Dick Emerges for Jayhawks, Pushes Kansas To Dominant Win

The much-hyped freshman led all scorers for the most points in a freshman debut in over a decade.

Coming into the season, everyone knew that Jalen Wilson, Dajuan Harris and Kevin McCullar were going to be the leaders of the Kansas Jayhawks on and off the court. And those three played well in the first game of the season. But the biggest question was which other player was going to step up to be a main scoring option.

That question was answered firmly on Monday night, as true freshman guard Gradey Dick exploded for 23 points in his Kansas debut to lead all scorers against the Omaha Mavericks in a season-opening 89-64 win in Allen Fieldhouse. It was the best debut performance for a Kansas freshman since 2009.

If my math is right, Gradey Dick's 23 points are the most by a #KUbball freshman in their debut since Xavier Henry scored 27 points against Hofstra in 2009.

Most recent high was 21 points from Quentin Grimes in 2018.

— Michael Swain (@MSwain247) November 8, 2022

Dick was 9-13 from the field, including 4-6 from three-point range, and he routinely showed off his athleticism and shooting touch throughout the night.

Not to be outdone, junior Jalen Wilson recorded a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. He also added 7 assists, second highest on the team and only 1 assist behind Dajuan Harris.

McCullar, Harris and sophomore guard Bobby Pettiford joined Dick and Wilson with double digit points, and the Jayhawks showed off the multiple scoring options that they have available throughout the lineup.

Much like in last week's exhibition win over Pittsburg State, the Jayhawks got behind early in this one, going down 7-5 just 3:37 into the game. However, the deficit was short lived, as Kansas had two quick 8-point runs to take their first double digit lead before the under 12 media timeout in the first half. The Jayhawks would push the lead to 16 before a Luke Jungers three at the buzzer gave Omaha just a little bit of momentum going into the half.

And they would take advantage of that in the second half, using the first 3 minutes to shrink the Kansas advantage to just 7. But the Kansas defense turned up the pressure to spark a 10-0 run, highlighted by dunks by both McCullar and Dick.

Omaha was unable to get the lead smaller than 13 the rest of the way, and a huge 15-0 run in just over 4 minutes put the game out of reach. Dick, Pettiford and Harris all made three-point baskets during that run, as the Jayhawks finished 9-22 from long range on the night.

Senior Michael Jankovich scored the last points of the game, a jumper from just inside the arc with just over a minute left to put the final margin at 25.

Overall, it was a successful opener for the Jayhawks, as they won their home opener for the milestone 50th straight season. They are back in action on Thursday as they host North Dakota State in Allen Fieldhouse. Tipoff is scheduled for 7pm.