After missing 1 dream, Devon Dotson will chase another. Kansas star declares for NBA draft
Kansas All-American basketball player Devon Dotson isn’t coming back for his junior year.
Dotson, a former McDonald’s All-American at Providence Day School, declared for the NBA draft Monday. Via a post on social media, Dotson said he intends to hire an agent and won’t be returning to school.
Dotson also entered the draft last season and was able to attend team workouts and interviews, but decided to go back to Kansas for his sophomore year.
“In basketball, (playing in the NBA) that’s always been my ultimate dream and my time at KU has prepared me,” Dotson said in his tweet directed at Kansas basketball fans. “Although I intend to sign with an agent and remain in the draft, this is not a goodbye, as I’ll always be a Jayhawk.”
Dotson is not listed among first-round picks in the latest NBA mock draft by 247Sports. NBADraft.net has Dotson going early in the second round.
At Kansas last season, Dotson was a second-team All-American, who led the Jayhawks, and the Big 12 conference in scoring at 18.1 points per game. A first-team all-conference pick, Dotson also averaged four rebounds and 4.1 assists for Kansas, which finished No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. The Jayhawks likely would’ve been the No. 1 overall seed for the 2020 NCAA Tournament, which was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Kansas won its final 16 games before Dotson found out there would be no March Madness while eating at Freddy’s Hamburgers and reading Twitter on his iPhone.
“This past week has brought out a lot of emotions,” Dotson said. “When I chose to return for Year 2, my team goals were to win the Big 12 and a national championship. I truly believe this past Monday we would’ve been competing in Atlanta for the 2020 national championship.”
Dotson will enter an NBA Draft that will be different than many that have come before it.
Teams are reportedly asking the NBA to push back the draft date from June 25 to Aug. 1. The league reportedly is not allowing teams to host or attend in person workouts for any draft-eligible player. Teams also cannot request or view film of draft-eligible prospects, live or recorded, that was shot after April 6.
That might hurt some foreign players or fringe prospects. But teams got to meet Dotson last summer and have two full seasons of college film to evaluate him with.
In a column about Dotson last month, the Charlotte Observer’s Scott Fowler described Dotson’s ability like this:
“He has NBA tools already — he controls an offense beautifully and has an uncanny ability to play downhill and free himself for layups. Dotson looked like a collegiate player in high school at Providence Day, which is why most everyone wanted him. He looked like an NBA player in college this season. His only downsides: At 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, he’s a little smaller point guard than some teams would like, and his 3-point shot (30.9 percent this season) has to improve. He reminds me some of the way Kemba Walker played coming out of Connecticut in 2011.”
In his announcement video, Dotson said he thinks he’s ready for the NBA now.
“I’ve grown tremendously these past two years with the help of (Kansas) coach (Bill) Self and the entire coaching staff,” Dotson said. “They pushed me to the very best on and off the court as a player and a person. During my recruitment they painted a vivid picture of their plan for me, from how I’d fit and grow with the team to how hard they would push me. It all happened just as they said it would. For that, I’ll always be grateful and can’t thank them enough.”
This story was originally published April 13, 2020 at 1:53 PM.
