Hunter Dickinson was among the best players in the country during his time with the Kansas Jayhawks. Dickinson was known for his work in the post, elite rebounding, and high basketball IQ.
He started his college career with the Michigan Wolverines in 2020 and joined Kansas in 2023. While he was a very talented player, playing for the Kansas Jayhawks wasn’t easy, and it had a lot to do with the atmosphere.
Dickinson recently appeared on the ‘Run Your Race Podcast’, where he discussed his time with the Jayhawks and explained the reason behind the team’s recent struggles.
Even though they have consistently made the NCAA Tournament, they have struggled to advance past the first round. The last time that they were in the Sweet Sixteen was back in 2022. They lost in the first round last year.
Dickinson said that playing for the Jayhawks was, at times, a chore.
“We would come to the gym, and it would feel such like a job,” he said. “Like, the games got to a point where it’s like, ‘Bro, I don’t even want to like play right now.’ And I was like, one of the ones that handled it better, like, so I can imagine how some of the dudes are feeling.”
Since he was in his final year of college basketball, Dickinson tried his best to pull the team together, but they couldn’t function as a unit.
Hunter Dickinson on Negative Comments from Fans
Hunter Dickinson also discussed the effect social media had on the team. He explained that when the Jayhawks won games, they’d receive limited commentary, and even that was mixed.
“Like, we would always make the joke, after we win a game, you go on Instagram and see how many comments we had. It’d be like, 30, 40 Instagram comments saying…and some of those would even be like, ‘Oh, we won a game, whoopty doo.’ On a loss, we would have like 500 comments,” he said.
After the 2025 season’s disappointment, Dickinson went undrafted due to concerns about his defensive versatility, shooting, and pace. Later, he signed with the New Orleans Pelicans.
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