Kansas basketball coach Bill Self talks new assistant Jacque Vaughn
Check out everything Kansas basketball coach Bill Self had to say Tuesday as he introduced a new assistant, Jacque Vaughn, in Lawrence.
LAWRENCE — The New Orleans Pelicans have officially announced the signing of Kansas basketball product Hunter Dickinson, following the end of the 2025 NBA Draft last month.
Although Dickinson wasn’t selected during this year’s NBA draft, New Orleans confirmed Saturday he is joining the team on a two-way contract. Dickinson was a graduate center this past season for the Jayhawks. The Pelicans did not disclose the terms of the deals in the release, citing team policy.
Dickinson spent the past two seasons in college with KU, after previously playing three years at Michigan. He earned All-America recognition at both schools, as well as various All-Big 12 Conference and All-Big Ten Conference recognition. This past season, as Kansas reached the round of 64 of the NCAA tournament, he averaged 17.4 points and 10.0 rebounds per game while starting all 34 of the games he played in.
The Jayhawks’ front-court will look much different during the 2025-26 season without Dickinson, but it should benefit from having sophomore forward Flory Bidunga to rely upon. There’s also forward Bryson Tiller, who enrolled early last season and redshirted, as well as freshman center Paul Mbiya. KU will face a challenging schedule, including the recent reveal that its first two games of the Players Era event this season will be against Notre Dame (Nov. 24) and Syracuse (Nov. 25).
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.