23YO NCAA Millionaire Emotionally Admits The Toughest Part About Leaving Michigan: “I Was Bawling My Eyes Out”

Transfers are hard. A player establishes his reputation and contacts in a college and then adjusts his game according to the strategies of his team. But all of his hard work goes to vain when the player has to transfer to some other institute. This was much like how the Kansas Jayhawks center Hunter Dickinson felt when he left the Michigan Wolverines in favor of his present team. 

Dickinson took the decision to leave the Wolverines after three years playing with them and it came as a surprise to many. The 23-year-old now has revealed the toughest part of the transfer.

What did Dickinson have to say?

Dickinson got emotional in the ‘Field of 68’ podcast when he was asked about the hardest part of leaving the Wolverines. NBA journalist Jeff Goodman was the host and the North Carolina Tar Heels player Armando Bacot also marked his presence in the podcast on Friday. Dickinson spilled the beans about his inner emotional turmoil related to the head coach Juwan Howard and how the decision, though for his good, was a tough one.

“It was probably just leaving Juwan honestly. That was like the hardest thing. The thing that made me really like kind of try to push it off for like a day or two was… having to tell him face to face them leave him… That’s probably like the closest thing I’ve had to like… like another dad was Juwan. He like really was like that dude for me and like when I was in there… I was like bawling my eyes at telling him like… I had to leave because that’s just kind of like how I feel about him… And we still text to this day,” Dickinson divulged.

As per ESPN (h/t: Detroit Free Press) Dickinson left the Michigan Wolverines purely for basketball. He wanted to transfer to a program that had more chances of winning the NCAA Championship. He chose the Jayhawks over offers from Villanova, Maryland, Kentucky, and Georgetown as per ESPN. The Wolverines finished the season occupying the fifth spot in the Big Ten. Whereas in the NIT they lost to Vanderbilt in the second round. 

On the other hand, the Jayhawks advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament where they lost to the Arkansas and were ranked at the fourth spot in the AP men’s basketball polls. Additionally, they were also posited at the numero uno position in the Big 12 rankings.

Read More: With Kansas Stumbling Out, Can Purdue Maintain Number 1 NCAA Status?

This season too the Jayhawks are currently ranked at the third position in the AP men’s basketball polls. Hence, Dickinson’s decision seems to be bearing fruit.

How has Dickinson performed so far?

Meanwhile, Dickinson has also amped up his skills this season since he has potted an extravagant 19.3 points per game and grabbed an astonishing 11.7 rebounds per match. Though he was a formidable player even during the time he played with the Wolverines, this seems to be some betterment over his previous stats. And with how the Kansas are playing they do seem to be top contenders for this season’s National Championship title.

Hopefully, Dickinson will realize his dream of winning the Championship and also be drafted in the NBA in the coming times. And thus, he will fulfill his wishes while staying in touch with Howard.

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