The Kansas basketball program will enter the 2024-25 season with high aspirations following their previous campaign. The Jayhawks' 2023-24 season ended with a second-round NCAA Tournament defeat. Nevertheless, head coach Bill Self has some stout contributors returning, led by senior center Hunter Dickinson. Dickinson earned an impressive Big 12 preseason honor in early October.

Dickinson has been named the 2024-25 Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year, per a release provided by Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. The 7-f00t-2 center's honor is fitting, as he comes off a 2023-24 season with averages of 17.9 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks.

Hunter Dickinson joined the Kansas basketball squad in 2023 after spending three years with the Michigan Wolverines. He built a sound foundation during his freshman year with the Wolverines, averaging 14.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks. Then, he improved his marks to 18.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 2021-22 before leaping to 18.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks in 2022-23.

Dickinson enters the 2024-25 season highly touted, but he is not the only one looking to help Kansas thrive. Forward KJ Adams Jr. is returning to the team for his third year. Adams has seen significant improvement with the program. In a limited role during his freshman year, he averaged 1.0 points and 0.8 rebounds. He leapt to average 10.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks in 2022-23. He comes off a year with career-high averages of 12.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.1 steals.

Kansas finished 2023-24 with a 23-11 record. Their second-round 89-68 March Madness loss to Gonzaga left a bad taste in their mouths. Yet, Bill Self is ready to do all he can to guide the program to a strong showing in 2024-25. Self-made this eye-popping admission after the Jayhawks' 2024 NCAA Tournament defeat:

“For the last month I've been thinking about next season, to be honest,” Self said, according to CBS Sports.

Kansas will enter its upcoming campaign with a hunger to win and get back to the national title game for the first time since 2022.