Hunter Dickinson scores 21 as No. 1 Kansas routs North Carolina Central 99-56
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) Hunter Dickinson had seven points, two rebounds and a block in the first 90 seconds of his Kansas career Monday night, then made a trio of 3-pointers that showed the 7-foot-2 transfer from Michigan is more than just a beast on the block.
Not surprisingly, his newfound fans inside Allen Fieldhouse responded with waves of adulation.
“I was telling somebody, ‘I’m used to the opposing fans being this loud and more boos than cheers,'" Dickinson said after leading the top-ranked Jayhawks to a 99-56 wipeout of North Carolina Central on college basketball's opening night.
“It was real fun to have people on my side for once,” added Dickinson, whose decision to leave the Wolverines left angry fans in his wake. “The atmosphere was insane. I've been hearing about it during my recruiting, and when I committed, and I was hearing so much about Allen Fieldhouse. And it lived up to it.”
Dickinson lived up to the hype, too, finishing with 21 points, eight boards and five assists.
Nic Timberlake had 13 points, KJ Adams scored 12 and Dajuan Harris Jr. dished out 10 assists for the Jayhawks, who led 59-17 by halftime before coasting over the final 20 minutes to their 51st consecutive home-opening win.
Ja'Darius Harris had 12 points to lead the Eagles.
“We have 10 new guys who really, none of them have really played Division I basketball," longtime NC Central coach LeVelle Moton said. “You play this type of game, you get their attention early.”
Any doubt about the outcome was gone midway through the first half, when the Jayhawks went on a 20-2 run to take a 40-11 lead. McCullar scored eight during the spurt, and transfer forward Parker Braun added a highlight ally-oop dunk.
"The first 25 minutes, that ball moved" Jayhawks coach Bill Self said. "Seemed to me we got everything we wanted, even when we didn’t score."
Dickinson had 17 points, seven boards and four assists by halftime; the Eagles had 18 points, eight rebounds and two assists.
“You have to pray, You have to go to church and get a strong service in,” Moton said of matching up with Dickinson. “He's going to be a problem, and he's not just going to be a problem for North Carolina Central. He's going to be a problem for everyone.”
As impressive as the Jayhawks were offensively, piling up 34 assists on 39 field goals while shooting nearly 70% from the field, they were just as good on defense. NC Central was just 6 of 23 from 3 and shot 23% from the field.
“Coach has been on us pretty much every practice, just getting the defense right,” Timberlake said. “We came out storming.”
INJURY UPDATE
Kansas guard Johnny Furphy played with no limitations after dealing with shin splints during the preseason. Fellow freshman Jamari McDowell was not suited up after a minor injury in practice but should be back this week.
BIG PICTURE
NC Central will find life much easier in the MEAC, where the Eagles were picked to finish third this season.
Kansas had struggled in exhibitions against Illinois and Fort Hays State from beyond the 3-point line but went 13 of 23 against the Eagles. That included a 9-of-12 mark in the first half.
UP NEXT
NC Central plays Virginia-Lynchburg on Thursday night.
Kansas plays Manhattan on Friday night.
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
20:00 | Emmanuel Izunabor vs. Hunter Dickinson (Jayhawks gains possession) | |||
19:50 | Kevin McCullar Jr. misses three point jump shot | |||
19:48 | Hunter Dickinson offensive rebound | |||
19:40 | Hunter Dickinson misses two point layup | |||
19:38 | Hunter Dickinson offensive rebound | |||
19:32 | +2 | Hunter Dickinson makes two point layup | 0-2 | |
19:23 | Fred Cleveland Jr. turnover (lost ball) (KJ Adams Jr. steals) | |||
19:11 | +2 | Hunter Dickinson makes two point layup (Kevin McCullar Jr. assists) | 0-4 | |
18:51 | Po'Boigh King misses three point jump shot | |||
18:49 | Kevin McCullar Jr. defensive rebound | |||
18:42 | +3 | Hunter Dickinson makes three point jump shot (Dajuan Harris Jr. assists) | 0-7 | |
18:40 | Eagles 30 second timeout | |||
18:28 | Hunter Dickinson blocks Fred Cleveland Jr.'s three point jump shot | |||
18:26 | Keishon Porter offensive rebound | |||
18:18 | Elmarko Jackson shooting foul (Po'Boigh King draws the foul) | |||
18:18 | +1 | Po'Boigh King makes regular free throw 1 of 3 | 1-7 | |
18:18 | Po'Boigh King misses regular free throw 2 of 3 | |||
18:18 | +1 | Po'Boigh King makes regular free throw 3 of 3 | 2-7 | |
18:05 | Dajuan Harris Jr. turnover (lost ball) (Keishon Porter steals) | |||
17:52 | Cobey Harraway misses three point jump shot | |||
17:50 | Elmarko Jackson defensive rebound | |||
17:33 | +2 | Kevin McCullar Jr. makes two point layup (Hunter Dickinson assists) | 2-9 | |
17:08 | Po'Boigh King misses two point jump shot | |||
17:06 | Emmanuel Izunabor offensive rebound | |||
16:53 | +2 | Emmanuel Izunabor makes two point layup | 4-9 | |
16:41 | Elmarko Jackson misses three point jump shot | |||
16:39 | Eagles defensive rebound | |||
16:19 | Keishon Porter misses two point jump shot | |||
16:17 | KJ Adams Jr. defensive rebound | |||
16:14 | Cobey Harraway personal foul | |||
15:59 | +3 | Kevin McCullar Jr. makes three point jump shot (Elmarko Jackson assists) | 4-12 | |
15:36 | Emmanuel Izunabor misses two point jump shot | |||
15:34 | KJ Adams Jr. defensive rebound | |||
15:24 | +2 | Elmarko Jackson makes two point layup (Kevin McCullar Jr. assists) | 4-14 | |
15:03 | +3 | Po'Boigh King makes three point jump shot | 7-14 | |
14:45 | +3 | Hunter Dickinson makes three point jump shot (Kevin McCullar Jr. assists) | 7-17 | |
14:25 | Emmanuel Izunabor personal foul | |||
14:25 | TV timeout | |||
14:12 | +3 | Nicolas Timberlake makes three point jump shot (Hunter Dickinson assists) | 7-20 | |
13:56 | +2 | Ja'Darius Harris makes two point layup (Po'Boigh King assists) | 9-20 | |
13:41 | +2 | Hunter Dickinson makes two point hook shot (KJ Adams Jr. assists) | 9-22 | |
13:33 | Ja'Darius Harris turnover (out of bounds) | |||
13:23 | Devin Gordon shooting foul (Kevin McCullar Jr. draws the foul) | |||
13:23 | +1 | Kevin McCullar Jr. makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 9-23 | |
13:23 | +1 | Kevin McCullar Jr. makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 9-24 | |
13:07 | Elmarko Jackson personal foul | |||
12:52 | Fred Cleveland Jr. misses two point jump shot | |||
12:50 | Hunter Dickinson defensive rebound | |||
12:40 | +3 | Hunter Dickinson makes three point jump shot (Nicolas Timberlake assists) | 9-27 | |
12:18 | Hunter Dickinson personal foul | |||
12:13 | Elmarko Jackson personal foul (Ja'Darius Harris draws the foul) | |||
12:08 | Po'Boigh King misses two point layup | |||
12:06 | Perry Smith Jr. offensive rebound | |||
12:00 | +2 | Perry Smith Jr. makes two point layup | 11-27 | |
11:52 | +3 | Nicolas Timberlake makes three point jump shot (Johnny Furphy assists) | 11-30 | |
11:25 | Perry Smith Jr. misses two point hook shot | |||
11:23 | Kevin McCullar Jr. defensive rebound | |||
10:55 | +3 | Kevin McCullar Jr. makes three point jump shot (Parker Braun assists) | 11-33 | |
10:54 | Eagles 30 second timeout | |||
10:54 | TV timeout | |||
10:42 | Ja'Darius Harris misses three point jump shot | |||
10:40 | Johnny Furphy defensive rebound | |||
10:40 | Keishon Porter personal foul (Johnny Furphy draws the foul) | |||
10:22 | +2 | Parker Braun makes two point dunk (Dajuan Harris Jr. assists) | 11-35 | |
9:52 | Guy Fauntleroy misses three point jump shot | |||
9:50 | KJ Adams Jr. defensive rebound | |||
9:43 | +2 | KJ Adams Jr. makes two point layup (Dajuan Harris Jr. assists) | 11-37 | |
9:28 | Cobey Harraway misses three point jump shot | |||
9:26 | Keishon Porter offensive rebound | |||
9:13 | Ja'Darius Harris turnover (lost ball) | |||
9:02 | Ja'Darius Harris personal foul | |||
8:54 | KJ Adams Jr. misses two point layup | |||
8:52 | Jayhawks offensive rebound | |||
8:50 | +3 | Kevin McCullar Jr. makes three point jump shot (Dajuan Harris Jr. assists) | 11-40 | |
8:21 | Ja'Darius Harris misses two point jump shot | |||
8:19 | KJ Adams Jr. defensive rebound | |||
8:05 | KJ Adams Jr. misses two point dunk | |||
8:03 | Guy Fauntleroy defensive rebound | |||
7:54 | +2 | Emmanuel Izunabor makes two point layup (Guy Fauntleroy assists) | 13-40 | |
7:54 | KJ Adams Jr. shooting foul (Emmanuel Izunabor draws the foul) | |||
7:54 | TV timeout | |||
7:54 | Emmanuel Izunabor misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | |||
7:54 | Hunter Dickinson defensive rebound | |||
7:33 | +2 | KJ Adams Jr. makes two point layup (Johnny Furphy assists) | 13-42 | |
7:15 | Fred Cleveland Jr. turnover (bad pass) (Hunter Dickinson steals) | |||
6:56 | Kevin McCullar Jr. turnover (lost ball) (Keishon Porter steals) | |||
6:27 | Fred Cleveland Jr. misses three point jump shot | |||
6:25 | Kevin McCullar Jr. defensive rebound | |||
6:14 | Kevin McCullar Jr. misses three point jump shot | |||
6:12 | Fred Cleveland Jr. defensive rebound | |||
6:08 | Fred Cleveland Jr. offensive foul | |||
6:08 | Fred Cleveland Jr. turnover (offensive foul) | |||
5:59 | Dajuan Harris Jr. turnover (bad pass) | |||
5:40 | Emmanuel Izunabor misses two point jump shot | |||
5:38 | Hunter Dickinson defensive rebound | |||
5:18 | Nicolas Timberlake turnover (lost ball) (Po'Boigh King steals) | |||
5:06 | Po'Boigh King turnover (lost ball) (Dajuan Harris Jr. steals) | |||
4:59 | +2 | Kevin McCullar Jr. makes two point dunk (Dajuan Harris Jr. assists) | 13-44 | |
4:46 | +2 | Emmanuel Izunabor makes two point jump shot | 15-44 | |
4:36 | KJ Adams Jr. turnover (bad pass) (Keishon Porter steals) | |||
4:28 | Fred Cleveland Jr. misses three point jump shot | |||
4:26 | Dajuan Harris Jr. defensive rebound | |||
4:03 | +3 | Johnny Furphy makes three point jump shot (Kevin McCullar Jr. assists) | 15-47 | |
3:46 | Ja'Darius Harris misses two point jump shot | |||
3:44 | Johnny Furphy defensive rebound | |||
3:35 | +2 | Parker Braun makes two point layup (Kevin McCullar Jr. assists) | 15-49 | |
3:35 | Eagles 30 second timeout | |||
3:35 | TV timeout | |||
3:24 | Ja'Darius Harris misses two point layup | |||
3:22 | Emmanuel Izunabor offensive rebound | |||
3:15 | Keishon Porter misses three point jump shot | |||
3:13 | Johnny Furphy defensive rebound | |||
2:57 | Guy Fauntleroy personal foul (Elmarko Jackson draws the foul) | |||
2:57 | +1 | Elmarko Jackson makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 15-50 | |
2:57 | +1 | Elmarko Jackson makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 15-51 | |
2:36 | Guy Fauntleroy misses two point layup | |||
2:34 | Dajuan Harris Jr. defensive rebound | |||
2:30 | Keishon Porter personal foul (Nicolas Timberlake draws the foul) | |||
2:30 | +1 | Nicolas Timberlake makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 15-52 | |
2:30 | +1 | Nicolas Timberlake makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 15-53 | |
2:12 | Emmanuel Izunabor misses two point jump shot | |||
2:10 | Hunter Dickinson defensive rebound | |||
1:45 | +2 | Parker Braun makes two point layup (Hunter Dickinson assists) | 15-55 | |
1:28 | Po'Boigh King misses three point jump shot | |||
1:26 | Dajuan Harris Jr. defensive rebound | |||
1:17 | +2 | Nicolas Timberlake makes two point layup (Hunter Dickinson assists) | 15-57 | |
0:45 | +3 | Ja'Darius Harris makes three point jump shot | 18-57 | |
0:37 | +2 | Hunter Dickinson makes two point layup (Dajuan Harris Jr. assists) | 18-59 | |
0:05 | Keishon Porter misses two point jump shot | |||
0:03 | Hunter Dickinson defensive rebound | |||
0:00 | End of period |