to earn a larger role as a sophomore. He was grateful, of course, and thoroughly enjoyed rubbing the championship in the face of Texas Longhorns fans later on in his hometown of Austin. But he isn’t satisfied, and there’s one area of his game he’s focused on improving to make it happen.

“I think we’ll see what happens, I think whatever the team needs me, I’ll be, but it really depends on my jumper and how I — how that evolves around this summer,” said Adams, a forward for Kansas. “I think that’s really the deciding point, where I’m going to be, for next year.”

Adams added he’s already seen a lot of growth in his jumper, but feels he needs more reps to master the necessary technique. It’s confidence that he’s looking to gain. He may have had a green light back in high school at Westlake, but he’s in a different situation with the Jayhawks on a roster where many of the guys are talented shooters.

Across the 37 games Adams appeared in, including one start, he took only 25 shots from the field. He took just 20 free throws. He shot 52% from the field and 60% from the free-throw line, while averaging 4.8 minutes per appearance.

Six of Kansas’ top eight shot-takers from this past season are gone, moving on to the professional world. That includes a pair of forwards in Mitch Lightfoot and David McCormack who have worked out for NBA teams since the season ended. But that doesn’t necessarily mean their shots will be Adams’ to take now.

Fellow returning forwards in Zach Clemence and Cam Martin are aiming for more significant roles with the Jayhawks, too. There are two bigs who’ve joined the team as freshmen, in center Ernest Udeh Jr. and forward Zuby Ejiofor. Martin noted that they haven’t seen much from the incoming freshmen yet, and it’ll be interesting as everyone works through the summer and they’re able to see who can do what.

“I think it’s a lot,” said Adams, speaking to the importance of the summer drills for him and the newcomers, “because you can get so tied into … who’s going to be in this lineup, who’s going to be in that. But I feel like everybody just needs to get better at what they do. But it’s important, because this is really the only time that you can work on your individual self. And then the team will go on later when the season actually starts.”

Even if it takes time for his jumper to come along, the other aspects of Adams’ game could lead to more playing time anyway. Being on the floor alongside Clemence, who could be a reliable 3-point option as a sophomore, might lessen the need for Adams to be someone who can space the floor. Martin, who redshirted this past season as a super-senior after transferring in, described Adams as a “freak athlete” with “so much God-given ability.”

Bobby Pettiford Jr., a freshman guard this past season, said he feels like people are overlooking Adams at the moment. Adams, Pettiford pointed out, played more than any freshman on the team as Kansas went on to enjoy the success it did. Although Adams didn't score a lot, he can do other things that Pettiford said don’t show up on the stat sheet.

Either way, Adams is back after being able to learn from the experience that playing in high-profile moments provides. That’s why people decide to play for the Jayhawks, he said, and why he didn’t want to redshirt. And according to Adams, who posted on Twitter in April he was “excited to defend the title AT KANSAS,” transferring away wasn’t something that was seriously considered.

“I was always going to come back,” said Adams, explaining the tweet. “I was just letting people know that, because there was a lot of worries I was going to transfer. But my goal is, obviously, to stay here as long as I can just to be better. So, there was really no discussion of me leaving or anything like that.”

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: KJ Adams Jr. says his jumper could decide role with Kansas basketball