Hunter Dickinson believes his ejection vs. Duke should have been a Flagrant 1

The Kansas Jayhawks were forced to finish off their recent game against the Duke Blue Devils without star big man Hunter Dickinson. He was ejected after being assessed a Flagrant 2 while tangled up on the floor with Duke’s Maliq Brown.

With some time to reflect on the incident, Dickinson shared that he doesn’t necessarily believe he deserved an ejection for the play and that it should have been a Flagrant 1 instead.

“I think the thing that probably got it a Flagrant 2 was the slow-mo,” Hunter Dickinson said. “I feel like if you watched it in real time and in normal speed, I feel like it was a Flagrant 1. I don’t think — I think a Flagrant 2 needs to be a little more malicious intent for that to occur.”

On the play Hunter Dickinson and Maliq Brown are battling for a rebound, hitting the floor in the process. While on the ground, each of their feet was by the other’s head and Dickinson appeared to kick Brown in the head. That led players on each side to come together, breaking the situation up. Officials would decide after a review to eject him for a Flagrant 2.

Hunter Dickinson just got EJECTED 😳pic.twitter.com/RdgrH4Q6Dc

— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) November 27, 2024

Even without Dickinson, the Jayhawks were able to hold on and win a close game 75-72 over the Blue Devils. For his part, Dickinson finished the game with 11 points, six rebounds, and three assists in 24 minutes of action.

“But, I put myself in that position and the refs made the call,” Dickinson said. “So, you’ve gotta — if you’re gonna put yourself in that position you can’t really be too picky and choosy with it.”

After the game, Kansas head coach Bill Self echoed a similar sentiment to Hunter Dickinson that the foul shouldn’t have been enough to earn an ejection.

“Bill Self said he thought the Hunter Dickinson incident warranted a flagrant foul — but he thought it should have been a Flagrant-1, not a Flagrant-2,” ESPN’s Jeff Borzello shared on social media.

Seth Greenberg admonishes Hunter Dickinson for Flagrant 2, backs officials

There were those who felt Hunter Dickinson earned his ejection, including ESPN’s Seth Greenberg who admonished the star big man and backed the officials.

“He got fouled and it’s a Flagrant 2. What was his intent? You see him roll over and the foot came down. I mean, that is intent right there. That’s just the way it is,” Greenberg said.

“I like Hunter Dickinson, I think he’s good for college basketball. He’s competitive, he’s had an incredible career. But in that moment in time, you got to remain poised. It was a tough, physical game, it was a hard foul, both guys fall to the ground, but you can see his leg… To me and to the officials, it looked like there was an intent. That is a Flagrant 2.”

Since the win over Duke, Kansas has added another win over Furman. The Jayhawks will be back in action on Wednesday against Creighton.