Hunter Dickinson injury: Kansas center gives fans an update on his health ahead of first round matchup
Kansas Jayhawks star center Hunter Dickinson recently gave an update on his injury status ahead of his team`s first-round matchup against the 13-seed Samford Bulldogs. In a recently held press conference, the seven-foot-two slotman out of Alexandria, VA shared his health update.
"The shoulder feels good, good enough to be out there with my teammates. I feel like everybody`s dealing with a little injury nowadays, especially towards the end of the season. So, I feel good and ready to get out there with my teammates."
When asked about his teammate Kevin McCullar, Jr., who`s also currently in Kansas` injury list, Dickinson had this to say about McCullar`s work to try to get back into action:
"I think we were obviously all hoping he could play, because he`s one of the best players not just on our team but the whole country. We`ve seen the amount of work he`s put in to try to get back."
He furthers:
"I`m in the training room with him, and he`s doing two to three sessions per day for the past two months. So, it`s not his fault by any means, he just doesn`t feel right; I`m just with him and he`s trying it out and he`s going through a lot of pain. I wish the best for him, [I] hope he could get back as soon as possible."
With this positive news, it looks like Hunter Dickinson will at least be suiting up for the Jayhawks when they open up the NCAA Tournament in Salt Lake City. Perhaps if Kansas went deeper, then they could see Kevin McCullar Jr. return to further shore up their offense on the frontcourt.
How deep can Kansas go in the NCAA Tournament as of now?
Analysts and fans were in near-unanimous agreement that the Jayhawks are completely disadvantaged without Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar Jr. being 100 percent.
Dickinson could say his shoulder feels good, but he`s not even mentioning the mental effect that injuries have on high-level athletes like him.
Either way, analysts still believe that if things go especially well for Kansas, they could go as far as the Sweet 16--but only until then (via Yahoo Sports).
That`s because a lot of teams are equipped to take them down early, especially with their two best players not at full strength. For one, Samford is not that much of an underdog for them, and it won`t be too surprising to see an upset.