Devon Dotson Commitment Quotes + Hype Thread





  • BShark said:

    http://usatodayhss.com/2017/the-devon-dotson-blog-ok-so-heres-why-i-chose-kansas

    Great kid–uses the attention on him to ask for help finding a fball player from his school who has gone missing.



  • BShark said:

    http://usatodayhss.com/2017/the-devon-dotson-blog-ok-so-heres-why-i-chose-kansas

    Great read. Love the part about trying to recruit Zion, Langford and Grimes now, haha. This guy is going to become a fan favorite very fast.



  • This coming from Krysten Peek rivals recruiting analyst:Krysten says this could be big in KU’S pursuit of # 1 Zion Williamson. Peek said: These two were thick as thieves when they were playing in Vegas. - -Peeks interviewed Zion & Devon was sitting right there and Zion was saying " This is my favorite point guard I’ve ever played with. - -sounds good to me. - -Peeks says Devon is super quick - -and his passing is phenomenal - -he has a great first step with his cross over. - -sounds good to me - -that’s my boy - - ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • Jon Rothstein

    2018 PG Devon Dotson has committed to Kansas. Cheetah like speed in the open floor.



  • Btw for anyone that hasn’t checked the blog yet, he committed to Self in person on the in-home visit and the coaches went nuts and started hugging everyone. Sounds amazing, lol.



  • 3genhawk said:

    Jon Rothstein

    2018 PG Devon Dotson has committed to Kansas. Cheetah like speed in the open floor.

    That is one of the 1st things I noticed in the games I saw him in - -Unbelievable quick - -& loves attacking the rim - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • BShark said:

    Btw for anyone that hasn’t checked the blog yet, he committed to Self in person on the in-home visit and the coaches went nuts and started hugging everyone. Sounds amazing, lol.

    Ya & I read somewhere today that he was going to call the coaches today and let them know - -So much for the BS gossip. I just don’t know what happened - I mean a poster said he was wearing RED shorts at a practice not Crimson - -& we were screwed lmao - -mercy - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • just awesome sauce



  • Ooooooh oooooohhhhhh



  • If you could build a PG for Self, he’d look a lot like Dotson. His only weakness is consistency on his jumper. Some kid named Mason eventually figured it out, so I think Dotson will be a close to 40% 3 point shooter by the time he leaves KU. But also super competitive on both ends. He’ll be a leader right away on a young team.



  • @BShark NO wait - - -wait - - -oh crap - - NO HE DIDN’T uh uh - -NO - -nope - -did I just see Devon schooling the Ball kid with his Matadore defense? - - - TWICE - -NO surely not - -left the poor lil guy grabbing his jock - -That couldn’t be -I’m sure daddy would say it’s a fluke lmao. - - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • “They thought I was the best point guard in the nation. I could come in and run the show from Day One, be that guy. Devonté (Graham) is graduating, there’s a need for a point guard. I felt I could come in and do my thing from the start.”

    “I see that he did great there at KU,” Dotson said of Mason, a rookie with the Sacramento Kings and last year’s national player of the year. “I am a different player. I am Devon Dotson. I am looking to run the show and do what I can to help us win. I feel like I can make plays. If I need to score, I score. If I need to get people involved, I get people involved. I try to make plays, plays on defense, be an uptempo guard.”

    “My brother and I played in the same league (with him),” Dotson said of Moore. “I think we’ll be great. I think we complement each other well.”



  • Charlie Moore as the back up point guard has a much better ring to it than the alternative – as a starter.



  • So when a recruit commits, shouldn’t the post be in the main Basketball section?



  • I view it as recruiting news but if anyone wants to make threads in the main section that seems totally fine.



  • @BShark I can see the point either way.



  • I do get where you are coming from on it. In basketball recruiting typically verbals are extremely solid (though there are exceptions) so it is likely they suit up for KU making them current-ish players.



  • I’m really pumped just like everyone else. I’m cautious, though about saying that he is anointed as the next starting PG at KU. What about Garrett? What about Moore? We’ve all seen this before where a big recruit comes in and doesn’t beat out a less highly recruited veteran.



  • Self’s comments about Moore are not all that encouraging from a PG perspective. I think Garrett is a kid that will get minutes but not by starting at PG. It sure seems from his comments that the staff thinks Devon will start. However all that said you never know for sure until the games start.



  • HighEliteMajor said:

    Charlie Moore as the back up point guard has a much better ring to it than the alternative – as a starter.

    Bingo!

    We have a great chance of adding another ball handler as well.



  • @joeloveshawks

    He will certainly have to earn the position. You made a good point that Self has definitely favored experience in the past if he doesn’t trust the young guys.

    I would view Dotson more in line with previous freshman that have started at KU in the past such as Wiggins, Jackson, Oubre, Selden etc. Dotson isn’t a raw prospect and has a lot of the qualities Self likes to see from a young player. He’s quick he has vision and he defends. He was a 4 star player going into the Spring and now is pretty much a consensus 5 star player. It’s a testament to his hard work and people getting to see him play against other high level point guards which he outplayed consistently.

    The situation we have next year at point guard is something we haven’t dealt with in a long time. Usually we have a understudy waiting in the wings. Moore I suppose fits that description but he doesn’t get game experience this year so he doesn’t have a big edge on Dotson in that regard.

    The competition should be great. Bringing in a very talented guard alongside Charlie is exactly what was needed. Dotson’s quote about his fit with Charlie is the type of thing you love to hear about incoming Hawks.

    Garrett certainly could be another ball handler thrown into the mix. We’ll have to wait to see what his primary role is this season without a true backup to Devonte on the team.

    Self is likely to add another Guard with PG skills in Grimes. We may need Grimes more for his play-making ability then passing but it does seem Self is dead set on adding as much skilled perimeter talent as he can as he’s faced with replacing so much experience in Graham & Svi. Malik is probably a OAD transfer and Vick certainly has the chance to impress scouts this season. That’s not a great situation to be in but then again Self has always found players that are able to fill the gaps. Dotson is certainly a player that fits a lot of needs for next year’s squad and beyond.



  • @BeddieKU23 Yeah I do think Dotson and Moore are a pretty good fit, though it’s a small line-up defensively. Moore isn’t really a pure PG, but he can shoot it. Dotson needs to work on his shot (what a great choice he made, coming to KU) but he is a guy that has the ball on a string and can penetrate to score or dish.

    Believe it or don’t but he was this staff’s TOP PG target and they evaluated all the top guys. Though perhaps Tre Jones being never remotely possible was not considered.

    It sure seems like the staff has assuaged some of the Grimes family concerns re: Newman since they are literally bumping up the time table right after his KU visit.

    To tell everyone how much the staff wants Grimes, Bill gave the family a tour of the campus himself. Kid is a priority recruit.

    I think I’d rather have SR Vick than FR Romeo but either option is good.



  • BShark said:

    @BeddieKU23 Yeah I do think Dotson and Moore are a pretty good fit, though it’s a small line-up defensively. Moore isn’t really a pure PG, but he can shoot it. Dotson needs to work on his shot (what a great choice he made, coming to KU) but he is a guy that has the ball on a string and can penetrate to score or dish.

    Believe it or don’t but he was this staff’s TOP PG target and they evaluated all the top guys. Though perhaps Tre Jones being never remotely possible was not considered.

    It sure seems like the staff has assuaged some of the Grimes family concerns re: Newman since they are literally bumping up the time table right after his KU visit.

    To tell everyone how much the staff wants Grimes, Bill gave the family a tour of the campus himself. Kid is a priority recruit.

    I think I’d rather have SR Vick than FR Romeo but either option is good.

    Yeah the Moore/Dotson combo is no different then Mason/Graham on height alone. There’s always a give and take to going small at the PG position & with how Self runs his offense there is a good chance both play at the same time.

    That’s why Grimes is so important as the other guard signee. Adding that physicality, length and 2 way ability is how you basically make the Dotson/Moore a competition for starter’s minutes and create depth. We just don’t know how serious Vick is out the door just yet but I agree I would take him as a Sr over Romeo. I’ll always been partial to Vick but I do think he would be the leading scorer on this team next season if he stayed. I think he’s also seen what Graham, Mason, Perry and Svi have done by staying as well and may want the opportunity to be in the limelight. Having said that Vick has some natural advantages that will make it hard for teams to overlook him if he has a solid year. He’ll test well at the combine athletically and that will go a long way.

    I think Self identified the player that closely resembled everything he wanted in a PG. We also have to give Devon props for not ending up at Duke or UNC which for some reason just never put the throttle on him. It’s rare that we were able to go into North Carolina and not have a single home school be a threat for him. Dotson definitely improved enough to be in the discussion for top PG. That could have been part of the reason others passed initially was because Dotson’s improvement has really started to take off now. Tre Jones definitely improved as well to put his name on top but I think the difference between the Top 7-8 PG’s is marginal anyway. There isn’t a big separation between them because you don’t have a Ball, Rose, Wall, type in the class.

    Love the news about Grimes. Seems like Self and company took a good approach to selling KU to them. This was a very important visit seems how Q hadn’t been to campus for some time. Feel even more confident we get him now



  • After this weekend, Grimes is about as locked on KU as it can get, barring something really bizarre like Newman coming back. He may not sign early, but he’ll be in crimson and blue.



  • @BeddieKU23 See, that is something I always thought was kind of strange to about Devon. - -NC - -or Duke neither one was in the running - EVER , for some reason whether it was them or just Devon or maybe a combination of both. It’s ok though you sure don’t hear me complaining lol. Just glad we landed him. - -Feel pretty good about Quinten wish we could get him in the early period but doesn’t look like it. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • FarmerJayhawk said:

    After this weekend, Grimes is about as locked on KU as it can get, barring something really bizarre like Newman coming back. He may not sign early, but he’ll be in crimson and blue.

    We certainly hope so. Pushing back the visit to a weekend they could focus on him and him alone could end up being the best decision.

    I like the approach the Staff has taken this cycle. It feels different. Landed De Sousa out of the blue, made Big Dave a priority in the summer and into the fall. Stayed on Dotson hard for over a year. Doing the same with Grimes. We are definitely not sweating it out this fall like years past.



  • @BeddieKU23

    I did not check all of them but I believe they were all ranked higher than Grimes. Also, Oubre did not start until several games into the season and maybe Selden as well?



  • jayballer54 said:

    @BeddieKU23 See, that is something I always thought was kind of strange to about Devon. - -NC - -or Duke neither one was in the running - EVER , for some reason whether it was them or just Devon or maybe a combination of both. It’s ok though you sure don’t hear me complaining lol. Just glad we landed him. - -Feel pretty good about Quinten wish we could get him in the early period but doesn’t look like it. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

    Roy took 2 guards early especially Colby White who played the same position. I think because they took those guys early and with Felton & Woods on the roster already playing time was going to be an issue. Plus you had the looming NCAA investigation… .

    With Duke they had Garland and Jones at the top of their list and Dotson was just a secondary option coming into the AAU season. It never seemed like Dotson wanted to be anyone’s fall back plan which was important for KU and Self having a chance with him. I think that hurt Maryland as well which lost out on local star Prentiss Hubb and then decided to recruit Dotson after (right around the time his friend Wiggins signed with them). Once Tre Jones showed he was “Duke’s guy” even Garland became less of an option (and now eliminated them) once RJ Barrett became the prime target for them after moving into 2018. I don’t think Duke knew Dotson would improve enough to be at the Elite Level that Garland was already at. I think Duke just missed on him and that is KU’s gain. Dotson liked Duke and I think he always wanted to play at a blue-blood type school.

    I’m certainly not trying to say we landed Dotson because the 2 elite home schools didn’t want him. Maybe one could say neither put in the attention needed to land him so he looked out of state but I do feel confident that the relationship Self and Norm built with him kept him from staying home or closer to home. That unofficial visit he took last season is proving to be probably the biggest advantage we took to land him. He saw everything KU and everything since then just reinforced what he knew.



  • JayHawkFanToo said:

    @BeddieKU23

    I did not check all of them but I believe they were all ranked higher than Grimes. Also, Oubre did not start until several games into the season and maybe Selden as well?

    Yeah Grimes is in that 10-20 range overall which I think is exactly where he belongs. The recent NBA comp to Gary Harris from Michigan St I believe is a very good one. We could even say Grimes compares to Selden but with a better perimeter shot.

    Yeah Oubre took a few games, I forgot. Same with Embiid. Even if Dotson doesn’t start game 1 I do think he’ll take the position as other elite level freshman have done. In my opinion I’d be very surprised if Charlie Moore beat out Dotson



  • @BeddieKU23

    Moore proved he can play Division I b-ball and that was as a freshman. With one year of practice under Coach Self and scrimmaging against Devonte and Malik will give him a huge advantage. It would not surprise me if he starts at the beginning of the season until Dotson get his feet wet and takes over.



  • @BeddieKU23 One thing about Devon is he isn’t a true NC kid. I don’t know the exact timeline for when the family moved there but he mentioned knowing Charlie Moore previously.

    Definitely I don’t think there is a clear cut best PG in this group. Nor is there really a OAD caliber but I could see some being OAD anyway, particularly Quickly. Jones, Dotson, Garland, Quickly, Quinerly, Nembhard, all should be excellent PGs in college.



  • BeddieKU23 said:

    FarmerJayhawk said:

    After this weekend, Grimes is about as locked on KU as it can get, barring something really bizarre like Newman coming back. He may not sign early, but he’ll be in crimson and blue.

    We certainly hope so. Pushing back the visit to a weekend they could focus on him and him alone could end up being the best decision.

    I like the approach the Staff has taken this cycle. It feels different. Landed De Sousa out of the blue, made Big Dave a priority in the summer and into the fall. Stayed on Dotson hard for over a year. Doing the same with Grimes. We are definitely not sweating it out this fall like years past.

    Locking in on McCormack and not chasing the athletic dragon was a great decision imo.

    So much of recruiting is identifying who the staff thinks they can land. Looks genius when it works and it all makes sense now how the staff dropped off with Carey and Ayo when Dotson did seem extremely solid w/ KU. We heard how it was “commit watch” with Dotson awhile back. Could be he just wanted to be thorough or take more visits.



  • BeddieKU23 said:

    jayballer54 said:

    @BeddieKU23 See, that is something I always thought was kind of strange to about Devon. - -NC - -or Duke neither one was in the running - EVER , for some reason whether it was them or just Devon or maybe a combination of both. It’s ok though you sure don’t hear me complaining lol. Just glad we landed him. - -Feel pretty good about Quinten wish we could get him in the early period but doesn’t look like it. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

    Roy took 2 guards early especially Colby White who played the same position. I think because they took those guys early and with Felton & Woods on the roster already playing time was going to be an issue. Plus you had the looming NCAA investigation… .

    With Duke they had Garland and Jones at the top of their list and Dotson was just a secondary option coming into the AAU season. It never seemed like Dotson wanted to be anyone’s fall back plan which was important for KU and Self having a chance with him. I think that hurt Maryland as well which lost out on local star Prentiss Hubb and then decided to recruit Dotson after (right around the time his friend Wiggins signed with them). Once Tre Jones showed he was “Duke’s guy” even Garland became less of an option (and now eliminated them) once RJ Barrett became the prime target for them after moving into 2018. I don’t think Duke knew Dotson would improve enough to be at the Elite Level that Garland was already at. I think Duke just missed on him and that is KU’s gain. Dotson liked Duke and I think he always wanted to play at a blue-blood type school.

    I’m certainly not trying to say we landed Dotson because the 2 elite home schools didn’t want him. Maybe one could say neither put in the attention needed to land him so he looked out of state but I do feel confident that the relationship Self and Norm built with him kept him from staying home or closer to home. That unofficial visit he took last season is proving to be probably the biggest advantage we took to land him. He saw everything KU and everything since then just reinforced what he knew.

    Kids wanna play. KU did a great job making Dotson “the guy”. If Duke would have prioritized him who knows, but they basically had to take Tre Jones, which took that off the table.



  • JayHawkFanToo said:

    @BeddieKU23

    Moore proved he can play Division I b-ball and that was as a freshman. With one year of practice under Coach Self and scrimmaging against Devonte and Malik will give him a huge advantage. It would not surprise me if he starts at the beginning of the season until Dotson get his feet wet and takes over.

    He did prove he could play D-1 ball as a freshman. Charlie had a typical freshman year, flashed some in big games and struggled with turnovers, shooting %, efficiency etc while playing for a middle of the pack Pac-12 team. He’ll have an advantage being in the program for a year. His first impression in Italy was okay. I see a clear talent advantage for Dotson but I do think there will be a spirited competition for the spot which from a coaching stance is probably the best thing a highly touted freshman can have coming in. Charlie will push him and I think we’ll see them on the floor at the same time regardless of who else is signed at guard.



  • BShark said:

    @BeddieKU23 One thing about Devon is he isn’t a true NC kid. I don’t know the exact timeline for when the family moved there but he mentioned knowing Charlie Moore previously.

    Definitely I don’t think there is a clear cut best PG in this group. Nor is there really a OAD caliber but I could see some being OAD anyway, particularly Quickly. Jones, Dotson, Garland, Quickly, Quinerly, Nembhard, all should be excellent PGs in college.

    Good point, he was a Chicago native until HS I believe? Probably helped him from being a Duke/UNC target growing up through the NC system.

    Agree about Quickley, don’t see him as a multi-year player. I don’t see him as the same type of PG as Fox, Wall, Rose but obviously going to Kentucky he’s part of the machine for 8 months and he’s gotta go. Wouldn’t have minded him in a KU uniform either, sounds like we definitely gave him something to consider as his recruitment winded down…

    Agree this class has excellent College potential. I kind of like to see classes where you get a ton of depth that will likely be around a while to make an impact. There is well over a dozen or so of those guards out there in 2018. Going to be important class for Colleges in general



  • BShark said:

    BeddieKU23 said:

    FarmerJayhawk said:

    After this weekend, Grimes is about as locked on KU as it can get, barring something really bizarre like Newman coming back. He may not sign early, but he’ll be in crimson and blue.

    We certainly hope so. Pushing back the visit to a weekend they could focus on him and him alone could end up being the best decision.

    I like the approach the Staff has taken this cycle. It feels different. Landed De Sousa out of the blue, made Big Dave a priority in the summer and into the fall. Stayed on Dotson hard for over a year. Doing the same with Grimes. We are definitely not sweating it out this fall like years past.

    Locking in on McCormack and not chasing the athletic dragon was a great decision imo.

    So much of recruiting is identifying who the staff thinks they can land. Looks genius when it works and it all makes sense now how the staff dropped off with Carey and Ayo when Dotson did seem extremely solid w/ KU. We heard how it was “commit watch” with Dotson awhile back. Could be he just wanted to be thorough or take more visits.

    Love the use of not chasing the Athletic dragon. Big Dave is certainly not that. Year 2 and 3 and possibly 4 will be fun to see out of him.

    Still think Carey would have been just as ideal a recruit but after Self waved the flag at Peach Jam on him for others he probably got the hint he wasn’t leaving the East Coast. I know Norm was big on him as well, going to suck seeing him in an Orange uniform playing zero defense and putting up buckets.

    I wasn’t as high on Ayo due to his shooting concerns but he definitely fit the athletic guard we usually seek. Doesn’t look like even with his connection to Charlie we pursued enough and obviously we can assume that we were just in a much better position for Dotson/Grimes that we didn’t need scare them off by going hard after others…?



  • BShark said:

    BeddieKU23 said:

    jayballer54 said:

    @BeddieKU23 See, that is something I always thought was kind of strange to about Devon. - -NC - -or Duke neither one was in the running - EVER , for some reason whether it was them or just Devon or maybe a combination of both. It’s ok though you sure don’t hear me complaining lol. Just glad we landed him. - -Feel pretty good about Quinten wish we could get him in the early period but doesn’t look like it. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

    Roy took 2 guards early especially Colby White who played the same position. I think because they took those guys early and with Felton & Woods on the roster already playing time was going to be an issue. Plus you had the looming NCAA investigation… .

    With Duke they had Garland and Jones at the top of their list and Dotson was just a secondary option coming into the AAU season. It never seemed like Dotson wanted to be anyone’s fall back plan which was important for KU and Self having a chance with him. I think that hurt Maryland as well which lost out on local star Prentiss Hubb and then decided to recruit Dotson after (right around the time his friend Wiggins signed with them). Once Tre Jones showed he was “Duke’s guy” even Garland became less of an option (and now eliminated them) once RJ Barrett became the prime target for them after moving into 2018. I don’t think Duke knew Dotson would improve enough to be at the Elite Level that Garland was already at. I think Duke just missed on him and that is KU’s gain. Dotson liked Duke and I think he always wanted to play at a blue-blood type school.

    I’m certainly not trying to say we landed Dotson because the 2 elite home schools didn’t want him. Maybe one could say neither put in the attention needed to land him so he looked out of state but I do feel confident that the relationship Self and Norm built with him kept him from staying home or closer to home. That unofficial visit he took last season is proving to be probably the biggest advantage we took to land him. He saw everything KU and everything since then just reinforced what he knew.

    Kids wanna play. KU did a great job making Dotson “the guy”. If Duke would have prioritized him who knows, but they basically had to take Tre Jones, which took that off the table.

    Funny thing is KU finished 2nd for Tyus and Okafor. Imagine if Tyus was a KU guy and his brother ended up a hawk because of that connection. Seems likely it would have happened if that sequence of events years ago played out that way



  • BeddieKU23 said:

    BShark said:

    @BeddieKU23 One thing about Devon is he isn’t a true NC kid. I don’t know the exact timeline for when the family moved there but he mentioned knowing Charlie Moore previously.

    Definitely I don’t think there is a clear cut best PG in this group. Nor is there really a OAD caliber but I could see some being OAD anyway, particularly Quickly. Jones, Dotson, Garland, Quickly, Quinerly, Nembhard, all should be excellent PGs in college.

    Good point, he was a Chicago native until HS I believe? Probably helped him from being a Duke/UNC target growing up through the NC system.

    Agree about Quickley, don’t see him as a multi-year player. I don’t see him as the same type of PG as Fox, Wall, Rose but obviously going to Kentucky he’s part of the machine for 8 months and he’s gotta go. Wouldn’t have minded him in a KU uniform either, sounds like we definitely gave him something to consider as his recruitment winded down…

    Agree this class has excellent College potential. I kind of like to see classes where you get a ton of depth that will likely be around a while to make an impact. There is well over a dozen or so of those guards out there in 2018. Going to be important class for Colleges in general

    Yeah. Some people are down on the class in terms of the NBA but that just means more of these players should be sticking around as foundation pieces.



  • BeddieKU23 said:

    Love the use of not chasing the Athletic dragon. Big Dave is certainly not that. Year 2 and 3 and possibly 4 will be fun to see out of him.

    Still think Carey would have been just as ideal a recruit but after Self waved the flag at Peach Jam on him for others he probably got the hint he wasn’t leaving the East Coast. I know Norm was big on him as well, going to suck seeing him in an Orange uniform playing zero defense and putting up buckets.

    I wasn’t as high on Ayo due to his shooting concerns but he definitely fit the athletic guard we usually seek. Doesn’t look like even with his connection to Charlie we pursued enough and obviously we can assume that we were just in a much better position for Dotson/Grimes that we didn’t need scare them off by going hard after others…?

    Maybe the staff learned from Diallo. He was super athletic but he was dead set on being OAD and didn’t have the skill/smarts to play for Self much year one. Bad combination…

    Maybe a change in philosophy. SDS is plenty athletic but I don’t think he is locked into being a OAD. Especially with the way his stock fell (was top 5).

    Fully believe KU could have got Carey if that’s the way the staff wanted to go. But the staff went hard elsewhere. I think he would have been a good fit as well. Dotson is a fantastic fit though and Grimes is a must take legacy with insane potential.

    I’d put Ayo a shade below Dotson. Should be a fantastic multiyear player.

    If certain people are to be believed including Slater, Dotson and Grimes were both pretty much worst kept secret practically committed to KU. Now Dotson actually is committed and Grimes moves up his decision timetable after visiting KU. 🤔

    BeddieKU23 said:

    Funny thing is KU finished 2nd for Tyus and Okafor. Imagine if Tyus was a KU guy and his brother ended up a hawk because of that connection. Seems likely it would have happened if that sequence of events years ago played out that way

    Seemed like, without any inside knowledge of the situation that Tyus was really pro Duke and Okafor was big on KU but ultimately we know who won out there…



  • It’s been a pleasure reading all your takes on recruiting this off season. I feel better informed this year on recruits than ever before.



  • BShark said:

    BeddieKU23 said:

    Love the use of not chasing the Athletic dragon. Big Dave is certainly not that. Year 2 and 3 and possibly 4 will be fun to see out of him.

    Still think Carey would have been just as ideal a recruit but after Self waved the flag at Peach Jam on him for others he probably got the hint he wasn’t leaving the East Coast. I know Norm was big on him as well, going to suck seeing him in an Orange uniform playing zero defense and putting up buckets.

    I wasn’t as high on Ayo due to his shooting concerns but he definitely fit the athletic guard we usually seek. Doesn’t look like even with his connection to Charlie we pursued enough and obviously we can assume that we were just in a much better position for Dotson/Grimes that we didn’t need scare them off by going hard after others…?

    Maybe the staff learned from Diallo. He was super athletic but he was dead set on being OAD and didn’t have the skill/smarts to play for Self much year one. Bad combination…

    Maybe a change in philosophy. SDS is plenty athletic but I don’t think he is locked into being a OAD. Especially with the way his stock fell (was top 5).

    Fully believe KU could have got Carey if that’s the way the staff wanted to go. But the staff went hard elsewhere. I think he would have been a good fit as well. Dotson is a fantastic fit though and Grimes is a must take legacy with insane potential.

    I’d put Ayo a shade below Dotson. Should be a fantastic multiyear player.

    If certain people are to be believed including Slater, Dotson and Grimes were both pretty much worst kept secret practically committed to KU. Now Dotson actually is committed and Grimes moves up his decision timetable after visiting KU. 🤔

    BeddieKU23 said:

    Funny thing is KU finished 2nd for Tyus and Okafor. Imagine if Tyus was a KU guy and his brother ended up a hawk because of that connection. Seems likely it would have happened if that sequence of events years ago played out that way

    Seemed like, without any inside knowledge of the situation that Tyus was really pro Duke and Okafor was big on KU but ultimately we know who won out there…

    Diallo was a case of wrong fit. I was convinced he’d be great here but the player, coach and scheme just didn’t fit and of course the NCAA screwed him out of a full season. If he ended up at Kentucky he would have been fine. Diallo does look much improved in the NBA with development and maturity. Just a case of a player that wasn’t ready to play for Bill Self- unfortunately we’ve had a slew of those bigs lately… Diallo, Cliff, Bragg.

    I do think De Sousa and McCormack will be different. I don’t see the pressure on them to be OAD’s, I think both of them want to be coached instead of babied. We’ll see but I’m excited about this pair



  • @BeddieKU23 Could It be that it was Bill Self who screwed up the handling of the bigs in question? More Diallo and Cliff are my belief. The handling of both is all on Bill Self in my opinion. Well documented here as we lived it.

    When Self has experienced security blankets, he’ll bypass guys with much greater talent and toss out all sorts of excuses. Self recruited and chose Diallo and Cliff for his program. When you say “fit”, that implicates Self.



  • Alexander was kinda coming along and also probably would have stayed for a 2nd year if he could have. I think his situation was quite different than Diallo.

    I think…or at least hope…that Self has learned from what happened with Bragg already. Based on things he and Preston have said about where he will be playing on the court. Bragg just WASN’T a low post guy. Self thought he should have been because of his size and tried to force it. Bragg wasn’t even bad last year when he got to play…



  • HighEliteMajor said:

    @BeddieKU23 Could It be that it was Bill Self who screwed up the handling of the bigs in question? More Diallo and Cliff are my belief. The handling of both is all on Bill Self in my opinion. Well documented here as we lived it.

    When Self has experienced security blankets, he’ll bypass guys with much greater talent and toss out all sorts of excuses. Self recruited and chose Diallo and Cliff for his program. When you say “fit”, that implicates Self.

    I absolutely agree. I think he definitely screwed up with both of them.

    We obviously can’t change the past and we have talked about these players a ton over the years so is there a solution that Self will take to how he approaches using De Sousa and McCormack? There is a chance both come in and are not forced to be starters. Lawson (if here) and Azubuike could be the front line next season which ideally would allow both big men to become rotation pieces and develop behind guys that already know what is expected from Self. Any thought?



  • I thought Alexander was coming on strong. He finally looked like he was figuring it out and was reported to be the best player in practice about the time he got shut down. Year two would’ve been nice, but his family screwed him out of that not Bill Self.



  • BShark said:

    If certain people are to be believed including Slater, Dotson and Grimes were both pretty much worst kept secret practically committed to KU. Now Dotson actually is committed and Grimes moves up his decision timetable after visiting KU. 🤔

    Where did you see this? I didn’t catch that story anywhere, would love to read up on this tidbit if you have a link or something. Thanks.



  • RockkChalkk said:

    BShark said:

    If certain people are to be believed including Slater, Dotson and Grimes were both pretty much worst kept secret practically committed to KU. Now Dotson actually is committed and Grimes moves up his decision timetable after visiting KU. 🤔

    Where did you see this? I didn’t catch that story anywhere, would love to read up on this tidbit if you have a link or something. Thanks.

    Article on Kansas 247 site.

    https://kansas.247sports.com/Article/Quentin-Grimes-his-family-enjoyed-their-time-at-Kansas-109004777



  • BShark said:

    RockkChalkk said:

    BShark said:

    If certain people are to be believed including Slater, Dotson and Grimes were both pretty much worst kept secret practically committed to KU. Now Dotson actually is committed and Grimes moves up his decision timetable after visiting KU. 🤔

    Where did you see this? I didn’t catch that story anywhere, would love to read up on this tidbit if you have a link or something. Thanks.

    Article on Kansas 247 site.

    https://kansas.247sports.com/Article/Quentin-Grimes-his-family-enjoyed-their-time-at-Kansas-109004777

    Bah, I don’t have access. What is his new timeline?



  • RockkChalkk said:

    BShark said:

    RockkChalkk said:

    BShark said:

    If certain people are to be believed including Slater, Dotson and Grimes were both pretty much worst kept secret practically committed to KU. Now Dotson actually is committed and Grimes moves up his decision timetable after visiting KU. 🤔

    Where did you see this? I didn’t catch that story anywhere, would love to read up on this tidbit if you have a link or something. Thanks.

    Article on Kansas 247 site.

    https://kansas.247sports.com/Article/Quentin-Grimes-his-family-enjoyed-their-time-at-Kansas-109004777

    Bah, I don’t have access. What is his new timeline?

    “We want to announce before the end of the year [2017],” said Stelly about their decision timeline. Stelly is his mother


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