Kansas Basketball: Redshirt Candidates for the Jayhawks

As the Jayhawks finished up a brief two-game exhibition schedule in non-convincing fashion Tuesday evening, head coach Bill Self was left with five days to contemplate a full-season redshirt for his young roster.

The highly respected coach gunning for a tenth-straight Big 12 title was lauded for the difficult decision to redshirt then-sophomore Travis Releford in 2009-10, a season in which the experience-starved Jayhawks could have badly used his talent.

"I don't know if we'll redshirt anybody (this season)," Self told the Kansas City Star on Tuesday. "But there'll be some serious talks the next couple of days."

If Self and his staff elect to use a redshirt, there are three likely candidates on his young roster.

Brannen Greene

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Brannen Greene, a 6'7" shooting guard entering his first season with the Jayhawks, appeared to be a staple of Self's revamped offense for the 2013-14 season prior to pledges from Wayne Selden and Andrew Wiggins.

Now, the Georgia native's smooth stroke could easily, albeit understandably and unintentionally, be lost amongst a bevy of young playmakers.

Greene scored 16 points in 23 minutes of play during the Jayhawks' two-game exhibition schedule. He appears destined for a sub-10 minute bench role this year, barring a drastic barrage of cold shooting from the Kansas starting five.

While Self could certainly use his scoring, a developmental year alongside Kurt Townsend could vault Greene into Big 12 elite status very quickly.

Andrew White III

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Many thought then-freshman Andrew White III was headed toward a redshirt last fall, but Self elected to use the shooting guard five minutes per game behind Ben McLemore and Elijah Johnson.

He has been lauded for a tremendous offseason work ethic and could have cracked the starting lineup if Wiggins chose to play elsewhere. But now, he finds himself with a largely undefined role entering Friday's season opener.

Another player with monster potential, White could land a rare non-freshman coach's decision redshirt as a sophomore in 2013-14.

Conner Frankamp

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Conner Frankamp, arguably the best in-state point guard recruit for Kansas in the last 20 years, is the Jayhawks' most likely candidate for a redshirt.

If the 6-foot Wichita native does crack the active roster this season, it is highly doubtful he will see significant time at point with upperclassman Naadir Tharpe and fellow freshman Frank Mason leading the charge.

Mason played a combined 37 minutes in KU's two exhibition games, most of which came alongside the expected starting lineup.

Frankamp would be relegated to a clean-up combo 2-guard role if Self elects to insert the multi-talented guard into his nightly lineup. Therefore, he might choose to let assistant Kurt Townsend work his magic for one season instead.