After three fruitful years with Michigan, center Hunter Dickinson is settling into life with Kansas. Following a ballyhooed decision-making process, the 2021 All-American opted on May 4 to play for the Jayhawks next season.
However, the ex-Wolverine hasn't hesitated to look back on his time in Ann Arbor—for better or for worse.
On a July 7 episode of the Rock Chalk Unplugged podcast that gained wider traction this weekend, Dickinson—while stressing that he enjoyed his time at Michigan—offered his most pointed comparison of his old and new homes to date.
"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," Dickinson said of Lawrence—an anodyne enough observation from the DMV native.
However, it was what he said next that got fans talking.
"I feel like at Michigan, they weren’t as nice. They were nice people but not as nice," Dickinson said. "I feel like Michigan is like a fake Midwest. Kansas is actually like a Midwest town. I loved my time in Michigan, but the people here at Kansas are especially nice.”
While Dickinson's geographic assessment flies in the face of most definitions of the midwestern United States, his rapport with Kansas fans will certainly prove comforting to a populace still recovering from a second-round NCAA tournament upset loss to Arkansas.
