Kansas freshman guard Gradey Dick announced Friday on Instagram that he is declaring for the 2023 NBA Draft.
The 6-foot-8 sharpshooter had a standout debut season for the Jayhawks, starting all 36 games and finishing second in scoring at 14.1 points per game. He also averaged 5.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists in being selected to the All-Big 12 second team, the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team and the Big 12 All-Freshman Team.
“As a kid from Kansas, I have fulfilled my goal of playing at my dream college,” he wrote on the Instagram post. “I cannot thank Jayhawk Nation enough for the love and support you have shown to me and my family. I will always have Kansas in my heart but I now have to chase the ultimate dream that I have had since I first started playing ball.”
A highly decorated prep player at Wichita Collegiate (2019-20) and Sunrise Christian Academy (2021-22), the Wichita native stayed in state as a top Kansas recruit.
He set the Kansas freshman record for made 3-point baskets (83) and posted numbers in numerous offensive categories to rank among the Jayhawks’ top all-time freshmen.
Dick shot 44.2 percent from the field and 40.3 from 3-point range.
He averaged 13.0 points and a team-best 9.0 rebounds during the Big 12 champion and top-seeded Jayhawks’ NCAA Tournament run.
“I feel that NBA teams have learned more about my competitiveness from this season,” Dick said Friday on ESPN’s “NBA Today” program. “My goal has always been to try and outcompete everyone in anything that I do. I also wanted to show my resilience. No matter what happens, how I play, I’m always going to come back levelheaded and ready to go. I often get labeled as a shooter, but I love to show the versatility that I have to my game.”
Dick is projected to be a first-round and perhaps a lottery pick by ESPN and other media outlets.
–Field Level Media
