From the very beginning, Devon Dotson, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound point guard from Charlotte, N.C., had a plan in place. Following his freshman year at Kansas, Dotson, a former five-star prospect, went through the NBA process and ultimately decided to return for his sophomore year.
Wanting to improve his draft stock, as well as bring a Big 12 Championship and National Championship back to Lawrence, Dotson was poised to have a breakout season, which would result in a move to the NBA.
A Consensus All-America Second Team and Wooden Award All-American, Dotson led the Big 12 in scoring at 18.1 points per game steals (2.1) and free throws made (142). The Charlotte, N.C., native who was a three-time Big 12 Player of the Week in 2019-20, Dotson ranked among the Big 12 leaders in 20-point games (second at 9), field goal percentage (second at 46.8), free throw percentage (fifth at 83.0), assists (fifth at 4.0) and assist-to-turnover ratio (fifth at 1.7).
Kansas, which finished the season ranked No. 1 in the polls, was unable to reach its ultimate goal of winning a National Championship. While the Jayhawks won the Big 12 regular season championship, the coronavirus (COVID-19) prevented Kansas from winning the Big 12 Tournament and, more importantly, it dashed its dreams of delivering Bill Self has second National Championship.
In his return to Kansas, Dotson, aside from winning a National Championship, accomplished everything he hoped to accomplish before the season started. With life, for the most part, currently on hold, Dotson, earlier in the week, announced his decision to declare for the NBA draft.
“After talking it over with my family and full support from my coaches, I’ve decided to enter the 2020 NBA Draft and pursue my lifelong goal of being an NBA player,” Dotson said. “In basketball, this has always been my ultimate dream and my time at KU has prepared me. Although I intend to sign with an agent and remain in the draft, this is not a good-bye as I will always be a Jayhawk.
“Thank you to God, my parents, coaches, support staff, teammates, Jayhawk nation, and everyone for making these last two years extremely special,” he added. “Rock Chalk.”
A member of the 2018 class, Dotson, the No. 20 ranked player in the class, was a top priority for Self and his staff. One of the most coveted point guards in America, Dotson, throughout his recruitment, received scholarship offers from the likes of Kansas, Arizona, Charlotte, Clemson, Creighton, Florida, Georgetown, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Hampton, Louisville, Maryland, Miami (FL), North Carolina, North Carolina State, Rutgers, Tennessee, USC, Villanova, Virginia, Wake Forest, and others.
Dotson, who visited Kansas during the weekend of August 25, 2017, verbally committed to Self and the Jayhawks on October 13, 2017. When the dust finally settled and it was time to make a decision, Dotson gave the nod to Kansas over Florida in what turned out to be an extremely intense recruiting battle.
After a two-year run as KU’s starting point guard, Dotson is looking forward to the next challenge.
“To be honest, it was just tough to think about it,” said Dana Dotson, the father of Devon Dotson, on Wednesday afternoon. “He was still kind of in pieces from the time the season ended all the way up until last Monday. It was getting better, but last Monday, he had more emotions about it. After that, we just kind of sat down and said, ‘I understand the way the season ended, but we had kind of talked about this last year.’
"When we were in town, we actually sat down with Coach Self,” he added. “We kind went through things and Coach Self thought it was the right move. We didn’t finalize it until last week.”
Dotson became just the fifth Jayhawk to lead the Big 12 in scoring joining Drew Gooden in 2002, Wayne Simien in 2005, Frank Mason III in 2017 and Dedric Lawson in 2019. In addition to his All-America honors in 2019-20, Dotson was an All-Big 12 First Team (unanimous selection), a Bob Cousy Award Point Guard of the Year Award Finalist, USBWA All-District VI and the co-MVP of the Maui Invitational in leading KU to the tourney title. Dotson amassed 986 career points in only two seasons at Kansas.
With his decision to make the jump to the NBA set, Dotson is now focused on making sure that his lifelong dream of playing in the NBA becomes a reality.
“He’s definitely excited,” he said. “He’s ready and he’s excited, but I guess the only downside is just the unknown with everything that’s going on with the NBA, and really, the world. We know that the pre-draft process is going to be different.
“I think President Trump is on the phone today with owners of the NBA and trying to discuss plans,” he added. “At least get that season started, which will affect when the draft happens.”
With so many questions currently left unanswered due to the coronavirus (COVID-19), Dotson, back home in Charlotte, N.C., is making the most of his time when it comes to preparing for his move to the professional ranks.
Not surprisingly, with everything going on across the United States and beyond, his training regimen isn’t what it normally would be under different circumstances. However, that hasn’t prevented him staying on top of his conditioning, training, and shooting sessions.
“Yes, Devon is definitely staying busy,” he said. “Him and his brother, we have hills in our neighborhood and there is a track, so they go to the track and they run hills. He’s trying to make sure that he keeps his cardio up. We moved a weight set into the garage and he as a bike in the garage and a vertimax machine that he’s had since high school.
“He’s also got a mat, so his mom can stretch him out,” he added. “We also have a shooting routine that we do in the driveway.”
There’s absolutely no doubt that Dotson has the talent, athletic ability, skill, drive, and determination to have a long and successful career in the NBA. Furthermore, he’ll have plenty of time to focus solely on his game, both the strengths and the weaknesses, for an extended period of time with no interruptions.
If there’s one area that Dotson will continue to focus on moving forward, its shooting. As a freshman, Dotson hit 33-of-91 (36.3 percent) shots from behind the arc. This past season, he was 38-of-123 (30.8 percent) from downtown. For his career, 66 games, Dotson shot 71-of-214 (33.2 percent) from three.
“All of the feedback has been to continue to work on shooting,” he said. “Last year, the three-point line was pushed back and when he plays in the NBA, it’s going to be an even further distance. Certainly, just increasing his range and becoming consistent.
“From the feedback that we’ve gotten, they look at his corner threes and he shot that at a good percentage,” he added. “His guarded threes were at a pretty good percentage. The only thing that kind of brought his overall percentage down was his unguarded threes. That’s definitely an area where he can get better.
“They look at his free-throw percentage and say that you’re a good shooter from the free-throw line and you have good touch around the rim, so there’s no reason to believe that, you know, that’s not something that will be better, you know, as he progresses,” he continued.
An argument can be made that Dotson, this past season, was the top point guard in college basketball. He led the nation’s top team to a Big 12 regular season championship, a 16-game winning streak to end the season, and a No. 1 ranking to end the season. The Jayhawks were on the verge of backing up that Big 12 regular season championship by running through the Big 12 Tournament.
Exactly one month ago today, Kansas, under normal circumstances, would have been awarded the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. The road to Atlanta, Ga., site of the Final Four, would begin with a trip to Omaha, Neb., followed by trip to Houston, Texas.
Devon Dotson was primed to lead Kansas to the National Championship game. Devon Dotson was primed to make sure that Kansas was the last team standing on the first Monday night in April.
However, all of those hopes and dreams came crashing down due to the coronavirus (COVID-19). Dotson, like so many others, can only sit back and imagine would could have been had the season not been cut short.
This team, more than any other team in recent memory, was built for March. With Devon Dotson leading the way, something special was about to happen.
“Oh, it was everything he thought it would be and more,” he said. “It was everything and more. Obviously, his freshman year didn’t go exactly how he wanted it to go, from a team perspective. With the injuries to Doke (Udoka Azubuike) and there were some changes with the roster throughout the season.
“He was committed to comeback for a second year and that was fantastic,” he added. “We won the last 16-games and finished No. 1. It was everything, but the one thing that he really wanted to do was take them far. In his mind and in his heart, he believes that, certainly, they would have been in the Final Four and playing for a National Championship.”
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