Hunter Dickinson On Why Kansas Jayhawks Can Still Make A March Madness Run During NCAA Tournament

Kansas Jayhawks star Hunter Dickinson is still confident that they can make a run during March Madness.

The preseason No. 1 team over the past two seasons have been a major disappointment this season, with a 19-11 record entering their final game of the regular season against the No. 24-ranked Arizona Wildcats. To top things off, the Jayhawks are unranked for the first time after being ranked for 80 consecutive weeks — the first time they’ve been unranked since the 2020-21 season.

However, the two-time All-American says the Jayhawks’ most recent games — they came close to knocking off the No. 3 Houston Cougars and No. 9 Texas Tech Red Raiders in five-point losses — give reason for optimism.

 ”I think the main thing is just continue to play hard and play with passion,” says Dickinson in a one-on-one interview. “You kind of saw that in the Houston game where we lost, we didn’t play how we wanted to. But we still play really hard and I feel like we took a team who’s a top three team in the country on the road to the final wire.”

Despite losing two consecutive games, Dickinson says the Jayhawks “can build on” that entering the tournament.

“ I think that’s something we can build on,” says Dickinson. “Obviously we can shoot the ball better, we can rebound better, we can take care of the ball better. But playing with that passion, playing with that fight, I feel like will take us a long way. We would beat a lot of teams in the country on Saturday playing with that energy.”

The Jayhawks aren’t ranked and they’re entering their third straight game against ranked opponent while on a losing streak. However, they’re a shoe-in for the March Madness tournament and considering they have one of the top collegiate players in the country in the 7-foot-2 Dickinson, they could still get hot at the right time.

Dickinson, who was formerly the top player in the transfer portal back in 2023 when he transferred from the Michigan Wolverines to the Jayhawks, has plenty of experience playing deep into March. The fifth-year senior previously led the Wolverines to the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight. He also led the Jayhawks to the second round of the tournament last season.

Playing well against a fellow Big 12 contender in the 20-10 Wildcats on Saturday — a game they’ll be playing at Allen Fieldhouse — in the season finale could give the Jayhawks momentum heading into their conference tournament and the March Madness tournament.

 ”That’s the great thing about playing in the Big 12,” says Dickinson. “You’re going to have teams ranked in the top 25 to where you’ll be able to pick up quality wins throughout your schedule. Fortunately for us, we have one more game left at home. This is a game we should try to rally around and try to build momentum because playing at home and Allen Fieldhouse, that’s the best environment in college basketball in my opinion.”

The Jayhawks play substantially better at home (13-3) than they do on the road (4-8). Kansas holds three wins over top 11 ranked opponents at home in No. 9 North Carolina, No. 11 Duke and No. 8 Iowa State.

Considering their success at home against ranked opponents, Dickinson believes that playing at Allen Fieldhouse in the regular season finale will be an advantage for the Jayhawks.

 ”I’m biased, but I’ve been there enough to see it and it truly is a really hard place to win at,” says Dickinson. “The fans do such a good job of showing up and showing out for us. Hopefully we can try to build some momentum on Saturday going into the Big 12 tournament, continue that momentum and try to get some fireworks going for March Madness.”

Hunter Dickinson Speaking on Behalf of TurboTax Partnership

The 24-year-old star is speaking on behalf of his partnership with TurboTax, which is centered on educational advice for student athletes in the NIL era. Dickinson actually entered college in 2020 a year prior to NIL being legalized. In other words, he has a perspective that is different from most student athletes who only know what it’s like to play in the NIL era.

 ”Absolutely,” says Dickinson when asked if college athletes coming in these days are more business savvy compared to five years ago. “You have freshmen coming in with NIL agents already, a marketing kind of platform and marketing strategy. Whereas when I came in I was just worried about using my stipend every month and figuring out where the dining hall was and just trying to worry about playing time.

“It’s so different now with college” Dickinson continues to say. “High school athletes have to negotiate NIL deals, and I feel like that has the majority of the influence on where they’re going to college. I feel like the NCAA landscape has totally changed with NIL.  I think partially for the good, partially for the bad. But I think it was something that was inevitable in college sports.”

Dickinson advises young student athletes who are making money to get an NIL agent while also remembering that you still have to pay your taxes after getting a “$5,000 or $10,000 check.”

 ”The best advice I would give to student athletes when it comes to NIL is definitely get an NIL agent,” says Dickinson. “They make it super stress free, just like TurboTax with their taxes. My NIL agent makes it super stress free for me. He tells me where to be, when to be, especially with posting. Everything like that can get super intricate. He really helps me out with that.”

The Jayhawks star says that college athletes face a heavy “amount of pressure” in the NIL era, being expected to perform at an even higher level now that they’re paid athletes. He advises that athletes that are facing “added pressure” due to their NIL deals need to stay focused on the “main thing” which is their respective sport, whether that’s on the field or on the courty.

“I would say just try to keep the main thing, the main thing at the end of the day,” says Dickinson. “I think with getting paid and everything like that, it can lead guys astray and kind of get them focused on the wrong things. Focus on what got you there, stay in the gym or stay on the field — wherever your sport is — continue to be in the lab and make sure you’re keeping the main thing, the main thing at the end of the day.”