By ADAM ZAGORIA
Kansas big man Hunter Dickinson was named the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year and the Preseason Newcomer of the Year for 2023-24.
The 7-foot-2 Dickinson transferred in from Michigan after choosing the Jayhawks over Kentucky, Villanova, Maryland, Georgetown and others.
Dickinson has since indicated NIL played a huge role in his decision, while some industry sources say Kansas offered him $2 million annually.
Kansas coach Bill Self likes to play four-out and one-in, and can now center his offense around Dickinson, who averaged 18.5 points and 9.0 rebounds, as he seeks his third national championship and second in three years.
“The perfect way for me to play is play position-less on the perimeter and have one guy to play around,” Self told ZAGSBLOG in May.
“So last year we didn’t really have a big guy and our guy [Marcus Adams] did a great job playing out of position.
“But now with Hunter we got a guy that I think legitimately can be a first-team All-American. I think he legitimately has a chance to average 20, and if he does that, then the dynamics of our team changes overnight and I think we could be pretty good.”
Here’s how the rest of the Big 12 Preseason honors look:
Preseason Player of the Year: Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Preseason Newcomer of the Year: Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Preseason Freshman of the Year: Ja’Kobe Walter, Baylor
Preseason All-Big 12 Team
L.J. Cryer (Houston), Hunter Dickinson (Kansas), Dajuan Harris Jr. (Kansas), Emanuel Miller (TCU), Max Abmas (TEXAS)
Preseason All-Big 12 Honorable Mention
Jalen Bridges (Baylor), RayJ Dennis (Baylor), Ja’Kobe Walter (Baylor), Jamal Shead (Houston), Kevin McCullar Jr. (Kansas), Arthur Kaluma (Kansas State), Tylor Perry (Kansas State), Dylan Disu (TEXAS), Tyrese Hunter (TEXAS), Dillon Mitchell (TEXAS), Jesse Edwards (West Virginia)
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