Film Room: Hunter Dickinson – On3

There is no denying the fact that Hunter Dickinson is a polarizing figure. For Kentucky fans, there is the obvious debate between Oscar Tshiebwe and Dickinson. For Big Ten fans, you either love that he is on your team (Michigan) or hate playing against him (everyone else). When it comes to the rest of college basketball, the question is whether Dickinson is a hot-headed villain or a fiery competitor with the necessary “dog” in him. Those conversations can all be had at different times in different forums. Here, we are strictly going to focus on what he brings to the floor. Is he a fit for Coach Calipari and the ‘Cats?

Coming out as a 4-star, Top 50 prospect from basketball powerhouse Dematha Catholic, it took Hunter Dickinson no time at all to dominate at the college level. He earned Big Ten Rookie of the Year honors as a freshman, along with being named a Consensus Second Team All-American, while averaging 14.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game for the Wolverines. That was a Michigan team that went 23-5, earned a #1 seed, and missed the Final Four only via a two-point loss to UCLA. As a sophomore, Dickinson returned to the Sweet 16 while averaging 18.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Finally, as a junior, the 7’1″ center put up 18.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. He also vastly improved as a three-pointer shooter each season.

As we will get to later in this film breakdown, Dickinson isn’t a perfect player. Despite improving as a shooter he is still very post-up dominant which clogs the lane. On the defensive end, he leaves a lot to be desired as well. He doesn’t move his feet very well, struggles in ballscreen situations, and gets caught out of position too often. However, being 7’1″ does help to cover up some deficiencies. Now, let’s take a look at how his game translates to Kentucky specifically. It is time to dive into the KSR Film Room to learn more about Hunter Dickinson.

Low Post Scoring

Hunter Dickinson is the type of player you build your offense around. He was used on 27.2% of Michigan’s possessions last season. However, he has the stats to back up that type of usage. On the block, he is an incredibly efficient scorer. He averaged just a tick shy of one point per possession on post-up attempts which rated “very good” per Synergy. Dickinson is also very effective as the roll man and has continued to improve as a pick-and-pop threat. Finally, even when compared to Oscar Tshiebwe, he is actually better at scoring on offensive rebound putbacks. There truly isn’t much to not like about his ability to put the ball in the basket from near the rim.

Hunter Dickinson is very comfortable playing in a 4-around-1 Motion offense. He does a good job of reading the ball movement and ducking in at the right times. On this possession, you see him slam into his man in the middle of the lane to get a deep post catch. After setting his man up with one dribble to his left shoulder, Dickinson spins back to…