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Jeff Borzello, ESPN Staff Writer
Kansas stars Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar Jr. won’t play in the Big 12 tournament this week due to injuries, coach Bill Self said Monday.
Dickinson left Saturday’s loss to Houston with what Self later said was a dislocated shoulder, while McCullar didn’t play in the second half as he continues to deal with a bone bruise on his knee.
Self said Monday on his weekly Hawk Talk radio show that Dickinson’s shoulder injury won’t require surgery and that he has already started rehab.
While he won’t play this week, Self said Dickinson “should be practicing full speed by the start of next week so he’ll be available to us with the NCAA tournament. And not only available but he should be fine.”
Dickinson has been one of the most productive players in the country this season, averaging 18.0 points and 10.8 rebounds in his first season after transferring from Michigan last spring.
McCullar, meanwhile, has missed five games over the past six weeks managing a bone bruise on his knee. He missed four of five games to end the month of February, returned for games against Baylor and Kansas State, but then managed to play only 15 first-half minutes in the loss to Houston.
Self said McCullar’s time off should help him and he should be able to practice next week in preparation for the NCAA tournament.
A 6-foot-7 senior who played the first three seasons of his career at Texas Tech before spending his last two seasons at Kansas, McCullar is one of the biggest breakout stars in the country. He’s averaging 18.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists.
Both Dickinson and McCullar earned first-team All-Big 12 honors.
Kansas opens the Big 12 tournament Wednesday against the winner of Cincinnati vs. West Virginia.