Kansas Basketball: 2019-20 season review of the Jayhawks
By Neil Adler
Key individual performers for Kansas
Across the country, a handful of schools featured exceptional inside-out tandems in the recently ended stanza, but no duo accomplished more than the Jayhawks’ Udoka Azubuike and Devon Dotson.
For one, senior center Azubuike and sophomore guard Dotson both landed on the AP All-American second unit. In essence, what that illustrates is one program, Kansas, possessed two of the 10 best guys in all of college basketball. That’s saying a lot about the term that the Jayhawks achieved.
Dotson generated 18.1 points per contest, along with 4.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists. Azubuike produced 13.7 points and 10.5 boards per affair while connecting on a ridiculous 74.8 percent from the field.
Obviously, this pair of Kansas studs got selected to the All-Big 12 first group, with each a unanimous choice. The league’s coaches named Azubuike as the Big 12 Player of the Year, although a totally valid case is warranted for Dotson to have captured that honor.
Self, in an announcement on the Jayhawks’ athletics department Web site, praised Azubuike for his perseverance. “To me, the way Dok performed down the stretch put him in a position to win the award. I can’t express enough how proud we are of him and the progress that he has made. For somebody that has gone through as much adversity as him – health-wise – since he’s been here, to see it all be worth it, to fight through it, I think speaks volumes to his work ethic and character.”
Azubuike’s accolades extended further, as he and junior guard Marcus Garrett docked on the Big 12 All-Defensive team.
Garrett, from my perspective, delivered a pleasantly surprising campaign. The conference’s Defensive Player of the Year and a participant on the All-Big 12 third crew, Garrett logged 32.2 minutes, 9.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.6 dimes and 1.8 steals per bout. He hit 44.2 percent of his shots from the floor.
Another Kansas guard, sophomore Ochai Agbaji, obtained a solid showing that garnered him an All-Big 12 honorable mention. Agbaji managed 10.0 points, 4.2 boards and 2.0 assists. He’s primed for a break-out junior stint.