KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The No. 16 Jayhawks are limping into the Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament without two of their biggest stars.
In their 30-point loss to the Cougars on Saturday, big man Hunter Dickinson dislocated his shoulder — an MRI exam showed surgery won't be needed — while fellow All-America candidate Kevin McCullar Jr. continued to have knee pain.
Jayhawks coach Bill Self said late Monday that Dickinson and McCullar would be OK for the NCAA Tournament, but neither will play this week in Kansas City. That leaves the Jayhawks, who already were short on depth, without two of their veteran leaders and most reliable scorers when they step on the floor at T-Mobile Center.
“I don’t feel great about about the big picture only because I don’t know what our health situation is,” Self said. "If we had our five guys and they’re all lined up and they’re healthy we can play with anybody, but we’re not right now.”
Kansas will at least have its coach on the sideline after Self was forced to miss last year's Big 12 tourney when he experienced heart trouble on the eve of the Jayhawks' quarterfinal game. He wound up hospitalized and missed the tournament — Kansas lost to Texas in the finals — and the NCAA Tournament, where the Jayhawks were bounced by Arkansas on the opening weekend.
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