Kansas basketball: Top 25 recruit Devon Dotson commits to KU
Devon Dotson just made a bunch of Jayhawks fans happy today with his announcement via his twitter page that he’ll be part of the 2018 recruiting class for Kansas.
Devon Dotson, a 6’2, 180-pound point guard out of Charlotte, North Carolina, will be the third top 40 commit that Bill Self has managed to pull through. He joins already committed Silvio De Souza and David McCormick for 2018. With the frontcourt set, it allowed the coaching staff to focus on the perimeter portion of the roster.
Kansas has enjoyed quality and stability on the guard line over the years, with four-year players Frank Mason III and Devante Graham leading the way. But with Mason already gone and Graham a senior heading into this year, a new group of guards will now be leading the way for the future.
Not just Graham, but Svi Mykhailiuk will be graduating as well. Then you have Marcus Garrett, Legerald Vick, and Malik Newman who all have pro potential and could leave depending on how this season goes. That leaves California transfer Charlie Moore as the only ball handler guaranteed to be on the roster for 2018, creating a need at point guard.
That’s where Dotson comes in, as the true point guard thrives having the ball in his hands. 247 Sports Composite rankings has him at No. 24 for 2018, and it’s easy to see why.
As you can tell by his mixtape video, he’s not the same point guard as Mason and Graham as his athleticism is off the charts. His ability to drive into the lane and finish through traffic is similar to a young Derrick Rose before the injuries. His thunderous dunks at the end are more of his preferred route to go rather than mere layups.
The final two teams involved for Dotson were Kansas and Maryland. He took official visits to Florida and Arizona, but both teams already brought in multiple guards already for 2018. When Dotson took his visit in late August, he clearly must have liked what he heard from the coaching staff, as he relayed key points to jayhawkslant.com in an interview:
"“The takeaway is that Bill Self is making me a priority and that he wants to put the ball in my hands. He thinks I could be the next great point guard coming out of Kansas and that was the biggest takeaway.”"
During his visit, Self made it clear that he wants Dotson to have the ball in his hands during his stay with the team. The partnership between Mason and Graham has shown the potency of having two playmakers on the court at the same time, so it likely won’t be an issue playing both Dotson and Moore together.
Next: Two Jayhawks make Big 12 preseason awards
Kansas still isn’t finished, however. Five-star guard Quentin Grimes, No. 16 per 247 Sports, is scheduled for an official visit to Kansas. Although he’s considered a point guard as well, at 6’4 and with a good jump shot he can play the two spot just fine. Some schools struggle when a great backcourt moves on, but Self and Kansas will just reload and keep winning.