Bill Self rips Hunter Dickinson for 'asinine' decision to hold onto ball after whistle vs. TCU

Every coach wants to see their players hustle. That includes Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self, though he also wants to see his players play smart.

In the game against TCU, there was a play where Self didn’t get the type of play that he wanted to see from Hunter Dickinson on a play where he got tied up with a TCU player following a whistle. On the play, Dickinson made what Self would describe as an asinine decision to refuse to let go of the ball.

“I can’t speak to what Jamie [Dixon] will say,” Self said. “I thought it was asinine that our guy would hang onto the ball like that. I guess maybe in some world, it provides more street cred, which in the world that somebody would actually think that, I don’t think they’re very knowledgeable about ball. But that was a boneheaded play.”

The Jayhawks and Horned Frogs were in a one-point game with 12 minutes and 55 seconds left to go in the second half when Dickinson snagged an offensive rebound over two TCU players. They quickly tied him up, though, drawing a whistle for the jump ball. That’s when Dickinson and Trazarien White both refused to let go of the ball.

They didn't stop wrestling for the ball 😅

Things are getting chippy between No. 12 Kansas and TCU 👀 pic.twitter.com/GaKkILvJWs

— ESPN (@espn) January 23, 2025

That tie led to several other players and the officials getting involved as they walked off the playing court and toward the crowd, still refusing to let go of the ball. At one point, White was replaced by Malick Diallo who was tangled up with Dickinson. When the refs pulled everyone apart, it was Dickinson who still held the ball.

“But what made it a boneheaded play, as much as anything I mean, when the whistle blows, you stop,” Self said. “And I’m sure they blew it several times and it cost us a possession. So, yeah, I wasn’t happy to see that at all.”

At the time, it seemed like the play would spark some life for TCU. The Horned Frogs were excited and the student section clearly enjoyed the effort that their players had put in after the whistle. Between that, and it cost the Jayhawks possession as Bill Self pointed out, could have ended up costing Kansas in the long run if momentum shifted enough.

However, it ended up being Kansas who would go on a run in the final minutes of the game. The Jayhawks would pull away and win 74-61, moving to 14-4 on the season. Now, Self and Kansas will turn their attention to a tough Houston Cougars team on Saturday.