Three KenPom Offenses That Should Climb, and Why

Washington, Penn State, and Minnesota each added a player who just spent a year in a better offense than the one he is walking into.

LeJuan Watts came from Texas Tech, 14th in KenPom offense. Washington was already 61st. Brant Byers came from Miami Ohio, 70th by the end of the season. Penn State was 93rd. Kyan Evans came from North Carolina, 32nd. Minnesota was 101st. A scorer from another bad offense could change the box score. A scorer from a good one can change the rank.

Washington

LeJuan Watts is the cleanest add in this group. He spent last season at Texas Tech, which finished 14th in KenPom offense and 11th in Torvik’s adjusted offense. He started 28 of 33 games, averaged 11.8 points and 6.0 rebounds, and was not a cupcake scorer. He had 21 at Illinois, 20 in the win over Duke at Madison Square Garden, 20 against BYU, and 19 and 12 against Kansas. In the NCAA Tournament he scored 14 on 6-of-8 against Akron and 16 against Alabama.

Washington was already 61st in KenPom offense. The problem was the guards. The returning creators shot poorly, and the offense had a ceiling. Watts is a 6-6 forward who already created against Big 12 length. He does not have to become a 20-point scorer for the number to move. He has to be the possession-ender those guards were not. Texas Tech’s offense was built to survive good defenses. Washington’s was close, and not there. That is the gap.

Penn State

Brant Byers is the shooting add. Miami Ohio finished 60th in KenPom offense in February and 70th by the tournament, the last team still inside the top 75. Byers was the second-leading scorer on a team that went undefeated in the regular season, cracked the national rankings, and beat SMU in the first round. He averaged 14.2 points and 4.1 rebounds, shot 39.2% from three, and made second-team All-MAC. He had 19 in the NCAA win.

Penn State was 93rd in KenPom offense and 230th on defense. The defense is a different article. The offense is a spacing problem, and Byers is a 6-8 wing who already made shots on a top-75 offense. Miami Ohio was not a power-conference attack. It was efficient, and he was a reason. If he shoots 39% again, Penn State’s offense does not need a new system. It needs one more maker.

Minnesota

Kyan Evans is the bounce-back, not the sure thing. North Carolina finished 32nd in KenPom offense. Evans was not why. He averaged 4.0 points and 2.5 assists in 33 games after putting up 10.6 points, 3.1 assists, and 44.6% from three at Colorado State under Niko Medved. During their second season at Colorado State together in 2025, they finished 40th in KenPom offense and 52nd defensively. He is back with Medved. That is the case.

Minnesota was 101st in KenPom offense. Evans is the point guard they did not have. Malick Kordel came from Michigan, a top-5 offense and defense, and averaged 1.2 points in 4.1 minutes. He is size. He is not the creator. The offense moves if Evans looks like the Colorado State version, not the North Carolina version.

What a jump actually means

Washington has the best chance to move from a good offense to a top-40 one. Watts just played heavy minutes on a top-15 offense against the teams that usually bury a middle-of-the-Big-Ten attack. Penn State and Minnesota are the actual climbs, from 93rd and 101st. Penn State’s is narrower and more believable: one proven shooter on a 93rd-ranked offense. Minnesota’s is real only if the Medved reunion holds.

None of these three are being asked to pass Illinois. Washington is being asked to take a top-60 offense and make it a top-40 one. Penn State and Minnesota are being asked to get out of the 90s and the 100s. The players who can do that already did it somewhere better.