Top-ranked transfer Hunter Dickinson commits to Kansas
By SAM LANCE
The No. 1 player in the transfer portal — former Michigan center Hunter Dickinson — has committed to Kansas.
He chose the Jayhawks over Villanova, Maryland, Georgetown and Kentucky.
— Hunter Dickinson (@H_Dickinson24) May 4, 2023
Dickinson, the 7-foot-1, 260-pound center from Alexandria (VA), was heavily recruited by the Jayhawks. He took an official visit to Lawrence from April 20-23, and Bill Self also flew out to Michigan to see Dickinson on April 27 after his Kentucky visit, per sources.
The big man comes to Lawrence after spending the past three seasons at Michigan. In his first season, Dickinson was the Big 10 Freshman of the Year and led the team in points (14.1), rebounds (7.4) and blocks (1.4) per game.
The next year, Dickinson stepped up his game, posting averages of 18.6 points and 8.6 rebounds on 56.3% shooting from the field. His performance led him to become a consensus All-America second-team selection. In 2022-23, Dickinson posted averages of 18.5 points and 9.0 rebounds.
Dickinson instantly provides 20 points and 10 rebounds per game potential to the Jayhawks. Self has a proven track record of successfully playing through the post, and with Dickinson, he can do exactly that.
This marks the third transfer portal pick up for Kansas this offseason. The Jayhawks have also landed commitments from former five-star and Texas point guard Arterio Morris, as well as Towson shooting guard transfer Nick Timberlake.
“Arterio was highly recruited coming out of high school and we watched him a ton his senior year at Kimball,” Self said. “When he entered the portal, we went right after him. Arterio is one of the most talented guards in the country who hasn’t scratched the surface of his potential. He can defend. He can slide. His explosiveness and versatility will be a great addition to our team.”
Timberlake, 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, from Braintree, Massachusetts, will be a super senior in 2023-24 after transferring to Kansas from Towson.
“Shooting was one of the things we needed to replace from last year’s team and with Nicolas we feel like we’ve done that,” Self said. “He’s a proven shooter. He shot 42 percent from three last year which ranked high nationally, while averaging 18 points a game, which shows his scoring ability. Being a four-year guy at Towson, Nicolas comes here with a lot of experience.”
Kansas now theoretically has no open scholarship spots, but the Jayhawks are still in contact with several players from the transfer portal. Therefore, it’s possible a current Jayhawk enters the transfer portal or a class of 2023 commit requests out of their national letter of intent. As a reminder, Kansas has a self-imposed loss of one scholarship for 2023-24, meaning they have just 12 open roster spots.
Below is an outline of the Jayhawks roster for 2023-24…
Heading to NBA draft (likely not returning): Jalen Wilson, Kevin McCullar and Gradey Dick.
Returning from last year: Dajuan Harris, KJ Adams, Ernest Udeh, Zuby Ejiofor and Kyle Cuffe.
Transfer additions: Nick Timberlake, Arterio Morris and Hunter Dickinson.
Incoming freshman: Elmarko Jackson, Chris Johnson, Jamari McDowell and Marcus Adams.
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