Salt Lake City - Asked at one point Saturday to reflect on what hindered Kansas basketball this season, KJ Adams Jr. pointed to the game the Jayhawks just finished playing as he sat at his locker inside the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

Kansas Reflects on Season

The junior forward and his teammates had suffered an 89-68 loss against No. 5 seed Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAA men's tournament. And he highlighted how it was just one bad half — not even a bad game overall — that ended No. 4-seed's March Madness run.

Challenges Faced by Kansas

But what happened in that one bad half, the second stanza, illustrated why Kansas was always going to have a challenging road this season even with the Jayhawks ranked No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports preseason poll. The 3-point shooting wasn’t what the Jayhawks needed in order to properly space the floor offensively, and their depth wasn’t what they needed in order to give them the best chance on either end during the postseason.

Coach Self's Perspective

For those reasons and more, coach Bill Self and company are faced with the reality of having to focus on their next season much earlier than they would have ever liked.

Looking Ahead

“I think for the last month I’ve been thinking about next season, to be honest, not in the moments during a game but obviously we played — we had eight guys on scholarship … that were healthy there late,” Self said.

Impact of Injuries

The injuries to graduate senior guard Kevin McCullar Jr., knee, and senior center Hunter Dickinson, shoulder, accentuated Kansas’ depth issue in recent weeks.

Roster Changes

Time will tell if there are going to be as many roster changes in the months ahead as there were ahead of the season. Players will have decisions on whether to stay or transfer, on whether to stay or turn pro, and whoever Self adds to the roster from the high school ranks or transfer portal could lead to people changing their minds.

Future of Kansas Basketball

“We’re Kansas,” Adams said. “A lot of people expect us to do a lot of good things, or big things, and it just really sucks that we’ve got to go back to Lawrence knowing that we really should have did more than what we did.”