The most significant reward in the transfer website came off the board Thursday, with previous Michigan huge guy Hunter Dickinson revealing his dedication to Kansas He picked the Jayhawks over a last list that likewise consisted of Villanova, Maryland, Kentucky and Georgetown, and his choice might have solitarily altered the 2023-24 season for any of those 5 programs.
The 7-foot-1 star was among the most dominant centers in the nation throughout his 3 seasons at Michigan, assisting lead the Wolverines to a 1-seed and Elite 8 look in 2021 and a Sweet 16 run in 2022. He balanced 17.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in his time with the Wolverines, making first-team All-Big 10 honors in 2021 and 2023.
What kind of effect will he make in Lawrence– and the sport as an entire– next season? Our males’s college basketball professionals simplify.
How does Dickinson suit the Kansas lineup?
After losing Jalen Wilson and Gradey Cock to the NBA, Expense Self struck the reboot button for next season by including Texas transfer Arterio Morris, as soon as a sought after hire, and Nicolas Timberlake, a Towson transfer who made almost 42% of his 3-point efforts last season. Now, he gets Dickinson, a huge guy who made 42% of his 3-point efforts last season. Dickinson’s existence will permit Self to have a dominant huge guy who makes life much easier on the strong backcourt around him, consisting of veteran Dajuan Harris Jr.
With K.J. Adams Jr. set for a breakout season, Kansas will have a flexible lineup that can utilize 5 gamers on the boundary and develop all sort of match hell for challengers. And Ernest Udeh Jr., a luxury hire in in 2015’s class, is now a strong backup in the rotation. Self has actually permitted his bigs to play to their prospective and utilize their complete capability and he’ll do the very same for Dickinson, who will wish to do more in area than he did at Michigan. This is an extraordinary increase for a Kansas group that discovered the ideal addition in Dickinson. He needs to be a more constant protector for this group, however, in a Huge 12 filled with experienced playmakers who will challenge him at the rim. However Dickinson makes this group among the most enforcing nationwide title competitors. — Myron Medcalf
The choice vaults Kansas up the majority of preseason rankings. What will it require to make the Jayhawks the conclusive preseason No. 1 group?
I believe they’re directly in the discussion now. Dickinson has among the very best pass-first point player in the nation in Dajuan Harris, and Expense Self can return to running more of the high-low offense that made him so effective, with Dickinson and returning starter K.J. Adams. Morris and Timberlake both bring much-needed boundary punch in various methods: the previous is more aggressive and vibrant with the ball in his hands, while the latter is a knockdown outside shooter. And the Jayhawks likewise have a top-10 recruiting class going into the program. As it stands, Kansas is a top-five group, at worst, going into the season.
What would press the Jayhawks over the top is getting top-10 hire Mackenzie Mgbako, who just recently decommitted from Duke Mgbako just recently checked out Kansas, and while schools such as Indiana, St. John’s and Louisville are likewise in the mix, he’s the kind of flexible forward who would finish this group. — Jeff Borzello
Where does Expense Self’s team fall in Bracketology now?
Kansas got in the Hunter Dickinson sweepstakes as a predicted 3-seed for the 2024 NCAA competition. His addition plainly raises the Jayhawks a complete seed line– at worst. As we continue to assess the leading groups for next year, substantial modification is still possible amongst the lineups of UConn, Purdue, Michigan State, Creighton and others. It’s not difficult to predict Kansas as a preseason No. 1 seed when all is stated and done, nevertheless. Considered That Expense Self has actually been a front runner method regularly than any other active coach, it would be not a surprise. — Joe Lunardi