It was a Tuesday morning in early 2025, on the heels of a 17-point Kansas win over No. 8 Iowa State on Big Monday at Allen Fieldhouse, and instead of sleeping in or still celebrating his 14-point, 9-rebound, 4-block effort, KU big man Hunter Dickinson was at Corpus Christi Catholic School to hang out with some elementary school students.
No one publicized it. The kids didn’t know he was coming. And Dickinson declined the opportunity to do an interview to hype the appearance.
Not because he couldn’t be bothered. Instead, because he preferred to do his good deeds in private.
People within the KU Athletic Department who track such things told me for the past couple of years that Dickinson was by far the most generous of all the Jayhawks during his time in town, in terms of time spent, money donated and genuine effort put toward engaging with fans and making young people’s days just a little brighter whenever possible.
He certainly did that day at Corpus Christi and, believe it or not, he was the one who reached out to thank organizers for having him a couple days later – not the other way around.
I once watched him sign and give his massive game-worn shoes to a young fan who happened to hang out long enough at Allen Fieldhouse after a home game, simply because the kid said hey. The guy absolutely loved everything about being a Jayhawk, from the time he got here to the day he left.
There’s no denying that Hunter Dickinson loved to stoke the fires of his on-court persona, which he largely invented on his own because, no matter how deep the kindness runs within him, he always liked the role of the villain.
And he played it well, first at Michigan against the Wolverines’ Big Ten rivals and then at Kansas, after arriving as the prized signing of the transfer portal.
Who knew that fans of the team he finished his college career would be so comfortable vilifying him?
Even though we all knew such feelings existed among various groups of Kansas fans, we saw undeniable evidence of that on Friday night at the 41st annual Late Night in the Phog at Allen Fieldhouse.
During the Jayhawks in the NBA segment that played out on the video board early in the night, Dickinson was booed viciously when a picture of him in a New Orleans Pelicans jersey appeared on the screen.
We’re not talking 20 or 30 fans who thought it would be cute or funny. We’re talking a few hundred — at least — who wanted the record to show that they just did not like the guy.
I’ve never seen anything like it inside Allen Fieldhouse and never thought I would. There’ve been plenty of KU players who fans grumbled about or just didn’t like watching. It's sports. You're gonna have that with any team, across generations. But most of that frustration came and was voiced during each player’s KU career.
To see a guy who did nothing but try his best and fully embrace the KU culture and family get crapped on during the first opportunity to do so after he left was, at best, a bad look and, at worst, absolutely classless.
There’s no sugar-coating the reality of the past two years. Dickinson was not the dominant force that Jayhawk fans envisioned him being when he came to Kansas.
He was slow, struggled defensively, looked largely unathletic and suffered more losses in his two seasons as a Jayhawk (24) than recent KU greats Thomas Robinson (13), Cole Aldrich (14) and Jeff Withey (19) did in their entire three- and four-year KU careers.
And, as the most visible and highest-paid player on the roster, Dickinson often drew the wrath of angry KU fans who weren’t used to losing and didn’t like it.
Not all of that was on Dickinson, though. In fact, without him, KU might not have been much better than .500 in either of the last two seasons.
I know that’s not what most KU fans care to hear or think about, but facts are facts and this guy, who coaches and teammates loved, was a double-double machine while earning second- and third-team All-American honors with his numbers despite his shortcomings.
I’m fine with the criticisms. Truth be told, Dickinson is, too.
I got to know him a little bit while he was at KU and I'm sure he mostly just laughed this off when he heard about it Friday night, — he definitely heard about it — but that still doesn't mean he deserved it.
Sure, there were plenty of times during the past two seasons when Dickinson could’ve been better and other times when it was clear that things just didn’t quite work with him.
Shit happens.
I know a lot of people liked the jeers and even thought it was deserved. To each his own.
But I don’t think the booing we heard on Friday night at Late Night, for Dickinson or any former Jayhawk, is the kind of vibe Kansas basketball fans have been or want to be known for.
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