This Kansas Jayhawks senior men’s hoops player is garnering preseason recognition

A consensus second-team All-American and first-team all-Big 12 selection last season, Kansas Jayhawks senior center Hunter Dickinson has picked up his first honor of the 2024-25 campaign.

Dickinson, a 7-foot-2, 265-pound native of Alexandria, Virginia, has been named a first-team preseason All-America men’s basketball player by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.

Dickinson, a transfer from Michigan who averaged 17.9 points and 10.8 rebounds per game in his first season at KU, was joined on Blue Ribbon’s first team by Alex Karaban (Connecticut), RJ Davis (North Carolina), Caleb Love (Arizona) and Mark Sears (Alabama).

KU did not have anybody on the second, third or fourth teams.

The second team consisted of Johni Broome (Auburn), Cooper Flagg (Duke), Wade Taylor IV (Texas A&M), Zakai Zeigler (Tennessee) and Braden Smith (Purdue).

The third team: Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton), Graham Ike (Gonzaga), Robbie Avila (Saint Louis), J’Wan Roberts (Houston) and Tamin Lipsey (Iowa State).

And the fourth team: Oumar Ballo (Indiana), Great Osobor (Washington), Yaxel Lendeborg (UAB), Hunter Sallis (Wake Forest) and LJ Cryer (Houston).

Dickinson — he recorded a Big 12-leading 17 double-doubles, which ranked 12th nationally — also placed third overall in a CBSsports.com poll: One hundred college coaches were asked to select “college basketball’s best player in 2024-25.”

Duke’s Flagg, just a freshman, placed first with 36% of the vote. Alabama’s Sears received 22% of the vote and Dickinson 16%. North Carolina’s Davis garnered 15%; others who received multiple votes were Broomi and Kalkbrenner.

Here are some quotes compiled by CBSsports.com reporter Matt Norlander concerning Dickinson. The coaches who made the comments were guaranteed anonymity.

“Feel like he’s coming off a subpar year with something to prove and in a great system for his game.”

“If I was starting a team, I’d start with Dickinson because he’s going to get you 18 and 10 per night.”

“After being with Bill (Self) and Bill being with him, I think his skill level is off the chart. I think they’re going to go real old school and I think they’re going to play through the low post. We just watched Purdue make the final game playing through the low post. Bill will make that adjustment and Dickinson’s touches will go through the roof. If he has those touches and health … let’s call it what it is: He’s a 24-year-old guy playing college basketball.”

Of Dickinson, Norlander wrote: “As for Dickinson, who barely beat Davis for third, he’ll be the offensive centerpiece on a Kansas team that Gary Parrish (CBSsports.com) ranks No. 1 heading into the season. His defense is mediocre at best, but he’s the best hub-of-the-wheel offensive option in college hoops. Some coaches who voted for him did so with the belief he’s going to put up absurd offensive numbers on a team that gets a top seed. Reasonable pick. Can he average 22 and 12?”