The Kansas Jayhawks and head coach Bill Self had a poor finish to the 2023-24 season and into the Big 12 Tournament. Despite that, the Jayhawks, with a 22-10 record, were selected as a No. 4 seed in Midwest Regional. But the biggest question facing Kansas is the health of their top two players in Kevin McCullar Jr. and Hunter Dickinson. Following the Jayhawks' bracket reveal, Self was hopeful he'd have them back in the lineup ahead of the first round of the NCAA Tournament as per Shreyas Laddha of The Kansas City Star.
“Hunter is doing great, he's actually practiced the last two days non-contact,” Bill Self said. “Kevin, I haven't seen doing anything, but the game plan is, hopefully, he's good to go Monday.”
Kansas will hit the road and travel to Salt Lake City where their first round game against No. 4 Samford is set to take place. It's possible the Jayhawks might not need either Hunter Dickinson or Kevin McCullar Jr. to beat Samford. But to advance beyond the first round, Kansas will certainly need their top two guys. Neither one played in the Big 12 Tournament.
In Dickinson's case, he suffered a shoulder injury late in the season. He was one of the top centers in the country and a possible second round NBA Draft pick. He had been averaging 18.0 points per game, 10.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 blocked shots with splits of 55 percent shooting from the field, 35 percent shooting from the three-point line and 64.1 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
McCullar has been battling a knee injury all season. He's been averaging 18.3 points, 6.0 rebounds. 4.1 assists and 1.5 steals with splits of 45.4 percent shooting from the field, 33.3 percent shooting from the three-point line and 80.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
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