Nicolas Timberlake hopes to bring another National Championship to Kansas

During his career at Towson, Nicolas Timberlake, in 122 games, averaged 12.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. During that same stretch, Timberlake shot 42.0 percent from the field, 37.9 percent from behind the arc, and 84.5 percent from the free-throw line.

This past season, Timberlake, in 33 games, averaged 17.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. Additionally, he shot 45.5 percent from the field, 41.6 percent from behind the arc, and 84.5 percent from the free-throw line.

Timberlake, during the 2022-23 season, had scoring games of 27, 23, 26, 21, 24, 20, 24, 32, 31, 29, 26, and 34. He scored in double-figures 27 times and scored between 10 and 19 points 15 times.

After the season, Timberlake ultimately decided to find a new school to call home via the transfer portal. Not surprisingly, a ton of schools were hoping to land the Towson star, but when all was said and done, just three schools, North Carolina, Kansas, and Connecticut (order the visits took place) were seriously considered by Timberlake.

While many believed that Connecticut, coming off a National Championship, would emerge as the last team standing for Timberlake, it was Bill Self and Kansas that emerged victorious when a final decision was made.

Timberlake, on April 19, became the first player from the transfer portal to commit to Self and the Jayhawks this offseason.

After scoring 15 points, including hitting three shots from behind the arc at Wednesday’s camp scrimmage inside Allen Fieldhouse, Timberlake talked to the media for the first time since arriving in Lawrence.

“It's crazy,” said Nicolas Timberlake when asked about his experience the last couple of months. “I didn't believe I was going to be here when I entered the portal. I thought maybe 10, 15 schools would call. Kansas calls the second day and I was ecstatic.

“We were close at Towson,” he added. “I loved my time there; it was a great time. But now it's time to get to a tourney (NCAA) and see if we can bring it (National Championship) home.”

For Timberlake, the decision to attend the University of Kansas and play for Bill Self might not have been as difficult as it appeared on the surface.

At the conclusion of the season, Bobby Pettiford, Jr., Joseph Yesufu, Kyle Cuffe, Jr., MJ Rice, Zach Clemence, Ernest Udeh, Jr., Cam Martin, and Zuby Ejiofor all left via the transfer portal.

Gradey Dick and Jalen Wilson both declared for the NBA draft, while Kevin McCullar, Jr., tested the NBA waters, but ultimately made the decision to return for another season.

When making a final decision, playing time was obviously a key factor in the decision-making process, but it wasn’t the only factor.

“He wanted to see the whole thing,” said Jeff Timberlake, the father of Nicolas Timberlake. “I mean, he went from five schools at 18 to, I don’t know, 65 or 70 schools in a month. Really, it was recruiting on steroids. Every night you're getting calls from big-time college coaches and it was a blast. It’s different when you’re older and have and you’re more experienced and more mature and you know what you want.

“It was about playing time and it was about going to the right place,” he added. “He wants to go to the NCAA Tournament, and he’s never been, so now we actually have a chance to win a National Championship, which is the goal. Coach (Bill) Self, you know, he was amazing.”

Within the last week, Timberlake, Hunter Dickinson, Jamari McDowell, Elmarko Jackson, and Justin Cross all made the move to Lawrence for the first session of summer school. Parker Braun and Marcus Adams, Jr., will join their teammates in Lawrence next week.

Surrounded by local media outlets on Wednesday, Timberlake talked about what the transition has been like since his arrival.

“Oh, it was a quick transition,” said Timberlake. “You would've thought we'd known each other for years. It's actually insane. We've been saying it the whole week. The first two days we were here, we were all together, all hanging out. It's a family already.

“No, it's very important,” he added when talking about spending time with his teammates off the court. “You get to see everyone's personality. You see people's personality on the court, but off the court, people can be different. It's going to be one, whole unit this year. It's going to be very exciting.”

According to most publications, Kansas will likely enter the season as the No. 1 ranked team in college basketball. In all, Self’s roster features Hunter Dickinson, Arterio Morris, Dajuan Harris, Jr., Jamari McDowell, Elmarko Jackson, Kevin McCullar, Jr., Marcus Adams, Jr., Parker Braun, KJ Adams, Jr., and Nicolas Timberlake.

Self has assembled a roster that is absolutely loaded from top-to-bottom. Timberlake came to Kansas to help Self win his third National Championship. He’ll have the opportunity to do just that next season.

“My dad said in one of the articles, "It's Kansas." I get to play for Coach Self, probably the best coach in the country, in my opinion,” said Timberlake. “It was a hard decision, but at the end of the day, I'm very excited with what I decided.”

It's safe to say that Timberlake is going to hit some big shots for Kansas. During the season-ending banquet, Self made it clear to those in attendance that one of his goals was to add a player that averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds (Hunter Dickinson) and a player that shot 40 percent from behind the arc, which is what Timberlake has shot from behind the arc the previous two (40.6 and 41.6) the past two seasons.

However, having appeared in 122 games, Timberlake also brings a lot of experience and knowledge to a team that returns just three scholarship players from a season ago.

“I feel like a bring veteran leadership and I’ve been around for a little bit,” said Timberlake. “This is my sixth year, so I’ve been around. I haven’t been at this level, but I’ve been part of winning programs. I mean, KJ (Adams, Jr.) and Dajuan (Harris, Jr.) know what it takes to win a National Championship, so that helps a lot.

“Our veterans are very, very savvy,” he added. “Kevin's (McCullar, Jr.) going to be even more important for us this year, I think. So, it's going to be a lot of fun.”

Kansas, with just three returning scholarship players returning from last season, needed to hit a home run in the transfer portal. Self, along with his staff, didn’t just hit a home run, they went yard with the bases loaded.

In all, Hunter Dickinson, Nicolas Timberlake, Arterio Morris, and Parker Braun were added to the roster via the portal.

Landing a shooter was a top priority for Self. He landed a big-time shooter in Nicolas Timberlake.

“Shooting was one of the things we needed to replace from last year’s team and with Nicolas we feel like we’ve done that,” Self said. “He’s a proven shooter. He shot 42 percent from three last year which ranked high nationally, while averaging 18 points a game, which shows his scoring ability. Being a four-year guy at Towson, Nicolas comes here with a lot of experience.”