Hunter Dickinson's odd idea of courage

On college basketball's aspiring cartoon villain

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Hunter Dickinson did a podcast. It seems like Hunter Dickinson is always doing podcasts (says the guy who did two podcasts in the last seven days, ahem) which, to be clear, is hardly a bad thing. It’s good to hear from star players often! Traditionally, college basketball players have been too cloistered, too protected, and too loathe to say anything meaningful, lest they say something they (or, really, their coaches and program staffers) might later quasi-regret. Dickinson is not like this. He is a frequent, enthusiastic talker. He is a professional relief. He is almost constitutionally incapable of being boring. When he talks, he elicits an reaction. It’s like he can’t help it. He gets the people going.

He is a huge college basketball star, the most productive player to ever transfer schools, and when a guy like him is enthusiastic about speaking in public, it’s a good thing for the rest of us. So Dickinson talked at length with Mitch Lightfoot and Chris Teahen on the “Rock Chalk Unplugged” podcast — an episode which actually released July 7, but which became an actual thing this past weekend — and it should be noted he spent about 45 minutes being positive, engaging, and articulate. A vast percentage of his appearance on this show was spent saying all the right things about being at Kansas and what it all means. I mention this because there’s a whole video, and you should watch the whole thing, so you don’t think I’m doing that thing where someone drives by, picks the most inflammatory quotes from a lengthy, thoughtful interview, and ignores the bulk of what a person said. The whole interview is worth watching/listening to, and it’s not like Dickinson is throwing pointed daggers the whole time:

Now, having said that: Two quotes stuck out. The first one was very funny, kind of mean, and the thing that hit the web like wildfire the last couple of days. The second was … more interesting, let’s say. All of it was very Dickinson, very “I just say what’s on my mind, bro,” in a way that makes you think he is trying harder than ever — maybe too hard — to be the bad guy.

First, the funny stuff, in which Dickinson functionally insults an entire state: