It May Sound Crazy But I Feel Bad For Kansas
It's been announced that Kevin McCullar and Hunter Dickinson will miss the B12 Tournament. Now it's worth noting they very well could play in The Big Dance but I couldn't help but think about some of the bad breaks they've had over the years. I bet you read that sentence and laughed that I could say a program like Kansas is one we should feel sorry for, but it's true if you check the facts, at least in my eyes. It's also worth noting that even if McCullar and Dickinson play in the tournament, they could be less than 100%.
My Kansas guys also reminded me these injuries in the B12 Tourney aren't a one time thing.
Which is actually crazy because Kansas won the B12 Tournament more often than they didn't, impressive as hell. To win a bunch of tournaments while being down a guy almost every time.
Anyway ... let's dive into it.
Let's first celebrate the good times ...
2022's National Title
Aside from that, things have been difficult for The Jayhawks.
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As Jeff D Lowe points out, my bias against Nova probably should have noted that team was fucking loaded and them shooting lights out wasn't as much of a note of them being really really really good and having a ton of pro's. So that's fair.
However the rest of the timeline for Kansas has been filled with heartbreaker after heartbreak.
Let's go backwards from last year
2023
2022 - Title
2021 - Evan Mobley blowout
2020 - Covid cancels maybe their season with the best team in the last 15 years
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2019 - Loss to Auburn
Worth noting … Azubuike out for the year
2018 - Nova hits a record amount of 3's
2017 Lose to Oregon … again without Azubuike
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2016
Perry Ellis takes 5 shots ….
Some other lowlights over the years …
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I know tough losses are part of the game, but you almost have to feel bad for Kansas at this point. If not for that 2022 title, what would be said about Bill Self's legacy at Kansas? The amount of tough losses, and matchups with eventual champs or hot shooting teams, or injuries etc are countless.
I posed this question, should Kansas have as many titles from 99 as UConn? There's a lot of if ands or buts in that discussion but one can't help but think these highlights eat at Kansas fans "in places they don't like to talk about at dinner parties" to quote Jack Nicholson.