Who Should Be Redshirted?

Kansas has had some recent success with redshirts. Brady Morningstar developed into the team's best perimeter defender and a very good passer and three point shooter thanks in part to being redshirted. And, though it wasn't by choice, Ben McLemore certainly benefited from being redshirted. Kansas is deeper this year than they have been since probably 2010 (or maybe even 2008) but with how much Bill Self likes to have a rotation of 8 or so, it's very possible we see a redshirt. Let's look at the candidates:

The "No Way"s

These are guys who, whether it be because they're too good, too old, already redshirted, or not good enough, aren't going to be a redshirt:

Wayne Selden

Justin Wesley

Evan Manning

Naadir Tharpe

Tyler Self

Christian Garrett

Niko Roberts

Joel Embiid

Andrew Wiggins

Tarik Black

Jamari Traylor

Landen Lucas

Perry Ellis

So with that done, that leaves us with.....

The Candidates

1. Frank Mason

2. Conner Frankamp

3. Brannen Greene

4. Andrew White III

That's really it. So who if any will get redshirted? Who should get redshirted?

Right now it sounds like Frank Mason has a lock on the backup point guard spot. Despite being a Freshman ranked in the 70s of his graduating class, Mason has drawn rave reviews for his toughness and basketball IQ. He also played a year at a prep school after high school, giving him potentially a leg up on the rest of the candidates in terms of his age/maturity, as well as already having delayed his college career a year so to speak.

The reason Mason made it onto this list at all, given the assumption that he will get the majority of the backup minutes, is that I think Selden can fill in at point, and Bill Self said in an interview that Conner Frankamp "shoots it as well as anyone we've ever recruited." That is pretty high praise from Self, and makes me believe that Frankamp probably won't be redshirted either, although I do think him getting a year to get quicker and put on some muscle will help. Plus, planning way too far in the future, it would be nice to have point guard basically taken care of for the next 5 years between Tharpe the next two years, Mason as a Junior and Senior the years after that, and then Frankamp as a 5th year Senior starter. I do think his long range shooting might be too much of a weapon to keep him off the court though.

The battle might come down to Andrew White and Brannen Greene. With some Wiggins guy entrenched as the starter at the 3, whomever doesn't win the backup job probably won't see much floor time anyways. Both are pretty similar players, with Greene listed at 6'7", 215 lbs and White listed at 6'6", 210 lbs. They were each ranked in roughly the same spots in their recruiting class, with the caveat that the 2013 class is much stronger than the 2012 class. Each guy is best suited on offense as a perimeter shooter, but both look like they have the ability to put the ball on the floor fairly well as well. And each looks like their biggest challenge will come defensively.

I really have no stats to base this on obviously, and I am dubious of making claims about players based solely on how they have looked in practices and scrimmages, but that's all Coach Self has to go on as well at this point so I might as well take a shot: Right now it looks like Greene is a bit better shooter and ball handler, but White is a better defender and has been a lot more assertive in the limited action we have seen him in. I think that, given that he has had an offseason to work on his body and his game, White will get the backup job and Greene will most likely redshirt. Obviously this is in no way an indictment of Greene's game. Like Frankamp, he has a chance to be one of the best shooters to come through Lawrence in a long time and, at 6'7", has the added bonus of being able to get his shot off much more easily. I just think that with all of the Freshmen already in the lineup, Self will want a guy with a year's experience, even if it is mostly practice experience, out there. My darkhorse redshirt candidate is actually Frankamp, who might be better served sitting out a year and bulking up, as well as getting quicker, and getting an extra year to play point guard.