The Kansas Jayhawks were this close to winning over West Virginia. They might have still been trolled online for making it a close game with the 29th-ranked team but at least they would have won. Instead, Bill Self made it the 19th loss of his 22-year-long career as Kansas’ head coach at Allen Fieldhouse, making it a bad start to the year. Now one analyst is concerned about whether choosing $1.7 million worth Hunter Dickinson was the right choice or not.

On The Field of 68: After Dark, host John Fanta commented on the Kansas big man and his lack of skills showing as the season goes on. The Jayhawks were betting on the fifth-year senior after his showing at Michigan for three years and carrying on at Kansas last year. “Relative to the expectations of this team entering the year, this team has been a big disappointment. They really have been,” Fanta says.

Then he drops the bombshell, “If Bill Self could do it over, I don’t think he would have taken Hunter Dickinson. Hunter is a talented player but defensively there’s not a lot there.” When the center announced his decision to transfer from Michigan, Wolverine fans were understandably upset as instead of going to the NBA, Dickinson had chosen another school, reportedly for NIL money.

The player himself denied it was all because of NIL as he told ESPN, “If I wanted to just go to the highest bidder then it wouldn’t be Kansas.” However, in his junior year, Dickinson had reportedly been making less than $100,000 and learned during his transfer process that he could be making at least five times that.

Thanks to the Mass St. Collective, Kansas has one of the best NIL collectives in the country. Now, even if Dickinson has good days, the supporting cast oftentimes falls short for the 7th-ranked team. “This Kansas team is not gritty, they’re not gutsy, they’re not tough, they don’t make you do different things. They don’t alter your strategy with how they defend,” Fanta says.

“Offensively they have some talent but they can’t shoot the basketball. And Bill Self”s system is predicated, like a lot of systems in this country, on shot-making.” 

Although Dickinson might face criticism for his lack of skills and Self for recruiting him in the first place, he wants to make it clear that it was not all about NIL.

Top Comment by Waterfarm 1953

The significant majority of fans don’t know a damn thing about basketball. When my Michigan compatriots wailed at the loss...more

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When Hunter Dickinson commented on “selfish” transfer decisions

When Michigan announced the news of their star player transferring in March 2023, fans were understandably confused, not to mention feeling betrayed. Hunter Dickinson was the No. 1 guy in the portal in ESPN’s rankings, and after considering schools like Kentucky, Villanova, and Maryland, felt like Kansas was the best place because it checked all the boxes.

But he also had a comment for those criticizing him. “The people hating on me would leave their job right now for a $10,000 increase,” Dickinson told ESPN. “I got, at Michigan, less than six figures. I got less than six figures at Michigan for the year.”

Declaring that he still loved Michigan, Dickinson also stated that it was a selfish decision for him because it had to be done for his own growth. “I did have a legacy there and I basically gave that up to try to be selfish and do what’s best for me and my career, not what’s best for anybody else’s career.” It took courage, and here we are now. But could Bill Self do it again, would he still choose him?