‘Just embrace it’: How Indiana’s crowd fueled KU basketball star Hunter Dickinson
As Kansas center Hunter Dickinson walked onto Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall’s basketball court pregame, the boos from the Indiana faithful intensified.
Dickinson raised his arms in the air in an attempt to egg on the crowd. The boos, predictably, intensified.
Of course, the former Michigan star played against IU many times in the previous three seasons. Now wearing the Jayhawk crimson and blue, there was still no love lost between the familiar foes.
Dickinson scored 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in KU’s 75-71 comeback win over the Hoosiers. The KU star big man enjoyed playing the villain role on Saturday.
“If you don’t like it and it annoys you, then it can get to you. You’re obviously not going to play as well,” Dickinson. “So I don’t try to fight it all, and I just embrace it.
“I could save a baby out here in Bloomington and they would still boo me. … But that’s how it is. They’re not going to ever like me here. So I was like: Why ever try to be a nice guy on the court? Who cares if they’re going to boo you? As long as my Kansas Jayhawks back home in Allen (Fieldhouse) like me, that’s all I need.”
Dickinson didn’t have the best start to the game. The Hoosiers double-teamed him throughout the first half. When he got to his hot spots, he didn’t convert many buckets.
He had nine points on 4-for-11 (36%) shooting at the break.
As Kansas attempted to make a comeback in the second half, Dickinson air-balled a jumper. The next time Dickinson touched the ball, chants of “air-ball” echoed throughout the crowd.
A few possessions later, Dickinson shut up that same crowd by making a jumper. His play was pivotal down the stretch as KU erased a 13-point deficit to win by four. He even gave Kansas its first lead of the game — a post score to put Kansas up 62-61 with 4:53 to play.
“That makes it more fun, when it’s a loud atmosphere like that and quieting the crowd. That’s what we play for,” Dickinson said. “That’s why it’s so fun to win on the road because it’s just you guys in the huddle. Everybody else doesn’t want you to win.”
His teammates certainly had his back.
Kansas freshman guard Jamari McDowell took it personally that IU fans booed Dickinson.
“I love it — I love the hate they have for Hunt,” McDowell said. “I feel like they hate me, too. It just makes me want to show them even more why you should keep hating me.”
What does Kansas coach Bill Self think of Dickinson’s theatrics?
“The reason he gets booed probably isn’t something he did — or the appearance of doing it at Michigan,” Self said. “I’ve known Hunt ever since going back to the under-19 team when he tried out.
“He’s not disrespectful to anybody or anything like that. He just has fun with it.”
This story was originally published December 16, 2023 at 4:24 PM.
