Via Kansas Athletics
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas men’s basketball will play three preseason exhibition games on its upcoming trip to Puerto Rico, which takes place from August 1-8. Included in the trip will be exhibition contests on August 3, 5 and 7.
The games will be played at the Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum located in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, and all three contests will be aired on the Jayhawk Radio Network. The August 3 contest will be against a Puerto Rico Select Team at 11 a.m. (Central), while the final two games will be against the Bahamian National Team. The Aug. 5 game will tip at 4 p.m. (Central) and the Aug. 7 contest at 11 a.m. (Central).
There will be a 30-minute pregame and 30-minute postgame show on the radio broadcast with Brian Hanni and Greg Gurley calling the action. Fans attending the contests can go here for ticket information.
Though complete rosters have not been finalized for the KU opponents, the Bahamian National Team consists of NBA players Eric Gordon, Klay Thompson, Kai Jones, Buddy Hield, Deandre Ayton and former Kansas guard and 2022 NCAA National Champion Remy Martin.
Kansas returns three starters from last season in KJ Adams Jr., Dajuan Harris Jr. and Kevin McCullar Jr. Adams started all 36 games for the Jayhawks and was awarded Big 12 Most Improved Player and All-Big 12 Honorable Mention for the 2022-23 season. Harris, the 2023 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, averaged 6.2 assists and 2.2 steals per game for the Jayhawks last season and was also named to the Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team and Big 12 All-Defensive Team.
McCullar returns for his second season at Kansas and redshirt senior year in college after being named a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Semifinalist in 2022-23. Averaging 10.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, McCullar earned Big 12 All-Defensive Team and All Big 12 Third Team selections.
The Jayhawks enter the 2023-24 season as reigning Big 12 regular-season champions, having won 21 of the last 27 conference regular-season titles since the inception of the league, including 17 titles under head coach Bill Self.
NCAA guidelines allows teams to take such trips once every four years. In accordance with the guidelines, teams can practice for 10 days prior to the trip and on off-days while on the trip. Kansas last took an exhibition trip in August 2017, when the Jayhawks went to Italy, touring Rome and Seregno.
This will mark the fifth preseason exhibition excursion KU will be making in the Self era, which included trips to Canada in 2004 and 2008, Switzerland and France in 2012, and Italy in 2017. KU also represented the USA at the 2015 World University Games in Gwanju, Korea, where it won the gold medal.
Kansas is 92-9 all-time in exhibition history and has won 33-straight exhibition contests dating back to Oct. 30, 2012. The Jayhawks are 60-2 in exhibition play in Self’s 20 seasons at KU.
