Kansas senior center Hunter Dickinson sat in a quiet, somber Amica Mutual Pavilion locker room Thursday night, a March Madness towel covering his head and half his face.
Fighting tears, he left an opening around his mouth so he could respond to reporters’ questions after the No. 7 seed Jayhawks’ 79-72 loss to No. 10 seed Arkansas in an NCAA Tournament West Regional opener held 1,400 miles from Lawrence, in Providence, Rhode Island
The 7-foot-2 Michigan transfer/third-team All-American was not only dismayed at himself for going scoreless with three rebounds and two turnovers the second half, but also downtrodden that fellow senior KJ Adams had to leave the game for good because of a leg injury with 3:10 left and KU leading 67-64.
Adams’ injury is an Achilles injury, according to KU coach Bill Self — an injury that could sideline him for many months and delay his transition to pro basketball.
“This is really tough,” Dickinson said after a loss that gave the Jayhawks a final record of 21-13, “because I know how much he put into this program and this team. It’s super tough for him to not be able to finish out his (college) career.”
Once Adams left the game, Arkansas went on an 7-0 run to open a 71-67 lead at 1:43. The run, made possible in part because of five KU turnovers in the final three minutes, stretched to 15-5 as KU wilted in crunch time.
“I got a chance to see him,” Dickinson said of his buddy Adams after the game. “I went over there (in the locker room) and gave him a hug. They haven’t been able to diagnose him yet, so I’m not sure (of the severity).
“I didn’t really ask him if it was his ankle or what, so I’m not sure. They said they’ll probably run some tests and give a diagnosis. I just want to be there for him, because it’s a tough way to lose a season, especially when it’s your last play like that. It’s definitely tough to not be able to finish the game.”
Self in updating the media on the injury after the game said: “It’s Achilles.”
KU’s 22nd-year coach said he’d hold off on a technical diagnosis until tests are performed.
“We’re hoping for the best tomorrow. I’m not sure it’s going to be great news, though,” Self said. “He got the rebound (playing defense), came out with it. I think we had the numbers and then he went down and I don’t know exactly how much time was left. But he and Juan (Harris, eight points, all in second half, seven assists), more so than anybody because they have been here the longest with me … that’s 10 years of spending most of every day with them.
“They’re like sons to me and it’s one thing to lose the game, but to see him potentially lose a year on top of the game, you know, that’s a pretty big blow. Say what you want to about those two kids, they’re winners and they compete every day. It’s just disappointing to have anybody go out that way.”
KU’s coach was asked if Adams’ injury flat-out cost KU the game. The Jayhawks had battled back from an 11-point second half deficit and looked like they might be able to survive an Arkansas team that was led by Jonas Aidoo, who had 22 points and five rebounds. Trevon Brazile had 11 points, 12 rebounds. Johnell Davis scored 18 points and D.J. Wagner 14.
“KJ … the turnovers that occurred, I don’t think they could have still occurred with KJ in the game,” Self said. “I would be real interested to see, did we have numbers? Were we going to get a layup on the play where he hurt it?”
KU indeed might have completed a fast break with a bucket that would have given the Jayhawks a late five-point lead. Instead the turnover parade began as Adams was helped off the court with the aid of teammates and headed to the locker room.
“We had our chances. How many times did we have guys open that we couldn’t pass it over their length, wide open lobs?” Self said. “The unforced turnovers down the stretch. And I actually think the last three turnovers we had were all unforced. We just threw it to ‘em. That was frustrating.”
Had Adams not gotten hurt and KU pulled off the victory, one of the storylines would have been Self going to a zone defense the last 15 minutes with the Jayhawks down 10. It was a zone that frustrated the Razorbacks (21-13).
“We’ve worked on different things, but we actually made an emphasis to really work on it, once the pairings came, a big emphasis,” Self said.
Self said the zone defense “was big. They didn’t shoot the ball well the second half (30% after 54.3% the first half), and they got very stagnant, and we just didn’t rebound out of it. If we would have rebounded out of it, we would have been really effective. But I thought it gave us a chance to stay in the game. Gave us chance to win it, obviously.”
Dickinson shouldered the blame in the locker room, displeased with himself after scoring 11 points with six rebounds and four assists the first half and no points on 0-of-4 shooting with three rebounds, no assists and two turnovers the final half.
“I don’t know. It just didn’t happen the second half,” Dickinson said. “I feel I took good shots that I normally make and they just didn’t fall.”
Asked what he’ll remember about this season, Dickinson said: “Just being with the guys.
“It was a fun experience,” he stated, wiping tears from his eyes with the March Madness towel. “I made some memories with some guys I’ll call brothers for life. Really glad I played for coach Self and played for the program.”
A sad thing, he acknowledged, is nobody will ever know if KU would have maintained its lead down the stretch had Adams not been injured.
“I felt really confident going into that. Just didn’t end the way we wanted to,” Dickinson said.
