ADAM ZAGORIA
PROVIDENCE — KJ Adams had to be helped off the court by his Kansas teammates after suffering an apparent Achilles injury during his team’s loss to Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament.
Kansas coach Bill Self said there was a somber scene in the locker room post-game because of the injury combined with the loss — the second ever in the first round for a preseason No. 1.
“I would have to go back and look at it but he’s got an Achilles injury,” Self said after the No. 7 Jayhawks lost, 79-72, to John Calipari and No. 10 Arkansas. “We’re hoping for the best tomorrow. I’m not sure it’s going to be great news, though.
“He got the rebound, came out on it. I think we had the numbers and then he went down and I don’t know exactly how much time was left, but he and Juan [Harris], more so than anybody because they have been here the longest with me, but that’s ten years of spending most of every day with them. They’re like sons to me and it’s one thing to lose the game but to see him potentially lose a year on top of the game, you know, that’s a pretty big blow. “Say what you want to about those two kids, they’re winners and they compete every day. It’s just disappointing to have anybody go out that way.”By video, @ProFootballDoc believes Kansas F KJ Adams suffered a torn Achilles. If confirmed he would be out for the tournament and next season. More information at https://t.co/QDauOoDaQ0 pic.twitter.com/uDSUoarB9P
— Sports Injury Central (@SICscore) March 21, 2025
Asked about roster construction following another disappointing early exit, Self said: “We’ve got to reevaluate on how we do things and you can’t afford misses, but I will say this: In today’s time, there’s going to be schools that do a great job, but still there’s an element of luck involved, I think more now than there was even before. You can go after the kids that you get a great bargain on. You get a good deal on it and all that stuff but it doesn’t matter unless they fit in and can help you win. We’ve got to do a better job of evaluating the portal but I’m happy with the roster we had. It just didn’t turn out to be the team that we had hoped it was, but still yet going into last year, I would have taken that roster every day and then I don’t think we really, with Elmarko [Jackson] tearing his patellar tendon and Shak [Moore] not being available to us, I don’t think we had our best team to make a push at it.” Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter Follow ZAGSBLOGHoops on Instagram Like ZAGS on FacebookKansas becomes the second AP preseason No. 1 to lose in the first round of the men's NCAA tournament, joining themselves in 2005. pic.twitter.com/931KAO33jA
— ESPN (@espn) March 21, 2025
