Hunter Dickinson says he ‘needed something new’ after three years at Michigan

Hunter Dickinson was the biggest name in college basketball to hit the transfer portal this offseason. He did so because, in his words, he “needed something new” from what he had been provided in Ann Arbor.

The former Michigan Wolverines turned Kansas Jayhawk spoke on his thought process on transferring in an episode of ‘Rock Chalk Unplugged’ alongside his KU teammates Mitch Lightfoot & Chris Teahan. He said that he weighed all of his options upon the end of his third collegiate season. However, after some careful consideration, he realized that the pro route was off the table and that he needed to return to college and play for another program.

“Once the season ended, that’s when I kind of got to thinking about what my next steps were going to be,” Dickinson said. “I knew that I had an opportunity to, you know, try to test the NBA waters, I knew I could go back to Michigan. Or the NCAA has the transfer portal. That’s been a hot topic nowadays.”

“So I just felt like I needed something new. I feel like, in three years at Michigan, I did some great things, made some memories there. But I just felt like I wasn’t yet ready for the draft and I wanted to do one more year. Try to win a national championship, try to develop a little bit more,” said Dickinson. “That’s when I decided to enter the transfer portal and just tried to explore new opportunities with that.”

Dickinson averaged 17.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game while shooting 57% from the field in his 94 games with Michigan. In that time, he helped lead the Wolverines to a Big Ten title in 2021 as well as a pair of NCAA Tournament appearance where they at least made the Sweet 16 in both. As the team’s leading scorer and rebounder in all three years, he was also a three-time All-Big Ten selection.

Even so, Dickinson’s third campaign didn’t go as planned. While having yet another phenomenal statistical year as an individual, Michigan went 18-16, lost their only opportunity in the Big Ten Tournament, and lost in the second round of the NIT to Vanderbilt.

That effectively ended Dickinson’s time with the Wolverines. It also gave Kansas the opportunity the scoop up one of the best players in the nation as part of their sustained run of success in the Big 12 and the national stage.

Dickinson says Kansas workouts are more difficult than Michigan’s

Former Michigan forward Hunter Dickinson isn’t holding back. Now with the Kansas Jayhawks, the 7-foot-1 All-American discussed the differences between the two programs’ practices.

“They’re definitely a little bit harder than I expected,” Dickinson said on the Rock Chalk Unplugged Podcast. “[The Kansas practices] were definitely harder than Michigan, especially at this point. I mean, Michigan wouldn’t even get to campus until like July 1. So, we have way more of a head start here.”

“I remember the first couple of practices? I was so out of shape. And I felt like, coming in, I was in pretty solid shape. But I needed a lot more growth in that area,” Dickinson said. “I’m super excited to be in the best shape of my life. And that’s something that I really, really embracing and is trying to get better at each and every day.”

Although Dickinson admitted head coach Bill Self’s practices aren’t easy, he also admitted they’re a lot of fun.

“We got a really good coach,” Dickinson said. “The biggest difference is, he really lets us play a lot. Like there’s some some shooting drills and stuff like that, but most of the practice is centered around trying to just get the ball movement, getting the ball to the third side, stuff like that, and just really trying to get to get to know each other.”