Sucks.

Is there much love out there for him at this point? I know there was a ton of hype, but between here and the KU/CBB subs on reddit, people seem to be accepting he's a net negative... the overall vibe seems to be people bring up criticisms like they're about to get bashed for it, then a bunch of people agree. A lot of "I know there's talent in there / is it okay to say something bad about him". I don't follow KU boards much though..

I'm sure much like Mahomes, some people just have a terrible time separating it all out... if someone is good, they're just untouchable no matter what (even if Dickinson has never come close to reaching Mahomes status), because nuance is confusing.

That's because fans have a tendency of blaming their team's best players for the failures of their teams. Happens no matter who it is at any level of sport. Doesn't mean it is right to do so in every situation.

I never blamed Frank Mason.

I don't recall the last two Frank Mason teams "failing." They ran into juggernaut rosters at Villanova and Oregon in the E8 that were full of NBA players.

I’ll never get over Selden clanking all those wide open 3’s against Nova and the bullshit call that fouled Graham out.

That game was right there for the taking.

I hadn't thought about that foul in a while now. Ugh.

Sorry.

Game to forget for Perry Ellis. That monster center whooped his ass.

I’ll also always wonder if Jordan Bell would’ve dominated that Oregon game had Doke not gotten hurt. He was such a physical mismatch for Lucas, but Doke could’ve bullied him.

I argue that nobody would care about Hunter being soft if he didn't have to play next to KJ Adams. 10 years from now, nobody is going to remember much about Dickinson; KJ will rightfully be the focus.

Would that Oregon team beat this years KU team by 60? I mean what would Bell do to someone like HD?

Underperformed every year? In his first year at Michigan, they were #25 in preseason, won the B10 and went to the Elite 8. His second year, he carried them to the Sweet 16 as an 11 seed. In his third year, they sucked because they didn't have a PG.

Last year's KU team underperformed because they lost their two best guards (McCullar and Morris) and were overrated by the media.

You've been shown that Dickinson's actually much better defensively than most think, and he's the #3 player in the nation according to Kenpom. He's obviously a skilled scorer who excels at passing and rebounding. Yet, in your world, he's the source of every problem, and Self's an absolute moron for going to such lengths to land him.

If you actually think the team would be better if they benched Dickinson, you're hopeless. Bidunga's a foul machine who makes a lot of freshman mistakes and produces little aside from dunking a few lobs and the occasional block. They'd have to hold teams to 50 ppg to win.

We already know what happens when Dickinson sits out. It's not pretty. Check out the Cincinnati game in the Big 12 tourney last year for a refresher. 20-point loss to a team that was 7-11 in conference, and it wasn't that close. One of the few times I've truly been embarrassed by a KU team's performance. They legit looked like a D2 team that day.

Instead of your ridiculous hypothetical, ask yourself what the team would look like if you replaced Harris and KJ with great scorers, freeing him from being double/triple teamed.

Aside from it being a really bad take, you're also implying that you understand basketball better than Bill Self. Just sad.

Can you ever state an argument without flying off the handle into some reeruned bullshit no one has ever stated? LMAO :facepalm:

Outside of his first year at Michigan...where he only got 20 to 21 mpg I believe Hunters teams have failed to live up to expectations. Yes. When he was the key cog every orher year things did not go as well as expected.

Averaging 26 minutes a game, Dickinson was ranked #8 in KPOY in his freshman year for Michigan which was higher than his lottery pick teammate. I think I'd call him a "key cog", yeah.

Big difference was he was playing with a NBA big who spaced the floor around him (Franz Wagner) and other shooters/floor spacers and not KJ Adams.

The issue is and has always been who he is playing with on this team the last two seasons.

I think most of us agree that he needs talent around him to be successful. But I think what you are missing is that a great player doesn't HAVE to have other people around him to be considered good/great. They are great because they are great.

Let me be clear on my position. HD is not the problem on this team. He is a solid to good player now, and with the right players around him could be a good to very good player.

But he is really unathletic, slow offensively, and gets pushed around a lot for a player that is 7'2" 260. Seeing him power to the basket with a strong move and dunk is like seeing Big Foot. You think you saw it once, but it was so long ago you just can't be certain it wasn't a bear behind a tree.

Now, with all that said, you are going to throw out Kenpom or some other random stat to show he's a great player and I spent the time typing this out for nothing.