Kansas guard Melvin Council suffers broken foot, set to undergo surgery

Kansas basketball has suffered a significant injury early in the season, coach Bill Self announced. Senior guard Melvin Council Jr. broke his right foot in Monday’s practice. Council was granted an extra year of eligibility following a court ruling in New York back in September. He averaged 12.7 points, 4.1 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Jayhawks last season. [ $39.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage ] “Melvin broke the fifth metatarsal in his foot during Monday’s practice and will have surgery in the next couple of days,” Self said in a press release. “We expect a full recovery and we’re hopeful he will return around the start of the conference season.” Through the first two games of the 2026-27 season, Melvin Council had averaged 8.0 points, 5.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game. He was a starter, opening on the floor in each of the two contests. This is now Council’s fourth season playing at the Division I level. He began his career at Wagner in 2023-24, where he started 27 games and averaged 14.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.5 assist and 1.4 steals per game. From there, Melvin Council transferred to St. Bonaventure. He played and started in 34 games, putting up similar numbers. He averaged 14.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.1 steals per game. Then he transferred to Kansas, where he started 35 games last season. As for replacing Council on the court, Kansas will have some options. Eight guards have played at least eight minutes per game through the first two contests, and Self has been pleased with how the bench depth has looked more recently. “I didn’t think we took a step back when we went to our bench, and I don’t think that’s really been the case so far,” Self said after the team’s win over MTSU.