Kansas Struck Gold with Gradey Dick
We talk about once-in-a-generation talents. For Kansas, Gradey Dick is a once-in-a-decade freshman.
In the last 30 years, only two KU freshmen have averaged at least 14 points per game, shot 40% or better from three, and grabbed at least five boards per game. Dick is one of those two. The other happened exactly 10 years ago with Ben McLemore.
The only Kansas freshmen to average 14 and 5 while shooting 40% form three.
Kansas has had other great freshmen over the years. But few have been able to immediately impact the game offensively the way Dick has. In fact, if you remove the stipulation of having to shoot better than 40% from three and just look at KU freshmen that have scored 14 points and grabbed five boards over the last 30 years, the list…doubles.
Kansas freshmen since 1992 to average 14 points and five rebounds.
Sports Reference
Getting talent is not the issue. Kansas has brought in 50 McDonald’s All-Americans since 1977, and 31 of those have come since 2000. Heck, Dick had two fellow McDonald’s All-Americans in this class with him (MJ Rice and Ernest Udeh).
This doesn’t mean those players are busts. There’s some really amazing names on there – Wayne Simien, Mario Chalmers, Julian Wright, Sherron Collins, Darrell Arthur, Perry Ellis, Devon Dotson, Udoka Azubuike, and on and on – but the transition from high school to college is incredibly challenging and at a place like Kansas, there’s usually always someone older and better causing freshmen to wait their turn.
Instead, this is a plea to appreciate what Dick has been able to accomplish in his brief time in Lawrence. We’ve seen over the past few years that groups led by multiple five-star freshmen have struggled to win – looking at you Duke and Kentucky – while the transfer portal has allowed teams to stock up and reload on experienced mid-major and high-major players (Texas, K-State, Creighton, etc.) have added parity to the game.
Bill Self’s speciality has been finding diamonds in the rough and developing good players into great players. But there’s no replacement for talent, and the best thing you can do is pair great freshman/sophomore talent (before they leave for the league) with quality experience.
That’s what Kansas has this year. Skilled experience has been paired with freshman talent and while the floor is lower than maybe last year, the ceiling is high. One of the reasons for that is Dick. He’s the second-best offensive player on the team who has gotten better and better on the boards and at getting hands in passing lanes.
He’s arguably one of the best pure shooters to go through Kansas in decades and he continues to show the other levels to his offensive game that make him such a threat.
The NBA will come calling before he has a chance to get far into the Kansas history books, but don’t let that fool you. What Dick is doing is incredibly impressive. Let’s enjoy watching him play in a Kansas uniform while we can.
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