Kansas basketball: NDSU’s Grant Nelson a fallback to Hunter Dickinson for Jayhawks?

Kansas basketball can pick up an elite big man in the transfer portal if top target Hunter Dickinson decides to commit elsewhere.

The Kansas Jayhawks have been active in the transfer portal for the past few weeks. They picked up commitments from Towson transfer Nick Timberlake and Texas transfer Arterio Morris. After five of their bench pieces went portaling, Bill Self has tremendously bolstered his roster.

While Hunter Dickinson is the No. 1 player remaining in the portal, he also is taking quite some time to decide on where he will head. KU has missed out on terrific big men like Jesse Edwards because they were pursuing Dickinson.

A decision should be made by Dickinson in the next few weeks, and if he goes to Villanova, Kentucky, or anywhere else besides Kansas, Grant Nelson is a fantastic fallback option for KU. He entered the transfer portal two days ago and has garnered interest from several top programs — Kansas being one of them.

Nelson is a 6-foot-10 forward who spent three years with the North Dakota State Bison. As a junior, he averaged 17.9 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 1.7 in 30.7 minutes per game.

The North Dakota native can score in the paint and has a variety of post moves. He is a finesse big man, similar to former Jayhawk Dedric Lawson. Nelson is an average foul and three-point shooter but makes up for it with his inside scoring.

He played against Kansas in the past season, scoring 11 points and rebounding nine shots. Nelson is testing the NBA Draft waters but expected to return to school.

It is safe to say that the Jayhawks will not make a move on Nelson until they are aware of what Dickinson will do. However, he is the best alternative they can find. The final day a player can join the transfer portal is by May 11th, and Nelson is the second best big man on the market unless someone else enters.