Published Dec 3, 2024
Hunter Dickinson looking forward to facing Ryan Kalkbrenner
Shay Wildeboor  •  JayhawkSlant
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It was somewhat of a quiet Thanksgiving for Kansas big man Hunter Dickinson. The 7-foot-2, 265-pound center from Alexandria, Va., remained in Lawrence with the coaching staff and teammates to celebrate the festive day.

While addressing the media on Monday afternoon, Dickinson was asked about some of his favorite Thanksgiving Day dishes.

“Yes. Thanksgiving was really good,” said Dickinson. “We were able to spend it as a team together and had a nice meal. I think my favorite dish was always mac and cheese, but recently, I found out that I'm lactose intolerant, so it's been hard on me. It's been real hard trying to cut out cheese.

“I feel like everything is dairy nowadays, so it's kind of more of a slow process,” he added. “I did have mac and cheese, though, for sure. I'd say mac and cheese and collard greens, so it's my two. I'm a big sides guy.”

Dickinson is certainly off to a big start for Bill Self and the University of Kansas men’s basketball team. Through seven games, No. 1 Kansas is a perfect 7-0 on the season, Dickinson is averaging 15.7 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.

Offensively, Dickinson is currently shooting 58.4 percent from the field. 33.3 percent from behind the arc, and 62.5 percent from the free-throw line.

Dickinson knows that Kansas will face its first true road test of the season at Creighton on Tuesday night, he will also have his hands full with Ryan Kalkbrenner, the 7-foot-1, 270-pound center from Florissant, Mo.

“Yeah, super excited to hopefully be able to go against him,” said Dickinson I know he was dealing with some lower back (issues), I think, in Vegas, and that's probably because playing so many games in a row, it can definitely be wear and tear, especially on a seven-foot body. I can speak for that for sure, but it would be a great matchup. Obviously, he is probably, me and him are probably some of the best big men in the country. I feel like consensus. And so that'd be a fun matchup.

"That's kind of why you play the game, and that's why you go to a conference like the Big 12 to play against the best bigs. And fortunately, we're playing against another conference that has one of the best bigs in the country. They run a lot of good stuff for him, get him in a lot of good positions, and he is the three-time Big East defensive player of the year. So that'd be a good matchup for me and the rest of the team.”