“Who are the NBA players on this team?”: Bill Self’s Kansas might be missing talent despite Hunter Dickinson’s consistency, NCAA analysts deduce 

With big man Hunter Dickinson returning for his final season of eligibility and their ability to assemble a top-10 signing class, the Kansas Jayhawks were tipped as one of the favorites for the national championship at the start of the 2024-25 season. They started the season at No. 1 in AP's Top 25 before their season opener, which strengthened their credentials further.

However, the Jayhawks endured a difficult start to December, suffering shock losses to the Creighton Bluejays and Missouri Tigers within the space of four days. Although they bounced back with a win over the NC State Wolfpack this past Sunday, some issues among the team were made prominent by renowned NCAAB analysts.

During an appearance on "The Field of 68: After Dark" podcast on Monday, The Athletic's CJ Moore expressed his concerns with the Jayhawks' roster, believing head coach Bill Self doesn't have any NBA-caliber players on his roster this season.

"I don't know that they necessarily made the right moves in the portal," Moore said. "I think the idea was to throw shooting around Hunter Dickinson. It kind of goes back to Kentucky conversation we had earlier, who are the NBA players on this team? I don't know that they have one.

"There may be a couple of guys that develop into that, maybe someday, but I don't know that they have one. So, talent wise, this isn't what we're used to seeing from the elite Kansas teams," he added.

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Hunter Dickinson shines brightest in average Kansas team

Hunter Dickinson has led Kansas' charge from the front this season. Across the Jayhawks' opening 10 games, which includes him being ejected from their showdown with the Duke Blue Devils on Nov. 26, Dickinson has averaged 15.6 points and 10.0 rebounds, while shooting 56.0% from the field, 33.3% from 3-point range and 69.0% from the free throw line.

Zeke Mayo and Dajuan Harris Jr. have backed him up with decent numbers, averaging 12.4 ppg and 11.1 ppg, respectively. However, the rest of the roster have scoring averages in single digits, while Dickinson's 10.0 rpg is twice more than KJ Adams, who has the second-highest rebounding average of 5.0 rpg, highlighting their reliance on Dickinson for results.

Following successive losses to the Bluejays and Tigers, the Jayhawks were dislodged from top spot in AP's Top 25 last week, falling nine places down to 10th. In yesterday's update, they gained two spots to move up to eighth, although that is far from where they would like to be at the moment.

Dickinson and Co. host the Brown Bears next at Allen Fieldhouse on Sunday.