KU PG Dotson the first Jayhawk to land on 2018-19 national watchlists

By Matt Tait     Oct 16, 2018

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Red Team guard Devon Dotson dips under Blue Team forward Silvio De Sousa for a bucket during a scrimmage on Wednesday, June 13, 2018, at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center.

He has yet to play an actual minute for the Kansas basketball program and no one knows whether he’ll even start or just how significant his role will be.

But the outlook inside the Kansas basketball offices is that freshman point guard has a chance to be a heck of a player. And on Monday, at least one national watch list took notice.

Kansas freshman Devon Dotson on Monday became one of 20 collegiate players named to the preseason watch list for the 2019 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced.

Named after Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic and Holy Cross guard Bob Cousy, the annual honor, now in its 16th year, recognizes the top point guard in NCAA Division I men’s basketball. A national committee comprised of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates and Dotson is vying to become the second Jayhawk in the last three seasons to win the award. Frank Mason III was KU’s first-ever Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award winner in 2017.

One of five McDonald’s All-Americans on the KU’s 2018-19 roster, Dotson is an explosive combo guard who picked up numerous postseason honors and played in multiple all-star games following the 2017-18 season.

The Charlotte, North Carolina, native ended ranked No. 20 by Rivals.com, No. 21 by 247Sports.com and No. 24 by ESPN100. A three-time all-state selection at Providence Day School, Dotson averaged 28.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists his senior year.

Although he has only seen him operate in a handful of practices and a few scrimmages since joining the Jayhawks, Kansas coach Bill Self already believes big things are in store for Dotson, [whom Self recently said had a chance to be “a great one.”][1]

By mid-February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2019 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award will be narrowed to 10. In March, five finalists will be presented to Mr. Cousy and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. The winner of the 2019 Bob Cousy Award will be presented at the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show in Los Angeles on April 12, 2019.

Bob Cousy played for Holy Cross from 1946-50 winning an NCAA Championship in 1947. He was named a Consensus First-Team All-American in 1950. His success continued at the professional level as a six-time NBA Champion (1957, 1959-63), NBA Most Valuable Player (1957) and 13-time NBA All-Star (1951-63). In 1996, he was named a member of the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team.

Previous winners of the Bob Cousy Award include: Jalen Brunson, Villanova (2018), FRANK MASON III, KANSAS (2017), Tyler Ulis, Kentucky (2016), Delon Wright, Utah (2015), Shabazz Napier, Connecticut (2014), Trey Burke, Michigan (2013), Kendall Marshall, North Carolina (2012), Kemba Walker, Connecticut (2011), Greivis Vasquez, Maryland (2010), Ty Lawson, North Carolina (2009), DJ Augustin, Texas (2008), Acie Law, Texas A&M (2007), Dee Brown, Illinois (2006), Raymond Felton, North Carolina (2005) and Jameer Nelson, St. Joseph’s (2004).

For more information on the 2019 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award, log onto www.hoophallawards.com.

2019 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award Candidates
—————————

Jared Harper, Auburn

Ky Bowman, Boston College

Tre Jones, Duke

Josh Perkins, Gonzaga

**Devon Dotson, Kansas**

Tremont Waters, LSU

Markus Howard, Marquette

Jon Elmore, Marshall

Cassius Winston, Michigan State

Cody Martin, Nevada

Ahmad Carver, Old Dominion

Payton Pritchard, Oregon

Carsen Edwards, Purdue

Shamorie Ponds, St. John’s

Alex Robinson, TCU

Jordan Bone, Tennessee

Jaylen Hands, UCLA

Jahvon Quinerly, Villanova

Ty Jerome, Virginia

Justin Robinson, Virginia Tech

*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2018-19 season*

[1]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2018/oct/09/rookie-point-guard-devon-dotson-starting-ahead-hug/

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.