Everything you need to know about KU’s seniors ahead of home finale vs. K-State

University of Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self says he will not address the Jayhawks’ 40-game winning streak on Senior Night in pre-game talks with his players before Tuesday’s home finale against Kansas State.

Tipoff for the Big 12 battle between the No. 14-ranked Jayhawks (21-8, 9-7) and unranked Wildcats (17-12, 7-9) is 8 p.m. with a live telecast on ESPN.

“We may talk about, ‘This is a special night. It’s our responsibility to make sure these guys go out in style,’’’ Self said Monday. “I won’t refer to the past. I think we do that way too much here. I don’t buy into any of that stuff. What’s happened in the past will have no bearing on what happens tomorrow night. I don’t buy into that.”

Since the 1983-84 season, the Jayhawks have recognized the senior players and their parents amid a shower of roses tossed on James Naismith Court before the contest, then settled in for speeches from the honorees after the game.

KU has seniors on the roster in Kevin McCullar, Michael Jankovich, Nick Timberlake, Dajuan Harris, Hunter Dickinson, Parker Braun and Patrick Cassidy. Self has explained that all will be honored with their parents before the game, and that Dickinson, Jankovich, Timberlake and Braun will speak to the fans after the final buzzer.

Here’s a quick look at KU’s senior class as Senior Night nears:

Hunter Dickinson, 7-foot-2, 260 pounds, Alexandria, Va.

Dickinson, who played at Michigan the last three seasons, has averaged 18.3 points on 56.1% shooting during his 2023-24 campaign at KU.

He’s hit 20 of 58 3-pointers for 34.5%. Dickinson has grabbed 10.7 rebounds per contest en route to averaging a double-double.

Dickinson’s 15 double-doubles and fourteen 20-point games lead the Big 12 Conference.

Dickinson scored 27 points and secured 21 rebounds in a win over Kentucky at the Champions Classic. He also went for 30 points and 11 rebounds in a home win against TCU.

“He’s been great. He tries so hard,” Self said. ”He’s got enough personality. He kind of takes the pressure off everybody else. He’s been a terrific leader, a great teammate.

“The bottom line is he’s gone through a couple of rough patches (but) we’ve had some success this year primarily because he and Kevin (McCullar) have played at an All-America level.”

Dickinson said he’s enjoyed being a Jayhawk. He can return for a final season in Lawrence as a super-senior, if he so desires.

“I love the games, love to compete, especially in the fieldhouse —which I heard a lot about when I decided to come here,” Dickinson said. “It’s been great. I’ve never felt the support of a home crowd like Allen Fieldhouse. It’s incredible to have that support, super fun.

“At Late Night I said, ‘Damn this is nice,’ Then after we started the season it (Late Night) was a 2 or 3 compared to what it’s like for a game. Incredible.”

Dajuan Harris, 6-2, 170, Columbia, Missouri

Harris, who has a year of eligibility remaining at KU, has told Self he will return for the 2024-25 season.

A starter on KU’s 2022 NCAA title team, Harris has dished 190 assists to 64 turnovers while scoring 8.5 points per game in 2023-24. He has hit 43.9% percent of his shots, going 25-of-64 from 3-point range (39.1%).

The Big 12’s 2023 defensive player of the year regularly is assigned to guard the opponent’s top backcourt player.

Harris scored 23 points with seven assists versus Kentucky. He had 15 points and eight assists in a loss at Kansas State; 14 points and five assists in a home win versus Baylor and 14 points and six assists in a home victory vs. Texas.

“Whether the stat sheet shows it or not he does so many things to help us win ballgames,” McCullar said. “He touches every aspect of the game. His energy level and putting the ball on the rim (for lob slams) always gets us going. He is the best pass-first point guard in the country.”

Of Harris, center Dickinson noted: “Playing when you’ve got the best point guard in the nation makes it really easy. I’m glad I made a great choice coming here and playing with him.”

KU coach Self has said Harris is one of the great success stories in KU history. He arrived as a partial qualifier and ended up attaining close to a perfect grade point average.

“Everybody knows how I feel about Juan, kind of my favorite,” Self said. “He’s been unbelievable. I think our fan base feels the same way. All Dajuan wants to do is win which he does at practice, in pickup games. His team is always the one that wins.”

Harris feels he’s in line to have a huge postseason. He’s not been completely satisfied with his personal contributions in 2023-24.

“I’m on Coach’s good side, (but) he’s been on me this year. I’ve been turning the ball over. I know I have,” Harris said. “I’ve got to get back to past years. I will. You know how coach coaches, gets the best out of you.”

Harris is so important he’s averaged a team-leading 35.8 minutes a game.

“I always want to play the whole game. Coach knows that but I’ve got to come out at some point,” Harris said. “Coach trusts me whether I’m in foul trouble or not.”

Kevin McCullar, 6-7, 212, San Antonio, Texas

The super-senior was on track to earn first-team All-America honors before incurring a knee bruise that’s kept him from playing in four of the last six games.

A strong finish to the season and into the postseason could have him back in that mix.

The two-time Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist has averaged 19.1 points on 46.4% shooting. He’s made 37 of 110 3-pointers for 33.6%. Also, he’s averaged 6.4 rebounds per outing, with 104 assists to 64 turnovers.

“Coach calls him the best all-around player in college basketball, and I think he’s just going out there and proving it night-in and night-out,” Dickinson said.

“He can score. He can rebound. He can pass, he can defend. Coach is right. I don’t know if there’s a better player all-around that does a little bit of everything than Kevin McCullar.”

McCullar followed a 21-point, six rebound outing in a win at Indiana with 34 points and six boards in a home victory vs. Yale. He scored 24 points with eight rebounds in a loss to Marquette in Hawaii and had 25 points with six rebounds in a home win over Kansas City. He’s had 20 or more points 11 times.

“I’d be shocked if he isn’t thought of to be as good a two-way player on the perimeter as there is in the country,” Self said. “I think his scoring has made people look at everything he does more intently and give him more credit with everything else. What he does with defensive rebounding, that’s as good as we’ve seen. He is a terrific basketball player.”

Of his season, McCullar said: “I’ve been trying to take a great stride in being more confident all around, being as versatile as I can, getting better every day. Also … “I’m trying to be a leader and as vocal as I can.”

McCullar elected to take a super-senior year at KU in 2023-24 rather than enter the 2023 NBA Draft.

“Talking to my family, praying about it, really just talking to coach Self (led to his decision to stay). He has a plan for me. I want to win a national championship,” McCullar said. It was the best idea to come back here. We have the pieces now. It’s about coming together and doing it.”

Nick Timberlake, 6-4, 200, Braintree, Mass.

The transfer from Towson, who started four games with McCullar out, has averaged 4.2 points and 1.7 rebounds per game.

He’s hit 40 of 113 shots for 35.4% shooting. including 20 of 75 three-pointers for a disappointing 26.7%.

He’s also had two of KU’s most spectacular dunks of the season — one on a breakaway in a victory at Oklahoma State and the other off a lob from Harris in a win at home against Texas. Overall he’s averaged 13.4 minutes per game in 29 games.

“He’s not had the role he envisioned or we envisioned,” Self said. “He’s such a good shooter in practice. We know he can shoot the ball. I still think he’ll make three or four (in games).

“He’s gotten better defensively. He’s a Boston-tough kid. He’s really a good athlete. He’s been able to show a couple times what an athlete he is.”

Timberlake scored a season high of 13 points in four games this season — against N.C. Central, Texas, Texas Tech and Yale.

“I’m my biggest critic. I’m aware of how I was playing this year,” he said. ”I’m not impressed or happy with the way I was playing at all. Being consistent, staying in the gym, getting up shots with coach (Joe) Dooley, trying to learn the Kansas way … I feel it I happening. It (his confidence) has been building and building since Kevin went down.”

He said he has enjoyed learning more about the game in his year with Self.

“He is the greatest coach in college basketball. To be able to play for him is insane,” Timberlake said. “I’m happy I’m here. I love all the criticism I get (at practice) because it’s true. He’s the best for a reason. He’s super hard in practice. When the game comes he lets you go. He knows I’m a good player. He recruited me to come here.”

Parker Braun, 6-10, 235, Burlington, Kansas

Braun started his college career at Missouri, playing three seasons (including a red-shirt year).

Then he transferred to Santa Clara, where he played two seasons. After that he accepted a scholarship offer at KU in 2023-24 after Jayhawks frontcourt players Zuby Ejiofor and Ernest Udeh decided to exit the program following the roster addition of Dickinson.

At KU, Braun has averaged 2.3 points and 1.7 rebounds while averaging 7.8 minutes in 29 games. He has hit 29 of 43 shots for 67.4%. Braun has also blocked 19 shots, the second-best mark on the team.

He has scored a season-high 10 points twice, against N.C. Central and Manhattan College.

“Parker has been solid all year. He’s given us that consistency,” fellow big man Dickinson said. “If anything, Coach probably has wanted him to shoot more. That’s probably the only negative Coach has been saying about Parker: not being aggressive enough.”

Of Braun, Self said: “Parker is doing great. He is an unbelievable passer (nine assists to 12 turnovers). He is really athletic. He is our best ball screen defender of the bigs. He can hedge ball screens, rebound. He can get out of a ball screen quicker than Hunter.

“He has played his role great. In the playoffs (NCAAs) you need a guy like Parker to give you good minutes. If Hunter is in foul trouble we may need Parker to play 20 minutes one day. He can do it.”

Braun says he’s “very grateful for the opportunity” to play a year at KU.

“I grew up (in Burlington, Kansas) dreaming about this since I was a kid,” he said. “Being here, it is everything and more than I expected.”

His brother Christian played at KU three seasons and won a national title in 2022.

“I picked his brain trying to figure out what it was like to be a Jayhawk before I got here,” Parker Braun said. “To get his perspective first hand is something I was interested in.

“This is something he thought would be a good fit for me. I don’t know how you’d pass this up. I’ve tried to help us win games, be whatever the coaches want me to be — to try to squeeze the most juice I can out of the experience.”

Michael Jankovich, 6-4, 190, Dallas

Jankovich enjoyed being a Jayhawks non-scholarship player so much that he elected to return for a fifth season in 2023-24.

He’s played in seven games, going 5-of-9 from 3-point range. He’s scored 17 points during this, his super-senior season. He’s also been called the best shooter on the team by more than one of his teammates.

“I have a lot of belief in my shot,” Jankovich said. “Through the years of working on it it’s kind of become my calling card. That has carried through my college career as well.”

Jankovich is the son of former K-State standout and college head coach — and KU assistant — Tim Jankovich.

“It started at a young age, being around the game,” Michael Jankovich said. “My dad being a coach I was always around basketball. I fell in love with the game. I was in the driveway taking shots every day before school. I continued that into middle school and high school. To get to this point you’ve really got to love it.”

From age 4 to 7, he lived in Lawrence.

“I think experiencing the fieldhouse … that sparked my interest in the game,” Jankovich said. “I was spoiled seeing the fans, watching some of the best teams in America every night. I ended up in Dallas in high school, always had it (KU) in the back of my mind, having been around the best of the best.”

He has been on the scout team for five years, helping the rotation players get ready for games.

“Usually I get to be the other team’s best player and shoot a lot of shots. That’s a lot of fun for me,” Jankovich said. “We try to emulate their play style, the best we can. It’s a big part of practice in preparation for the games.”

Coach Self said: “Michael Jankovich has been absolutely great. He has been an extremely important part of this team. He is questionably as good a shooter as we have. He and Zach (Clemence) make the Red Team hard to guard as well as they shoot the ball.”

Patrick Cassidy, 6-1, 180, Columbus, Kansas

Cassidy, who will return to the team next season, was a team manager for two years — including KU’s 2021-22 NCAA title season.

He was a four-sport athlete at Columbus High, playing football and baseball and running track along with playing basketball.

Cassidy has played in six games at KU, going 0-for-3 from the field.

“Last year, due to health and numbers, our managers had to practice some,” Self said. “He looked good. He said he wanted to try it this year. He’s helped us. He’s smart, tough, can shoot. He’s good at playing the role of the other team’s best shooting guard.”

Said Cassidy: “I’ve loved every minute as a player. I loved every minute as a manager. I thank Coach Self. I have my own jersey now.”

He added: “I’ve learned to understand the game a lot more than I used to. We have the best staff and coaches in the game. Help defense is something I didn’t even think about in high school. I learned all about it here. It’s been a dream come true being here.”