{"id":231362,"date":"2025-10-17T11:14:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T11:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/231362\/"},"modified":"2025-10-17T11:14:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T11:14:08","slug":"despite-changes-late-night-is-still-a-big-deal-for-several-jayhawks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/231362\/","title":{"rendered":"Despite changes, Late Night is still a big deal for several Jayhawks"},"content":{"rendered":"

By now, you\u2019ve all heard the stories about how Tre White committed to Kansas as a sophomore in high school but never made it to KU until his senior season of college basketball, after making stops at USC, Louisville and Illinois before coming to Lawrence.<\/p>\n

And there are going to be several moments throughout the upcoming season where it makes sense to reference that again and again.<\/p>\n

For instance, when White scores his 12th point of the season, he\u2019ll officially join the Jayhawks\u2019 1,000-point club and it will only be natural to wonder if he envisioned himself scoring all 1,000 of those points at KU at one point in his life.<\/p>\n

Or, when he plays non-conference games at home against UConn, in Chapel Hill at North Carolina and in New York City against Duke, he\u2019ll talk, like so many others have before him, about how guys come to Kansas to play in games like that.<\/p>\n

A full-circle season is the way White describes what\u2019s ahead, and that officially starts Friday night, when White finally gets to attend Late Night in the Phog.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Shortly after committing to KU back in 2019, White, who, at that time, was a 5-star prospect in the high school class of 2022, made it known that he was dying to get to Late Night and that he would be there that year.<\/p>\n

It never happened. It still hasn\u2019t. And that\u2019s at least part of what has White so excited for the official start of the 2025-26 Kansas basketball season, which already has been under way in the practice gym for a few weeks now.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the same feeling, honestly,\u201d he said of his anticipation today compared to what he felt in 2019 as a high school sophomore. \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m excited, to be going into this big, unknown, lit environment with high-flying athletes, I feel like a little kid.\u201d<\/p>\n

White is anything but that, in fact. When he committed, rosters had him listed at 6-foot-5, 175 pounds, and some even called him a point guard.<\/p>\n

Today, he stands 6-7, 215, and he\u2019s in line to start at the 4 for the Jayhawks this season. Even with that frame and nearly 100 games of college basketball now under his belt, White is still on the brink of experiencing a first that not all college players get to enjoy.<\/p>\n

For years, Late Night has been known as one of the marquee season-tipoff events in all of college hoops, and White explained why he always viewed it that way and still does today.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the history, being such a prestigious school, a blue blood, all that,\u201d he said. \u201cGrowing up, I always heard about the history, everybody getting drafted, all the winning, so when you see little clips of Late Night it\u2019s just little spurts of high energy and stuff like that, and you don\u2019t really know how it feels until you\u2019re in it. I know it\u2019s gonna be sold out, I know it\u2019s gonna be fun and we\u2019re gonna compete, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Friday can’t come soon enough pic.twitter.com\/O0wVIZ5SFL<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Kansas Men\u2019s Basketball (@KUHoops) October 14, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

KU coach Bill Self has long been skeptical of making too many definitive reads about what we see during the Late Night scrimmage.<\/p>\n

And that will remain the case until he\u2019s no longer coaching.<\/p>\n

But Self said Wednesday that he still anticipates it being a fun night and he even talked a little about how the event has changed in recent years.<\/p>\n

Throughout most of Self\u2019s time at Kansas, Late Night was the night for recruiting elite talent. Some of the best players in college basketball history \u2014 whether they became Jayhawks or not \u2014 were sitting behind the Kansas bench at Late Night, made a priority on the biggest recruiting night on the calendar.<\/p>\n

It was not uncommon to have multiple five-star talents attend Late Night, and KU battled with Duke and Kentucky to try to get their top targets to come to Kansas for the season tipoff spectacular instead of similar events at those other blue blood programs.<\/p>\n

This weekend, Self said Wednesday that KU has just one official visitor scheduled to attend.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s obviously a big, big recruiting deal,\u201d he began. \u201cBut it\u2019s not as big, I don\u2019t think, in many ways, as what it has been in the past. It\u2019s a good weekend. But, it seemed like in the past we had one recruiting weekend to really bring guys in and showcase our place. Now, I feel like it\u2019s not so important to have it all that one weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such is life in college basketball these days, with the transfer portal calendar carrying more weight than anything.<\/p>\n

But, at least for a few hours on Friday night, Late Night will still mean everything to the players and fans who attend.<\/p>\n

That includes five-star phenom Darryn Peterson and Mr. White, as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so excited,\u201d Peterson said at KU\u2019s media day earlier this week. \u201cThis is my first time on that court with a packed-out arena and people (are coming) to see us, so I\u2019m gonna try to put on a show for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 For tickets to all KU athletic events, visit kuathletics.com<\/a><\/p>\n