Rauf Report: Top Takeaways from College Basketball's Preseason

For a long time, college basketball exhibition season meant teams played a Division II opponent or two, won by 40, and there was very little to learn. That’s changed in a hurry. Programs can now play three preseason exhibitions, and many of the sport’s best teams used those dates to play each other.

Duke played Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse on a Sunday afternoon in October, which isn’t something I would have expected to write a few years ago. Baylor faced the preseason No. 1 and No. 3 teams in the country in a five-day span, and Tennessee followed a home date with Xavier by heading to Cameron Indoor.

None of it counts, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise. Rotations are still being sorted out, and several teams were missing important players. But a handful of things I saw over the last three weeks have shifted how I view certain teams and players heading into the season.

The biggest of those came out of Lawrence, so that’s where we’ll start this Rauf Report.

Tyran Stokes’ passing will be the biggest key to Kansas’ offense

When the No. 1 recruit in the country arrives on campus, the conversation tends to focus on how many points he’ll score. Bill Self pushed back on that idea at Big 12 Media Day. He noted that hype is usually measured in points and rebounds, but Tyran Stokes can play really well without scoring much.