Hunter Dickinson's Michigan Legacy
Hunter certainly had some great moments wearing maize and blue. I can't remember a more important player leaving Ann Arbor prior to his senior season to play for another collegiate team. His long-term Michigan legacy seems to still be in question. I imagine these recent comments will not go over well with the fanbase. His comments are not egregious, but unnecessary in my opinion.
In his most recent public comments, via the ‘Rock Chalk Unplugged’ podcast, Hunter Dickinson made some interesting remarks about the state of Michigan.
“Going down Mass Street, it feels like this town has its own kind of culture and stuff like that,” Hunter Dickinson said. “I’m super excited when students come back and the towns get bustling and stuff like that. But just walking around, the people are super, super welcoming. Super nice. Definitely get those Midwest vibes. I feel like at Michigan, they weren’t as nice. They were nice people but not as nice.”
Additionally, Hunter Dickinson went on to state that Kansas is the true Midwest, unlike Michigan.
“I feel like Michigan is like a fake Midwest,” Hunter Dickinson said. “Kansas is actually like a Midwest town. I loved my time in Michigan, but the people here at Kansas are especially nice.”
This winter, the former All-American Michigan basketball star will be taking the court in a new uniform for the first time during his four-year college basketball career.
Hunter is making it awfully hard for me to root for him this year.
He just doesn’t know when to shut his mouth.
yeah I agree
he especially made it hard for me to root for him this year
WHEN HE LEFT TO GO TO @#$@#^$ING KANSAS
He won't really have a legacy anywhere regarding basketball. Honestly, in 20 years Michigan fans will kind of forgotten about him. Playing one year at Kansas, he won't be remembered there either (unless llthey win a natty.)
He was oddly polarizing during his time year. Our best player, beloved but also hated.
With that being said we need another demographic region as I don't really consider Michigan, illinois, ohio or indiana midwest
I would also say Nebraska has been the nicest state I've been in regarding the people. I imagine Kansas would be similar... so I probably agree with what he said, but I am also in the camp for not liking him while he was here as I thought he was a terrible leader.
Agreed. Tired of being lumped in with all the overly nice midwest states (Iowa Kansas Nebraska etc). The great lake states are their own thing. We are much more hardcore. Much more intense. Its great living someplace where everyone is ridiculously nice but if it isnt what your state is about so be it. Nothing wrong with that.
He actually has 2 years of eligibility left, so he has a chance to leave his mark there.
The comments about Michigan, as so many of his have been, are completely unnecessary and even uninformed. What makes him any kind of authority on what makes a town Midwestern or not? It is completely fair for Michigan fans to react when he keeps mentioning our name. It is almost like he is trying to convince himself that he made the correct decision. As in all things, decisions made for money alone often bring along other problems. If it was winning and money, perhaps he is starting to feel the pressure.
In any event, the constant comparisons show doubt instead of confidence and are unwarranted. Just speak favorably about your new team and end it there.
this is exactly correct. Just say nice things about the school that just paid you a bunch of money and avoid the negative comparison about the school that gave you a scholarship and loved you for a few years.
I am born and raised in "the glove with no love", took no offense to what he said. I myself have been to plenty of places around the country that are more "welcoming" than Michigan. Its his opinion no need to feel slighted.
Kansas is actually like a Midwest town.
Kansas is a state last I checked. He meant to say Lawrence. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. Anyway, I don't think most people in or from SE lower Michigan really care that they're not considered midwest. I always thought Great Lakes state fit Michigan much better. Midwest is corn fed country -- Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, etc. That's not Michigan.
Sounds like a lot of people here just want him to “shut up and dribble”
I was in Lawrence once is my entire life and thats one time too many. Most boring college town ever. Boring meh campus with bleh coeds and its an hour drive from amything. And the locals are about the least educated bunch of hicks you can find.
It convinced me KU had to be paying players under the table for years bc no way could you pull anyone away from UCLA, Duke or Kentucky to that crap town without incentives.
Makes me think of the song from Kelly's Heroes.
Oddball says “knock it off with them negative waves Dickinson”
Certainly will be remembered - for wanting to stay in college for the dollars and fun. I suspect he knows the professional level will be less fun for him.
As for this whole midwest discussion, it is all down to a historial legacy of language.
The UM is old enough (1817) that the "West" was a fair description for as in "Champions of the West" wasn't an anomaly. "The Victors" was written in 1898 and at that time, Michigan was indeed near the edge of the West.
Language historically is just a legacy. With the British empire days, the idea of near-east, mid-east and far-east were all used, but again referencing relative to the UK. We still use those terms out of habit and tradition.
Is Europe less fun?
“Champions of the West” references the fact that the Big Ten was originally nicknamed the “Western Conference.”
Incorrect. There was no conference when the Victors was written
Always fun to be "corrected" incorrectly...
The Big Ten was founded in 1896. The Victors was written in 1898, and in fact commemorates a victory over Chicago that won us the Big Ten title, which is why it calls us the "champions of the West."
I appreciate that this is newsworthy but I've moved on. Good luck to him.
He probably doesn't realize that Michigan is part of what is called the Upper Midwest. I'll give him a pass since he grew up on the east coast. I think Hunter's legacy is that he is not shy about running his mouth.
Hunter grew up in the Mid-Atlantic, actually. I'll give you a pass. :)
He's dead to me, and he should be dead to you too.
When Hunter signs his millions dollar contract with whatever NBA team I would put a large wager on the fact that he will not be purchasing real estate in Kansas.
He won’t be purchasing real estate in Kansas but he also won’t be signing a millions dollar contract with anyone in the NBA.
He will end up like Luka Garza (but less liked): good college career stats but no NBA team will be interested.
"... the people here at Kansas are especially nice."
Translation: I'm only here because they paid me more than anyone else to come.
Fuck him. Never liked this clown anyways. Won’t even sniff the nba
Who? I've never heard of her.
Great player, typical young college age douche. Good luck to him.
In the long run he probably won’t have that much of a legacy. He’ll be remembered for being on the 2021 Big Ten title team but that will be about it.
Given that he got a free year due to Covid, I thought the winning play for him was to stay here a fourth year, and then possibly transfer for his 5th season. At that point no one would begrudge him for leaving (he would have given us four years) and he’d likely rank in the top 5 all-time in points and rebounds.
IMO once a player is gone he's gone and I couldn't care less how his career goes after that.
He’s a wrestling heel playing a part. It’s what he did at Michigan. Either you disliked him then or you just laugh it off now but getting upset about it is a waste of energy.
If you’ve been a Michigan basketball fan for 20+ years, he wasn’t going to have much of a legacy anyway, even if he’d stayed. He’s a solid player, but nothing too memorable. I would say as far as recent centers, Teske was a better all around player and McGary had a more complete skill set. Hunter’s just another solid front court player in a long list.
I don’t fault the guy for leaving for better money and far greener pastures. He doesn’t owe Michigan anything, but I don’t see why he feels the need to burn bridges on the way out. Why piss on the goodwill you’ve built up since you’ve been here?
I don’t wish him any ill will, but I don’t feel any strong desire to root for him anymore, either. I completely understand wanting to endear yourself to your new fans, but taking unnecessary jabs at the people who cheered for you the last three years?
Well alright then….
He chose money over legacy. I don't begrudge that but he made his bed. Kansas will see him as the paid mercenary he is and he won't really have a home for his legacy IMO.
What legacy? What would his legacy be here for one more year on this team? Honestly... Manny Harris, lavell Blanchard, stuck around for a while, didn't do much... Zach Novak was 1/10th as talented. He had the passion and he won (turned the program around)
With one more year at Michigan, he'd likely finish in the top five in school history in scoring and rebounding. With two more years (the 2020-21 year was free, thanks to Covid) and he'd be #1 in both.
Kansas is more midwestern than Michigan. I never even thought of it as midwestern while in AA. Hard to argue that.
Kansas is Plains. Michigan is quintessentially Midwestern as is Ohio.
Michigan yes. Ann arbor? Not really imo
Ann Arbor isn't much different than most of SE Michigan. To the people living in the other areas of the state, it's all "Detroit area" anyway... kind of like everything around Chicago is just called "Chicagoland".
Having been born in Ann Arbor and growing up around it Ann Arbor’s quirkiness has faded a lot over the last 30 years or so. When I was a kid you had Jacobson’s and Middle Earth. Pot shops and McDonald’s in modernist buildings next to a creepy old frat building. Ann Arbor was unique, but it was still Midwest.
Now it’s gentrified homogeny.
He was always a villain. Now he's not our villain. We need to get over it. He's in a place that wins more and worships basketball. Ann arbor isn't there, even at our basketball best. Whatever. Football is coming
Dear Hunter: Rock chalk fuck off.
I don't know why we care so much. Maybe it's because of the past two years. But he didn't translate yeti into wins. He played hard, but the winning wasn't there when he was the man. Go be a guy in Kansas. Enjoy it while you can
he didn't translate yeti into wins
I figured he'd be the Abominable Snowman in the paint, but it just didn't happen.
Impressive comment.
I sometimes wonder if he's preparing for a career in radio, hosting a sports show and trying anything to a reaction.
But, I'm not sure he's that self aware. It sounds like he thinks he can make it the NBA. 20 or 3o years ago a guy with size and skills probably could have made it--not likely in today's NBA.
He was my favorite player while he was here, and I hope he does well at Kansas. He's a troll and I can appreciate that. Characters like him add flavor to the game.
He was incredible as a freshman when surrounded by the wealth of talent that we had at the time, and it will be interesting to see what he does surrounded by the kind of blue-chippers that Kansas has been buying for a while now.
Good luck young man. Kill it over there!