KU’s Dickinson and McCullar won’t play in Big 12 tourney. What about the NCAAs?

Injured Kansas Jayhawks seniors Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar will not play in this week’s Big 12 men’s basketball tournament but should be back for the first game of the NCAA Tournament next week, KU coach Bill Self said on Monday’s Hawk Talk radio show.

Dickinson, who suffered a dislocated right (non-shooting) shoulder in the second half of Saturday’s 30-point blowout loss at Houston, received good news from an MRI taken after the Jayhawks returned to Lawrence.

McCullar, who played in the first half but did not play in the second half at Houston, will continue to receive treatment on the bone bruise on his left knee all week.

Both should be able to practice full-go early next week, Self said.

“Well we got great news yesterday with Hunt,’’ Self said. “No surgery (is needed). He did not tear his labrum. Actually he is far better off than what the doctors and trainers even imagined. He has good range of motion, already started rehab.

“The bad thing is he is not going to play this week. He should practice full-speed by the start of next week and be available to us for the NCAA Tournament. Not only available, but he should be fine,” Self continued of Dickinson, who like McCullar earned first-team all-Big 12 honors Sunday.

“He (Dickinson) will condition and do non-contact basketball stuff by Thursday or Friday this week. We think all indications point to that, (with) contact Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, depending when we play,” Self continued. “That was the best news we could have received. We were all concerned he may have something to require surgery. That is not the case.”

McCullar has missed five games and part of a sixth since late January with the bone bruise in his knee.

“Kevin tried to play against Houston and couldn’t. He didn’t really do anything between the K-State game and Houston game (at practice) but was feeling very good in warmups (at Houston),” Self said. “We said it would be a game-time decision if he felt good in warmups. When he got out there he didn’t feel like he could perform.

“Kev will not play this week, but that’s a positive, too. Everyone thinks the time off will help him, too. He will play in the NCAAs, too. The goal for Kevin is similar to Hunt: non-contact (late in week) and by Monday practicing.

“We think a week from today Kevin will be practicing with us and doing everything.”

Self said that this “is the best news we could hope for moving into next weekend (in the NCAAs), when we’ve got to win two.

Of having to sit the two frontline players for the Big 12 tourney, Self said: “I’m good with it. I’m excited about it. (Nick Timberlake, Monday’s guest on Hawk Talk) needs to clip 10 threes and make five. We’ve got to figure how are we going to score some points. We’ll lose 37 points a game. It’s more than that when healthy, (missing) in the 40-point a game range.

“We’ve got guys who have to produce in ways more than what we have as a group. I’m excited about competing with guys taking on different roles. I think it could be kind of fun, to be honest.”

Looking ahead to Wednesday’s 8:30 p.m. Big 12 tourney opener against Cincinnati or West Virginia, Self said KJ Adams would likely start at the 5 with “our power forward (Johnny) Furphy” at the 4 and “small forward Nick Timberlake at the 3.” That would leave Dajuan Harris and Elmarko Jackson filling the starting guard slots, with the only other two available scholarship players being Jamari McDowell and Parker Braun.

“It’s going to look a lot different. We’re going to be tiny,” Self said.

The coach is hoping that if all goes well this week, all nine scholarship players will be ready to go on Monday of NCAA Tournament week.

“I think he’ll be fine,” Self stressed of Dickinson. “He is going to play. I think he’s going to be fine. I can’t predict if he goes up for a shot somebody might come down on his shoulder. He needs a good week of rehab. There are six more days before he’s out there in contact. It’s his right shoulder (that is hurt). He shoots lefthanded, so there’s no reason he can’t get a lot of shots up this week.”

Self’s final word on McCullar: “We all think getting his rhythm back is more important than him playing this week.”