Kansas could be getting exactly what it needs with Billy Preston and Silvio De Sousa

Kansas needs some help. That much is apparent. Sure, the Jayhawks are fine if we’re talking about merely earning a decent seed in the NCAA Tournament, but that isn’t the standard in Lawrence.

After an as-expected 7-0 start, Kansas took back-to-back losses against Washington in Kansas City (74-65) and then against Arizona State at Allen Fieldhouse (95-85). The Jayhawks are clinging to a top-15 spot in this week’s AP poll thanks only to a Svi Mykhailiuk last-second three that allowed KU to leave Lincoln with a 73-72 win over Nebraska Saturday. Had the corner trey not gone down, Bill Self’s team would have found itself mired in a three-game losing streak for the first time since February 2013.

The difference between this and the “could Kanas be vulnerable in the Big 12” freakouts from year’s past has been that main issue plaguing the Jayhawks isn’t correctible. KU, a program which has thrived under Self thanks in large part to frontcourt dominance, has been playing with just one legitimate big man. Starting center Udoka Azubuike is a massive 7-footer with a limited offensive game, but outside of Azubuike, Self hasn’t been able to play anyone taller than 6’8. The situation has become so dire that Self even brought in football player James Sosinski to try and give the team at least some boost in bulk.

Help could be on the way soon in the form of five-star freshman Billy Preston and 6’9 potential freshman Silvio De Sousa.

Preston, the crown jewel of Kansas’ recruiting class of 2017, has been held out of play this season under mysterious circumstances. He was involved in a single car accident on Nov. 11, and an hour before the team’s game against Kentucky three days later, Kansas released a statement saying that Preston would not play while the school looked into the financial situation surrounding the car he had been driving.

De Sousa is currently a member of the class of 2018, but the power forward could graduate high school early and join the Jayhawks for the second half of this season. Much of that hinges on the score of De Sousa’s SAT, which he is supposed to receive at some point this week.

“I would say we are (hoping they can play in conference games),” Self told The Kansas City Star on Tuesday. “Hopefully we can start preparing that way the 26th. We’ll know about Silvio for sure by then. Billy I hope so (by then). Silvio … I think we’ll know in a couple of days for sure.”

The addition of Preston could be just what the doctor ordered for a Kansas team that has been overly reliant on perimeter scoring all season long. That’s fine when Mykhailiuk, Devonte’ Graham, Malik Newman and company are hitting from the outside, but when that hasn’t been the case, the Jayhawks haven’t had a Plan B. Such was the case when the team shot just 25 percent from beyond the arc against Washington. The outside oriented attack has also resulted in Kansas ranking 350 out of 351 Division I teams in free-throw rate.

When the ball does go into the paint, Azubuike’s limited offensive game has allowed opposing defenses to effectively clutter the lane and disrupt KU possessions. Having a versatile power forward like Preston who can score from just about any spot on the floor should create more space for everyone.

Where Preston might be even more of a significant help is on the defensive end. Mykhailiuk and Newman are both questionable defenders, and Preston’s absence has forced 6’5 junior Lagerald Vick (who has stepped up to be the team’s leading scorer at 17.5 ppg) to guard out of position. Having a traditional four like Preston or De Sousa, if he joins the team, should allow Self to field the familiar attack on both ends of the court that has made his teams so successful over the years.

“Hopefully this is the last game we have to play this small,” Self said of his team’s Thursday night game at Stanford.

The additions of Preston and De Sousa won’t clear up all the warts Kansas has shown through the season’s first month, but they should significantly alleviate the biggest one.