Oread Observations: Focus on the big man
We know that for the Kansas Jayhawks to win the national championship this year, it’s got to have its best five on the floor as much as humanly possible. It’s one of the best starting fives in the country, it’s an efficient group and it’s, by miles and miles, KU’s best chance to win any given game.
If there was any one player who Kansas needs nonstop greatness out of, though, it’s got to be Hunter Dickinson.
If you’re relying on one specific lineup to carry you to a title, obviously everyone has to be as crisp and effective as possible as often as possible. But given the individual limitations of certain pieces on this roster, if anyone is going to carry the Jayhawks in a big game it will more likely be the big man than anyone else.
Kevin McCullar has been fantastic this year, even with some spells of shooting struggles. But he’s dealing with a knee injury that’s going to hamper him through the rest of the year, including in this weekend’s matchup with the Texas Longhorns. He’s been KU’s best scorer for much of this season, but if he’s going to be battling his health constantly you need to have the biggest mismatch on the floor contributing at a high level constantly.
Johnny Furphy has been a revelation for KU, but even star freshmen go through typical freshman struggles and slumps sometimes. Again, similar to the McCullar situation, if there’s an off night for Furphy, someone else has to be able to fill it up with consistency. That should be the biggest man with the most dangerous offensive skill set on the floor, Dickinson.
K.J. Adams is a remarkable player who just seems to always be in the right spot at the right time, but he’s not the pure scorer or the rebounder that Dickinson is. Dajuan Harris is a magician on the floor, but he’s got limitations on the offensive end.
And while Dickinson isn’t exactly Udoka Azubuike as a rim protector, his size and gradual improvement as a defender are going to be massive come March.
None of this is intended to insult the rest of KU’s starting five, and it’s also not intended to be some sort of desperate plea for Dickinson to step into a bigger role that he hasn’t already filled.
The goal here, though, is to illustrate why he should be the focal point of this team down the stretch. No, he’s not a perfect player. Yes, guard play is remarkably important in the big dance. But when you have a player with this many skills and this many strengths, he should be the center of everything you do.
And if Kansas is going to win this year’s title, he’ll have to be.
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