For a moment following his senior night Tuesday, Kansas center Hunter Dickinson looked ready to deliver some big news.
“I already have a decision to make,” he told reporters postgame, as he paused for dramatic effect and looked earnestly at teammates Kevin McCullar Jr. and Nick Timberlake.
Then he turned back to the gathered media with a grin and said “Nah, I’m just playing with y’all.”
It was an extremely on-brand moment for Dickinson, who had just wrapped up his senior night at Allen Fieldhouse but still has the option to come back for another year of college basketball.
He reiterated that he has in fact not yet made a decision on his future. One of the most dominant players at the collegiate level this season but a lower-level professional prospect, he previously said he wanted to go through the senior night festivities and deliver a speech just in case he ultimately decided to leave.
But he said he wouldn’t make a decision until after the season.
“Hopefully we run the table, win six in a row (in the NCAA Tournament, for the championship) and just kind of figure it out after something great like that,” he said.
That’s how his head coach would prefer it too: “I think that all players should focus on the season and get through the season,” Bill Self said, “because the best way for him to have a decision is for him to play well and not worry about this other stuff.”
Of course, Self has a vested interest in making the most of his 7-foot-2 center’s collegiate eligibility. While he said he hasn’t had any discussions with Dickinson about next year, he has at least been gathering information: After KU beat Oklahoma State on Jan. 30, Self said with a smile upon learning that Dickinson had crossed 2,000 career points, “I’m glad you told me that. That’ll be something I’d sell to him when the season’s over.”
The head coach called back to that particular talking point when he introduced Dickinson for his senior speech after Tuesday night’s 90-68 victory over Kansas State (in which Dickinson had 15 points, 20 rebounds and five blocks). He told the gathered crowd, “Think about it: If he came back for one more year, he’d score 3,000 points!”
That, of course, prompted chants of “one more year” from the KU faithful.
Dickinson, who transferred to KU from Michigan last offseason, said he’s accustomed to uncertainty. As a freshman with the Wolverines back in 2021, he tried to enter the NBA Draft but opted to return to school.
“I’ve been fortunate to kind of go through this process where I don’t know what I’m going to do for the last four years now, so (I’m) kind of used to it,” he said.
The native of Alexandria, Virginia, is tallying 18.2 points and 11.0 rebounds per game this year, making him the only player in the Big 12 Conference averaging a double-double, and has added 1.4 blocks.
He said on The Field of 68 YouTube channel back in January he feels that if he does choose to go pro, he will be well equipped to do so.
If he instead opts to stay at KU next season, he will get the chance to team up with Flory Bidunga, the consensus top center in the class of 2024.