Kansas basketball vs. Fort Hays State Preview: No Dotson, no problem

Kansas basketball will play its first exhibition of the 2019-20 season tonight against Fort Hays State University in Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks will probably be without all-conference point guard Devon Dotson or transfer Isaiah Moss, but Bill Self‘s squad should be fine.

It’s that time of year again! Well, almost. Kansas basketball still has two weeks until the official start of the basketball season against #4 Duke at Madison Square Garden. Until then, an exhibition against the Fort Hays State Tigers will have to do.

While nobody expects Fort Hays State to even be able to compete with Kansas, let’s take a look at the Division II school anyway. The Tigers are coming off an 18-11 season under head coach Mark Johnson. Fort Hays State received a four seed in the MIAA Tournament but lost in the first round 69-74 to Lincoln. This year, the Tigers were picked to finish fourth in the MIAA Coaches Poll.

While Kansas basketball should have no problem beating a Division II team, the Jayhawks won’t be at full strength against Fort Hays State. Yesterday, a picture posted on Twitter by Holly Rowe showed Devon Dotson in a boot.

All of a sudden every Kansas basketball fan was asking the same question: “why exactly is our star point guard in a walking boot?” Well, have no fear, because head coach Bill Self cleared up all of the speculations about Devon Dotson’s injury yesterday at the Big 12 Media Day:

"“I wouldn’t think he would [play] in our exhibition game. It’s a day-to-day thing. I can’t anticipate him missing more than three or four days.” – Bill Self"

Do you hear that? That’s the sound of Kansas basketball fans breathing a collective sigh of relief. Isaiah Moss, on the other hand, is battling a hamstring injury and is doubtful for at least the first exhibition game. Having two potential starters out begs the question: what will Kansas basketball’s starting lineup look like against the Tigers?

The most probable replacement for Dotson at point guard would be senior Marcus Garrett, who Self has said on multiple occasions would be the team’s second ball handler. At this point, it looks like Garrett, Agbaji, Braun/Wilson, De Sousa, Azubuike.

It’s a toss-up between freshmen Braun and Wilson, but both will probably get a significant amount of playing time no matter who starts.

Kansas basketball is right around the corner, and this team has a chance to really do some damage. While the squad will be a bit depleted, the Jayhawks will still have their entire frontcourt, which should be fun to watch tomorrow night.

Kansas’ next exhibition will be against Pittsburg State on Halloween (Oct. 31) at 7:00 PM.