Bill Self ranks Gradey Dick among the best freshmen in Kansas history

Gradey Dick has been a star for Kansas ever since arriving on campus in Lawrence. The five-star, home-state hero has shown plenty of consistency this season, especially when shooting the rock, and it has him very high up on Bill Self’s list of all-time Jayhawk rookies.

Self ranked Dick following Kansas’ latest 87-76 win at Oklahoma State. As far as shooting the ball, Self says Dick is already the best of the best. From there, he says that the 19-year-old’s campaign already stacks up well with some of the best freshmen in the program’s history.

“He’s the best freshman shooter I’ve ever had. Hands down,” said Self. “We’ve just got to get him more shots.”

“We’ve had some pretty good freshmen,” Self then added. “You go back to (Joel) Embiid and (Andrew) Wiggins and those guys. I’m not gonna say that. But as far as having a freshman year? I would put his freshman year with just about anybody, with any freshman we’ve ever had if you just talk about the year.”

In 32 minutes per game, Dick is Kansas’ second-leading scorer at 14.7 points per game. He’s doing that with a team-best 42.7% mark from deep on 61 makes over the course of 26 games. Add in 4.9 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and an efficient 46.3% from the field and Dick is making a very solid case as the Big 12 Freshman of the Year as well as a National Freshman of the Year candidate.

Self’s program hasn’t focused as much on freshmen as other schools have but, with that in mind, that makes it very easy for Dick to rank high on this list. His play has earned that level of recognition and will only earn more depending on how he helps the Jayhawks succeed in the upcoming postseason.