"His attitude's a 10": Kansas HC Bill Self defends Hunter Dickinson's behavior despite his aggressive actions on the court

Bill Self praised talented big man Hunter Dickinson, saying that he is "great" and wants to be coached. Despite skepticism over Dickinson's attitude following his rough play on the court, Self praised the 23-year-old's desire to develop and drive to learn.

On the College Hoops Today podcast with Jon Rothstein, the seasoned Kansas coach adamantly defended his star center. To Self, Dickinson's commitment to getting better has made him an utter delight to mentor on and off the court.

"He has been great," Self said. "He wants to be coached. His attitude is a 10. He works hard, he wants to be better."

Hunter Dickinson of Kansas has a reputation for questionable and aggressive plays. The trend dates back to his time in Michigan. One egregious foul occurred during Michigan's match against Virginia when a Dickinson elbow left an opponent player bleeding. Despite the obvious contact, Virginia was called for a foul.

Another incident occurred during a pick-and-roll against Wisconsin. Dickinson shoved a defender to the floor and proceeded to step on him in pursuit of a rebound. This came after the Kansas big man labeled the Badgers "scumbags", heightening tensions.

Dickinson's overly aggressive style persisted after his transfer to Kansas. In an early-season game, Dickinson bullied forward Jeff Ngandu, throwing him to the hardwood. He then tried trash-talking the fallen Ngandu before the referee intervened.

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Hunter Dickinson is dealing with a 'bad knee'

Kansas' Hunter Dickinson

Kansas struggled mightily on offense in their 65-60 upset loss to UCF, especially when senior center Hunter Dickinson was off the floor. After the defeat, coach Bill Self revealed a key reason why Dickinson only played 22 minutes: an undisclosed knee injury.

"If he didn't have a bad knee, I'd say, 'Yes, for sure,'" Self said when asked if he should have played Dickinson more despite offensive issues.

"But yeah, he's been struggling with his knee and all of that stuff in practice and everything. So, we knew going into it, it would be really good if we could get him less minutes. He told me even in the first half, when things were going well, that he was really laboring."

Dickinson finished with 12 points, four rebounds and an assist, along with four fouls. The foul trouble also forced Self to use him sparingly. But clearly, Dickinson's knee problem contributed greatly to his lack of minutes. Kansas sorely missed his low-post scoring and rebounding for long stretches.

UCF used a variety of defensive strategies to suffocate Kansas' scorers all night. However, Self noted that Kansas scoring the second-fewest points of the season was due to more than just an outstanding Knights defense. The Jayhawks struggled to find an offensive rhythm with their top big man out.

Now 13-2 and 1-1 in the Big 12 conference slate, Kansas hopes their veteran leader, Dickinson, can heal up quickly. They want him to be as close to full strength as possible for the grind ahead.