Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks have been without one of their star players over the past few games, with senior forward KJ Adams sidelined with a shoulder injury.
The setback happened on January 15th in Kansas’ 74-57 loss to No. 3 Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum, which caused Adams to leave the game and head for the locker room.
According to an update from ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Adams is expected to make his return to the court on Saturday, February 1st, against Baylor on the road in Waco.
“Kansas coach Bill Self told ESPN a reasonable projection for the return of junior forward KJ Adams from his shoulder injury is the game at Baylor on Feb. 1,” Thamel said. “Self did caution nothing is certain yet, as Adams recovers from the injury at Iowa State on Jan. 15. Adams should resume some shooting ‘in the next few days.’ He’s been limited to conditioning and rehab.”
Adams didn’t play for Kansas in the Sunflower Showdown matchup against Kansas State, which was his first time missing a game since Kansas played Providence in the 2022 Sweet 16. Adams had played in 89 straight games and had started 84 of them.
After sustaining the injury vs. Iowa State last week, Adams was helped off the court and went back to the locker room with 15:42 to play, where he remained for three minutes. Adams then hopped back into action with just under 13 minutes left and provided some spark for the Jayhawks. Several minutes later, at 7:08, ESPN’s camera crew showed Adams returning to the locker room yet again. He would eventually return to Kansas’ bench at the 6:40 mark, where he remained until the end of the contest.
While the team has managed to record a 2-0 record with wins over K-State and TCU with Adams on the bench, the road ahead will be a significantly tougher test for the Jayhawks. KU takes on No. 7 Houston on Saturday evening, followed by a game at home vs. UCF.
Related: Production Off the Bench Key for Kansas Basketball’s Success
