KU’s fifth starter undecided entering Sunday’s exhibition basketball game at Illinois

The Kansas Jayhawks’ starting lineup will remain a bit of a mystery heading into Sunday’s Maui Relief exhibition men’s basketball game against the University of Illinois.

Tipoff is 5 p.m. at State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois.

“We haven’t settled in on a starting five,” 21-year KU coach Bill Self said at Wednesday’s Media Day at Allen Fieldhouse. “Hunter (Dickinson, center), KJ (Adams, forward), Juan (Harris, point guard) and Kevin (McCullar, guard) will start.”

Freshman Johnny Furphy is out with shin splints, Self reported, thus, “it would limit it down to two players who could start there (at guard) — Elmarko (Jackson) or Nick (Timberlake). You all can speculate or you got a 50% chance of being accurate on that last one,” Self added.

Self during each of KU’s three exhibition games in Puerto Rico started Harris, Dickinson, Adams and McCullar and switched the fifth starter in all three contests. Timberlake, Jackson and Arterio Morris each opened one contest in San Juan. Morris is no longer with the team.

“I don’t know what we’re going to do. I don’t know who will start against North Carolina Central either,” Self said of KU’s opponent in the regular season opener on Nov. 6.

KU will play a second exhibition vs. Fort Hays State on Nov. 1.

“You guys make way too big a deal out of that. I’ve said that all along, it’s way more important who finishes than starts, but people here seem to get hung up on (starting lineups),” Self said.

Self said the goal in the first practice game Sunday is, “find out a little bit more where we are at. Right now I don’t have a great feel where we are in relationship to where other teams would guard us or how athletic, big or long other teams would be. We’ll get a big dose of that Sunday.”

Self said KU would enter the Illinois exhibition game with nine healthy scholarship players. Junior forward Zach Clemence is allowed to play in the game in accordance with NCAA rules even if he ultimately redshirts, which remains the plan.

“You’ve got to understand something … we’ve only got 10 guys on scholarship — one is going to redshirt and one is hurt. That puts you at eight,” Self said. That mean’s there’s no doubt what our rotation is. You are going to be mixing and matching whoever plays the best with those guys (starters Adams, Dickinson, McCullar and Harris).”