Where will newcomer Remy Martin rank among scoring point guards for Kansas Jayhawks?

Point guards have led Kansas’ men’s basketball team in scoring five times during Bill Self’s first 18 seasons as Jayhawks’ coach.

Frank Mason III’s 20.9 points a game in 2016-17 — the highest average points per game mark during the Self era — helped him earn consensus national player of the year honors. Sherron Collins, meanwhile, averaged a team-leading 18.9 points per game in 2008-09 and 15.5 ppg in 2009-10. Devon Dotson went for 18.1 points per contest in 2019-20 and Devonté Graham 17.3 ppg in 2017-18.

Nobody would be surprised if KU “super senior” lead guard Remy Martin, who averaged 19.1 points a game at Arizona State last season, puts up similar scoring numbers to the above mentioned KU foursome. Self, however, says there’s no guarantee that will be the case in 2021-22.

“I think Remy will get more assists than Devon, but I’m thinking Devon will score more points than Remy,” Self said at last Wednesday’s Big 12 men’s basketball Media Day in comparing the 6-foot-0, 175-pound Martin to 6-2, 185-pound second-year Chicago Bulls (and Windy City Bulls of G League) point guard Dotson.

Dotson averaged 4.0 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 steals a game his second and final season at KU. Martin last season at ASU averaged 3.7 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals per contest.

“Remy’s a really good facilitator. He’s a good passer, has really good vision with that speed,” said KU senior wing Ochai Agbaji. “Finding more open looks for us is something we’ll be looking forward to.”

Dotson connected on 46.8% of his shots including 30.9% of his threes his soph season in Lawrence. Martin hit 43.3% of his shots and 34.6% of his threes in 2020-21 at ASU.

“One thing about Remy, he can go left or right and get guys a shot, and he can see it, where Devon was a downhill cat. And both are ultra-effective,” Self said.

“I think he’s been good (using ball screens),” Self added of Martin. “He can come off a ball screen not as much to score, but he can come off to force help and get other guys shots. So I think he’s pretty good. I do. I think Juan (Harris, sophomore point guard) is real good. And I think Remy is the best we have at no ball screens, just getting his shoulders past you.”

Self has always expected a lot out of his point guards at KU.

“I think the challenges he (Martin) has is I could care less about points or assists. I care more about, ‘Do we have a good possession or a bad possession?’’’ Self said.

“A lot of times, getting a hockey assist (the pass prior to a the pass that precedes a basket), being aggressive on the first side creates opportunities for somebody on the second side. Being able to get over a ball screen creates a situation where now, there’s less rotation or whatever it would be. Those are the things I’m most concerned about right now, where I think that he (Martin) has got to realize that that’s what wins in my mind, not whether you get 20 points and seven assists. Even though, if he does those things, he’s got a much better chance to get 20 points and seven assists,” Self noted.

Self said he’d like Martin “to be our energy, our Energizer Bunny rabbit, our guy that fans love to watch and support.”

This can be accomplished with play on the defensive end as well as offense.

“I think that if he is turned up, his defensive potential would be one to create havoc and make teams uncomfortable,” Self said. “I think if he doesn’t play up underneath guys or whatever, like all guards, he’s not big enough to create problems. So for him to create problems, I think he’s got to be turned up all the time.”

Self said he believes Martin “is the quickest player on the team; the fastest is still Ochai.”

Blessed with a deep roster that includes athletic point guards, wings and bigs, Self believes KU’s pace of play could be up-tempo in 2021-22.

“I don’t know that we’ll play a lot faster offensively as far as shooting faster. I think we can get up and down the floor faster and I think defensively we can pick up pressure more,” Self said.

“You want to play faster, then pick up and engage a guy earlier so now the offense starts higher out on the court. You have more an opportunity to run through passes or you can gamble and miss outside the scoring area. Once inside the scoring area, you can’t gamble and miss and give up easy baskets. There are some things we can do to create more pace. As far as scoring more points I hope we do, but I don’t know,” Self added.

Martin, for his part, insists he is not thinking about individual point and assist totals. He came to KU for a Super Senior season, he said, to pile up as many wins as possible.

“I’m just looking to play my game. Whatever the defense gives me I’ll take.,” Martin said. “I have more of a job to make other guys better because I have other guys to make plays for, to make the right reads. We all have a common goal to win games. I want to help the team win as much as possible.”

And so he’s trying to lead the way by example.

“He brings the same energy into practice every day along with his athleticism and quickness,” KU senior forward David McCormack said. “He is a great facilitator and has scoring in his back pocket. He’s done a great job stepping into that role for this team and helping us become all-around better.”

There’s a chance Martin could become a fan favorite in a short period of time at KU.

“Remy naturally is a guy that likes attention. He’s a more animated type,” Self said. “We need somebody who shows their personality on the court. I think Remy will do that.”

The Jayhawks, who have been practicing since the Oct. 1 Late Night in the Phog, will meet Emporia State at 7 p.m. Nov. 3 at Allen Fieldhouse. First regular-season game is against Michigan State on Nov. 9 in New York.

KU will travel to Tulsa for a closed scrimmage on Saturday. No fans or media members will be allowed to watch the scrimmage in accordance with NCAA rules.