Self outlines plan for Tiller to enroll early

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas head coach Bill Self pulls his players and staff in during a timeout in the second half on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024 at Allen Fieldhouse.

The Kansas men’s basketball team will get one of its marquee recruits on campus a semester early.

KU coach Bill Self on Thursday discussed in detail the Jayhawks’ impending addition of high-four-star forward Bryson Tiller, who signed on as a member of the class of 2025 a month ago but will now be joining the current 2024-25 team as a freshman at midseason.

Tiller, who at the time of his signing had been sidelined for about six months with an ankle injury and has not played this year in the Overtime Elite competition, will redshirt, but will have a chance to get an early start on “how we do things, schemes, style, what our expectations are,” Self said. The coach added he expects Tiller to be healthy “by the time he arrives or soon after.”

“Playing against Hunter (Dickinson) and KJ (Adams) and Flory (Bidunga) every day will also be good for him,” Self said. “I think there’s a lot of things that go into it. Probably getting a comfort level with me. Maybe seeing the value of what it’s like for when we go on the road — because he’ll travel with us when we go on the road — and how other people react to the Kansas jersey, things like that.”

Self explained that as a result of Tiller’s ongoing injury, he may not be able to impact his senior season of high school in the way he had once hoped, or be in contention for honors like a McDonald’s All-American nod that might have been far more likely to receive otherwise.

Instead, he’ll be able to get a head start on his college career, working for a semester with both experienced players like Adams and Dickinson who will be gone by the time he takes the court and younger ones who figure prominently into KU’s future plans, like Bidunga.

“I think it’s going to be a great look,” said forward Zach Clemence, who is a redshirt junior and could also return for the 2025-26 season. “Just someone new coming in, giving us a new look … He could make us better each and every day, so that’s great.”

Tiller is from Atlanta and played high school basketball at Pace Academy before moving to OTE (where incoming KU recruit Samis Calderon also plays). The 6-foot-10 forward averaged 12.2 points and 9.4 rebounds at OTE during the 2023-24 season.