Bill Self excited to see Hunter Dickinson, Dajuan Harris play together

Bill Self picked up one of the biggest recruiting wins of the offseason with the commitment of top transfer portal prospect Hunter Dickinson. Even so, he says Dickinson is actually the biggest winner of everyone in the matter considering Kansas PG Dajuan Harris will be setting him up from here on out.

Self discussed the chemistry between Dickinson and Harris with media a few weeks back. He said that Dickinson and Harris fit perfectly together as a combination of a scorer and a facilitator, especially in the pick & roll. Now, for Dickinson, Self says all that he has to do is have his hands ready.

“I’m excited about it,” Self said. “But I’ll tell you the one that should be most excited about it is Hunter. Because Dajuan will get him some easy baskets.”

“Hunter can really score the ball,” said Self. “He’s an above average shooter from the arc. But where he’ll benefit the most is Dajaun being able to deliver the ball to him on pick & rolls.”

Over his three seasons at Michigan, Dickinson averaged double-figures with an average of 18.6 points per game over the past two seasons. That comes off of a career 57% field-goal percentage, a career 75.3% mark from the free throw line, and career-best shooting from three in ’22-’23 at 42.1% as a seven-footer.

As for Harris, he’s one of the nation’s best point guards and playmakers. During his college career in Lawrence, he has averaged 4.3 assists per game. That statistic has improved every seasons with him posting a career-best 6.2 assists per game last season, which was Top-10 in the NCAA. He also finished top-five in total assists with 224.

With how they play their games, Self sees a match made in heaven offensively between Dickinson and Harris. That’s why he’s as ready as anyone for the season to get here in order to put that pairing in action against opposing defenses as soon as possible.

Self says Dickinson’s transition has been ‘seamless’

Hunter Dickinson’s game will undoubtedly translate at Kansas. After all, he was an All-American at Michigan and has been a dominant scorer since the day he entered college. Jayhawk head coach Bill Self isn’t worried about Dickinson’s ability to make an impact. However, he does know that going from another school to the system Self’s implemented at Kansas will be a challenge. That’s especially true for a plodding center like Dickinson.

Self has increasingly favored small ball lineups over recent years, often deploying wings and bigger guards at the four alongside a true big sort of like Dickinson. But last season, Self abandoned a traditional big in the starting lineup altogether by playing the 6-7 KJ Adams at center most of the time and to great success. Adams is back this year but Dickinson’s addition suggests Self is pivoting back to having a traditional five man. If he’s going to reach his ceiling at KU, though, Dickinson has to commit to playing actively, per Self.

“I would say it’s been very seamless transition. But he’s not used to playing the way that we’ll play,” Self recently said. “So it’s probably — the activity level is really going to be higher than he has been accustomed to. He was designed to be the center point of everything. And it was let’s slow it down and make sure he gets a touch. You know, we’re gonna make sure he gets his touches as long as he can play patient. He wanted to play in, so he’s got some things he’s got to work on.”