Former KU All-American Ochai Agbaji leaves a surprise for incoming freshman Gradey Dick

By Matt Tait     Jun 5, 2022
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Three of the five incoming Kansas basketball freshmen moved into their McCarthy Hall rooms on Saturday and one of them discovered a heck of a surprise.

Gradey Dick, Ernest Udeh Jr. and walk-on Wilder Evers all made their way to the KU campus with their families to move their belongings into their new rooms.

For Dick, a 6-7 wing from Wichita and the reigning National Gatorade Player of the Year, the moment turned emotional not when it was time to say goodbye to mom and dad but instead when he looked inside the top drawer in his new dresser.

In it was a note from the room’s former occupant, Kansas All-American Ochai Agbaji.

The note’s message was simple: “Whoever takes over this room, be great.”

Judging by the video of the discovery that was captured by a Kansas Athletics video team, it was clear that the mere presence of the note and the words in it gave the new Jayhawk chills.

“Oooo,” he said after reading it quietly to himself before sharing it with his parents. “That’s crazy. Appreciate you Ochai.”

Dick then summed up what the message meant in a single word.

“Motivation,” he said, before adding, “Gonna leave that right there.”

He then put the note back in the drawer where it came from and, presumably, plans to leave it there for the entirety of his stay in Lawrence.

The other two KU freshmen, MJ Rice and Zuby Ejiofor, are awaiting their graduations and expected to arrive in Lawrence sometime next week.

Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar Jr. is slated to be on campus Monday for the start of summer workouts and Tuesday’s first day of summer school.

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84605Former KU All-American Ochai Agbaji leaves a surprise for incoming freshman Gradey Dick
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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.