The Kansas Jayhawks are playing some of their best basketball of the season, with Saturday’s win over K-State tying KU’s season-best with a four-game winning streak. And quickly, Melvin Council Jr. is becoming a team and fan favorite in Lawrence.
On Sunday morning after the win vs. the Wildcats, Council Jr. posted this simple message on X.
Melvin Council Jr. & Jerome Tang
As Kansas was rolling to a win on Saturday in Manhattan, Melvin Council Jr. was seen on the court mocking Jerome Tang’s Wabash Cannonball celebration he did with KSU fans after their win over Utah last week.
That then led to this interesting post-game exchange between the two, which you can see in this video below.
After the game, Tang was asked about Council’s celebration, to which he said, “You never wanna see anybody celebrate on your court. Really really sucks to see them (KU) do it.”
This was Tang’s first home loss to Kansas, so he added, “I haven’t experienced that before and it is not a good feeling. At all.”
Melvin had 17 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds against Kansas State. He is quickly becoming a fan-favorite as well in an era where players are seemingly playing less and less for the name on the front of the jersey and more so than ever for the name on the back of the jersey.
Who is Melvin Council Jr.?
After a standout career at Monroe College, he played for Wagner College, helping them to an NCAA Tournament win with a 21-point game. He transferred to St. Bonaventure for the 2023-24 season, where he was an All-Atlantic 10 selection.
The late-bloomer played high school basketball at University Prep in Rochester, New York, where he averaged 26.4 points per game his senior season in 2019-20. He helped his prep squad to a Section V, Class AA title in 2020. Then in college, Council was a two-time NJCAA Division I All-America at Monroe College in 2022 and 2023. He then played the 2023-24 season at Wagner College in Staten Island, New York, where he earned All-Northeast Conference First Team honors. During his time at St. Bonaventure last season, he was an All-Atlantic 10 Third Team honors selection averaging 14.6 points per game and leading the A-10 in steals.
Council Jr. only has one year of eligibility in Lawrence, but he’s quickly being embraced, and is embracing Lawrence as well. As fans look for guys to latch onto like Melvin Council Jr., he’s perfectly filling a much needed void for the Jayhawks.
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