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<\/a><\/p>\nHe scored inside. He defended. He handled the rock. And he hit a whole bunch of 3-pointers, stepping effortlessly into each one \u2014\u00a0mostly from the right wing and just right of the top of the key area \u2014\u00a0while looking like a shooter by trade and a 6-8, 240-pound bruiser as an afterthought.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh my gosh,\u201d Rosario said of his new teammate when asked about him after the practice. \u201cHe\u2019s literally like a super-human. I remember my first time meeting him, I did not think he was gonna be that tall. I mean, this guy weighs 240 pounds. I weigh 205, that\u2019s 35 pounds on me. He\u2019s just really good at basketball. I don\u2019t think anybody could stop him from going downhill. You can quote me on that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Done.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Thanks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The intense reality of Rosario\u2019s words about Stokes served as a good reminder that, while KU fans may have gotten robbed during the Darryn Peterson experience a season ago, there is just as much reason to pull up any and every time you can to watch Stokes do Stokes things this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They\u2019re different players to be sure. But Stokes has the chance to be just as impactful and potentially even more dominant.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s such a force when it comes to scoring and drawing people to make the open pass to the open player,\u201d Rosario added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That much was on full display during Thursday\u2019s practice, and, from the sound of it, has been there pretty much every day since he arrived on campus as one of the newest Jayhawks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Say what you will about his social media presence and flare for the flash on TikTok, Instagram and live streaming sessions. Those things have nothing to do with basketball. And if you\u2019re one of those fans who is going to get hung up on who you think Stokes is as a person because of a few videos that he, as an 18-year-old kid, makes for laughs, I fear that you\u2019re going to miss out on the full experience of watching a super-special talent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Like DP, he\u2019ll only be here for the next six or so months. So, don\u2019t blink. Because if you do, you might come to regret that you didn\u2019t watch more closely one of the more unique players to ever come through KU.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stokes is a basketball player first and foremost and he borders on being a freak athlete at that. Teammate Keanu Dawes called him \u201ccomplete,\u201d on Thursday after the practice. And KU coach Bill Self recently told a group of us that Stokes could play all five positions on the floor \u2014\u00a0point guard through center \u2014\u00a0 and be damn good at all of them. On both ends. In large part because he so badly wants to be.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was just one practice, so I\u2019m not going to pretend that what I saw on Thursday is the definitive book on Stokes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But judging by conversations I\u2019ve had with those who have seen much more of him since his arrival, it sure sounds like Thursday was a pretty good look at what he\u2019s all about and everything he can do.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a quick-hitter glimpse at what stood out to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2022 He\u2019s a teammate through and through. He talks with everyone, encourages everybody and has no problem talking about what went wrong or taking the blame when he knows it was his mistake that messed up the play.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2022 We finally got to see freshman guard Luke Barnett\u2019s jumper on Thursday \u2014 boy, talk about a guy who does not hesitate even a millisecond to shoot the ball \u2014\u00a0and it\u2019s not ridiculous to say that Stokes\u2019 shot looked a lot like Barnett\u2019s. Barnett gets more lift and has a quicker release, but Stokes is a good and pure shooter with good form and fundamentals and plenty of confidence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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KU’s Tyran Stokes (4), standing with KU AD Travis Goff to his left, greets one of the youngest KU fans in attendance at Thursday’s practice. [R1S1 Sports photo]<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0If you\u2019ve only paid attention to his social media presence, you might believe him to be a bit of a diva. Didn\u2019t seem that way to me. Not at all. He was very attentive even when he wasn\u2019t in the action and, again, seemed to have a great connection with all of his teammates, most of whom he hasn\u2019t really known for that long.\u00a0In addition to that, he was genuinely engaged with the fans and his teammates when they climbed into Allen Fieldhouse’s east stands after Thursday’s practice was finished to say hello, shake hands and thank people for coming. You can tell when a guy is doing that type of thing because he’s told he has to and when he’s doing it because he’s happy to. Stokes seemed to genuinely enjoy it. <\/p>\n
\u2022 This next one comes back to that whole 60-70% thing I mentioned above, but he makes everything look so easy. It\u2019ll be interesting to see if he\u2019s got the killer instinct switch he can flip when it\u2019s an opponent he\u2019s facing instead of his teammates. But he looks so smooth, subtle and under control with everything he does. \u201cHe\u2019s ridiculously bright,\u201d Self said last week while noting that Stokes could stand to become more consistent. \u201cRidiculous. And I think he could play with more of an edge, but he\u2019s got the right mindset.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0It\u2019s obviously early, and we still have plenty to learn about this team, but based on how easy the game looks for Stokes and how many different things he can do and different ways he can score, I don\u2019t think it would be crazy to say that he could make a real push to turn in the highest single season scoring average by a player under Self at Kansas. National Player of the Year Frank Mason owns the mark at 20.9 points per game during the 2016-17 season, with Wayne Simien (20.3 in 2004-05), Darryn Peterson (20.2 in 2025-26), Jalen Wilson (20.1 in 2022-23) and Sherron Collins (18.9 in 2008-09) round out the Top 5. If Stokes made it his goal to join this list, I definitely think he could. But I also think he\u2019d be just as happy to score 12 a game while finding other ways to contribute to winning, most notably with his passing. \u201cHe\u2019s a willing passer,\u201d Self said and Stokes showed on Thursday. \u201cSo, everybody knows he\u2019s not selfish. It\u2019s not hockey, but you should be a pass to start a play as much as it is a pass to finish the play. He\u2019s a good passer. He\u2019s got great vision. He\u2019s big. He can see over people. He\u2019s as good a passer as we\u2019ve ever had here.\u201d <\/p>\n