NCAA Basketball: Takeaways from Hunter Dickinson picking Kansas Jayhawks
By Joey Loose
What this means at Kentucky and Villanova
Though they didn’t land Dickinson, few will shed tears for Kentucky. The Wildcats have had star center Oscar Tshiebwe for the last two seasons, though Tshiebwe’s name remains in the NBA Draft pool. If he returns to Lexington next season, then Kentucky will be a force to be reckoned with and won’t miss out on Dickinson’s service. Additionally, the Wildcats have already reached out to North Dakota State forward Grant Nelson, a recent addition to the Portal who may well be the best name out there now that Dickinson has chosen his next school.
John Calipari has the best recruiting class in the nation and a roster full of talent; Dickinson could’ve excelled in Lexington but likely wasn’t heading there due to the uncertainty. Would a lineup have worked with both Dickinson and Tshiebwe? Even without him, the Wildcats will be a talented squad next season, with freshman Aaron Bradshaw and returning stud Jacob Toppin already two big talents in the frontcourt.
Things are a bit different at Villanova after the Wildcats finished just 17-17 in Kyle Neptune’s first season leading this program. The Wildcats are returning starting forward Eric Dixon, who was their leading scorer and are adding a few other weapons this offseason, though they certainly would’ve liked Dickinson’s services to help put this program back into the preseason hype.
The Wildcats added former Maryland wing Hakim Hart as well as TJ Bamba, a guard from Washington State. Combine them with Dixon and Justin Moore, who missed a significant part of last season with an injury, and Villanova has a talented lineup that should finish above .500 this season. However, adding a bona fide weapon like Dickinson would have done wonders and the Wildcats might not be done upgrading their roster, especially if they want to add depth in that frontcourt.