Self on Dotson: "He's in the same league as Frank (Mason III)"
After an absolutely intense recruiting battle, Bill Self finally got his point guard of the future when Devon Dotson, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound guard from Providence Day High School in Charlotte, N.C., verbally committed to Kansas back on October 13, 2017.
Dotson, the No. 20 ranked player in the 2018 class, turned down scholarship offers from the likes of Arizona, Clemson, Florida, Georgetown, Georgia, Louisville, Maryland, Miami (FL), North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, USC, Villanova, Virginia, Wake Forest and others to sign with Self and the Jayhawks.
In all, Dotson took official visits to Arizona (8/1), Kansas (8/25), Florida (9/8) and Maryland (9/29) before giving the nod to Kansas on October 13, 2017.
A three-time all-state and four-time all-conference selection, including CISSA Conference Player of the Year in 2017-18 at Providence Day School in Charlotte, N.C., Dotson averaged 28.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists his senior year in leading Providence Day to its sixth consecutive conference title and berth in the N.C. Independent Schools Final Four. Selected to play in the prestigious McDonald’s All-American game, Dotson played for Brian Field while at Providence Day.
As a junior, Dotson averaged 24.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. In 2016-17, the Chargers won their fifth-straight CISAA conference title. Dotson, as a sophomore, helped guide Providence Day to the 3A state championship.
Finally, Dotson concluded his high school career as the Providence Day all-time leading scorer with 2,607 points.
Early on in his recruitment, Kansas made Dotson a priority and, in the end, it paid off for Bill Self and his staff. On Wednesday afternoon, JayhawkSlant.com asked Self about his vision for Dotson moving forward.
“I think he can be a great one,” said Kansas Head Coach Bill Self when talking about freshman guard Devon Dotson on Wednesday afternoon. “Not a good one, but a great one. I think, if you’re going to recruit somebody, especially in the backcourt, the first thing you probably look at is explosiveness and quickness. He’s probably got as much as anybody we’ve ever had here.
“He’s in the same league as Frank (Mason III) as far as explosive and fast,” he added. “Not saying he’s Frank, but he’s probably further along than Frank was when he got here. If he continues to develop, and he’s got to develop a better stroke, but it is getting better, he’ll be hard to guard.”
Dotson, without question, figures to play significant minutes this season as a freshman. Looking at KU’s backcourt, the two most likely candidates to take over the point guard spot are Dotson and Charlie Moore, the 5-foot-11, 180-pound guard from Chicago, Ill.
Moore, a redshirt sophomore who transferred in from California, like Dotson, is expected to play a significant role this season. With practice at the University of Kansas just getting started, it's simply too early to tell who will take command of the point guard position, but its safe to say that both Dotson and Moore will play major minutes on the ball.
When you throw in Dotson, Moore, Quentin Grimes, Lagerald Vick, Marcus Garrett, K.J. Lawson, and Ochai Agbaji, Self and the Jayhawks are absolutely loaded in the frontcourt.
While addressing a group of reporters inside the Allen Fieldhouse media room on Wednesday afternoon, freshman big man David McCormack was asked specifically about the play of Dotson and Grimes.
“Oh, it’s great,” said McCormack when asked about playing with freshmen Devon Dotson and Quentin Grimes. “They have great tenacity and great and great skill sets. The court vision that they have is amazing. They make playing, as a big, just much easier.”