KU Basketball News: Did Devon Dotson make a mistake declaring for draft

In KU basketball news, sophomore point guard Devon Dotson declared for the 202o NBA Draft.

It wasn’t unexpected KU basketball news, but Jayhawks point guard Devon Dotson declared for the draft Monday afternoon.

According to Matt Tait of KUsports.com, Dotson hasn’t hired an agent yet, but plans to do so and will not return to college.

While there is no doubt Dotson had a terrific two-year career for the Kansas Jayhawks, it will be interesting to see if he makes an NBA roster next year, and where he’ll be drafted. ESPN’s Top 100 has him ranked 31st, right ahead of his former teammate Udoka Azubuike.

KU basketball news: Did Devon Dotson do the right thing?

Considering what Dotson has accomplished in his career, especially this past season, it is easy to see why he made the decision he did.

2019-20 Consensus All-American, second team
2019-20 Wooden Award finalist
First in points and scoring average in the Big 12
First in the Big 12 in steals
Seventh in the Big 12 in assists

Dotson has little to prove at the collegiate level and was robbed at a chance at a national championship this past season.

Still, if you’ve ever watched Dotson play regularly, it is hard to imagine him playing much in the NBA.

This is not an anti-Dotson rant. He is an exciting player who has a lot of skills. He is one of the fastest players with the ball in his hands as you’ll see. He is tough around the rim, he is an excellent free-throw shooter (career 81 percent), and a good two-point shooter ( career 53.8 percent).

His game has some glaring weaknesses, though. He isn’t very big, generously listed in college at six-foot, two inches. He was the point guard, yet he didn’t even lead his team in assists. As a sophomore, he averaged four assists a game and 2.4 turnovers – not a great ratio.

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While his quickness and toughness got him to the rim regularly, where he generally finished strongly, he never did learn how to dish the ball on those drives. It was pretty much all or nothing for him when he drove to the basket. He seldom kicked the ball out.

Most concerning is his three-point shooting. As a freshman, he was reasonably effective, going 33 for 91 (36.3 percent). Once they moved the arc back several inches, however, it seemed to test his range considerably. As a sophomore, his outside shooting got noticeably worse. He hit only 38 of 123 attempts (30.9 percent). He often seemed to be heaving the ball at the basket instead of shooting it.

He also seemed to struggle a bit when opposing teams matched him up with taller, longer guards. In the NBA, most guards will be taller and longer. This could be a problem.

While Dotson is a bit quicker and faster than Frank Mason III was, he isn’t as good yet as Mason was after four years at Kansas. And Frank Mason has struggled to see the court in the NBA the last two seasons. This doesn’t bode well for Dotson.

You can never blame a kid for wanting to make some money while he can, but as of now, he isn’t projected to go in the first round. If that is the case, his contract won’t be guaranteed, and if taken in the second round, it will be tougher to make a roster.

Another year in college probably would have helped Dotson’s game, at least from a fundamental and development standpoint. He could have gotten a little stronger, improved his outside shooting and his total court awareness.

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Dotson absolutely did not have anything else to prove at the collegiate level. He was a star and a terrific player, but his game isn’t perfect, and another year with the Kansas basketball team might have helped him become a sure-fire first-round pick with guaranteed money rather than a borderline first-rounder with holes in his game.

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