Hunter Dickinson shares excitement to play for Bill Self

A head coach can make all the difference in a player’s experience in any given sport. That’s the case for Kansas center Hunter Dickinson based on the short time he has spent overall with Bill Self in Lawrence.

Dickinson had high praise for his new head coach with the Jayhawks during the ‘Roundball Podcast.’ He started by considering himself blessed to have played for the coaches that he has from his high school years through his three collegiate seasons as he heads into his fourth.

“I’ve been really fortunate. I always think about this, being really fortunate just playing for great coaches throughout my career,” said Dickinson. “From AAU basketball to high school to at Michigan and then now at Kansas? I feel like I’ve just had great coaches.

“I think I’ve done that on purpose,” Dickinson added. “Just having older brothers that played the game? Knowing how much a coach can influence and help you or deter you? Like, having a bad head coach can really stunt your growth and kind of just make basketball not fun.”

However, Self has been at another level in Dickinson’s opinion. As he said, there are moments when he’s in awe around him based on the accomplished man that he gets to play for.

“Now, at Kansas, having Coach Self? I do think about it, like, sometimes when we start off practice? We do some, like, just light dribbling, kind of just getting the body loose. And I’ll really think about, like, ‘Damn, like, he is a Hall of Fame head coach?'” said Dickinson. “I was listening to somebody talking about, like, yeah, I think if you were to do a poll? A lot of people would probably rank him the best head coach in college now, especially since, like you said, a lot of them have left.

“He has got two championships, a couple of Final Fours and we’re going to try to, hopefully, add to that this year,” added Dickinson.

There’s no questioning Self’s place as one of college basketball’s best, if not the best. He is third among active head coaches with 787 wins. He also has a pair of national titles to show from his three appearances in the Final Four with Kansas.

Few coaches ever have that kind of resume, let alone any coaches that are currently active. That’s why Dickinson is as glad as he is to have the opportunity to compete for and learn from him on the court in ’23-’24.

“He is a Hall of Fame head coach and so being able to play for him is a unique experience because not a lot of people get to play for a coach like him,” said Dickinson. “I’ve definitely learned a lot and he knows how to push me.”