By SAM LANCE
Kansas coach Bill Self released a statement to social media on Thursday to address rumors surrounding star guard Kevin McCullar and the decision to rule him out for the NCAA Tournament.
“I am not on social media much but since announcing Kevin would not play in the tournament, I’ve been told Kevin and this situation have been portrayed inaccurately,” Self said. “What I said in a 45 second video clip is true. His knee hasn’t improved in the last two weeks. It hurts too much to continue playing. He hasn’t practiced in 6 weeks. We made the decision to shut him down. That’s all 100 percent accurate, but what I didn’t say has caused a false narrative to question Kevin inappropriately.
Self continued:
“He worked tirelessly in rehab to try to play and everyone within the program knows it. We’ve known the only way the bone bruise would heal is time off. Kevin elected not to do that and try to play. For 6 weeks, it’s been one step forward two steps back. He hurt it worse in the KSU game and tried to play at Houston. Since then, all involved felt 9 days off would position him to play in the tournament. That did not happen. It hasn’t progressed and made the improvement we had hoped. At that time our team doctors collectively came to the decisions to not play and allow the healing process to not be interrupted.”
McCullar is a projected first round 2024 NBA Draft pick in several mocks, with some sites having him as early as a lottery selection. Some speculated that McCullar was “sitting out” to protect his future NBA prospects. Self has now confirmed that is not the case.
“We will support him through this process,” Self said. “Kevin tried for himself, his teammates, and also the KU faithful. We are all disappointed Kevin can’t play but should appreciate the effort that he’s made. Kevin will take on the role of assistant coach during the tournament.”
McCullar was recently named an AP All-American Honorable Mention. He averaged 18.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game this season while shooting 45.4% from the field. McCullar was also a First-Team All-Big 12 selection. He will now be a leader for the Jayhawks on the sidelines after five years of college experience, with two coming at Kansas.
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