While Devon Dotson’s career didn’t finish the way we hoped it would, Bill Self had plenty of praise for the Kansas basketball star.
While every NCAA Tournament bound team’s hopes were crushed when the NCAA announced the cancellation of March Madness, few teams were robbed like Kansas basketball was. The Jayhawks were the undisputed best team in the country heading into March, and Kansas had everything they needed to win it all.
Sitting at 28-3 and in the midst of a 16 game win streak, Kansas was destined to receive the No. 1 overall seed and make a run for head coach Bill Self’s fourth Final Four. While the team had numerous leaders on it, including Big 12 Player of the Year Udoka Azubuike, there’s no doubt that Devon Dotson was the catalyst for the Jayhawks on the offensive end.
Dotson led the Big 12 in scoring with 18.1 points per game and was a unanimous selection for the first team. As a sophomore, Dotson had grown from his freshman year into one of the best point guards in college basketball.
Then, his opportunity to really cement himself into Kansas basketball history was taken. In his Hawk Talk show on June 23, Self commented that Dotson’s legacy would’ve been created during the NCAA Tournament, and it’s easy to see why.
Dotson was so good at getting to the rim with his elite speed, he could put up points in a hurry. It’s so easy to imagine him absolutely going off in a big-time Elite Eight or Final Four game to lead the Jayhawks to a win in a manner similar to his performance early in the season against Obi Toppin and Dayton.
Now that he’s bound for the NBA, Dotson will have a chance to carve out a successful pro career. Dotson is predicted to go No. 29 overall by Bleacher Report, which would make him the first Jayhawk since Josh Jackson to be taken in the first round.
Whatever happens in the draft, Dotson’s time at Kansas was special and he’s certainly up there with all of the great point guards from the Bill Self era.