By now, you’ve all read a dozen different places, and probably at least that many times, about how talented KU’s incoming recruiting class really is.
From five-star guards Quentin Grimes and Devon Dotson to beast big man David McCormack and under-the-radar potential steal Ochai Agbaji, Bill Self and company put together a deep and complete group that will go a long way toward softening the blow of having to replace three starters and all kinds of production from the 2017-18 Final Four team in KU’s quest to push its Big 12 title streak to 15 and get back into the national title picture in 2018-19.
But just what does that all mean?
Well, that remains to be seen and won’t truly show up until game nights next season, when Grimes, Dotson, McCormack and Agbaji, along with the returning Jayhawks, are out there doing their thing and showing what they can do.
And while we got a brief glimpse this summer into how these guys look in crimson and blue, there are a handful of people out there who have seen them play much more often than those of us who cover the team or follow the Jayhawks in Lawrence or elsewhere.
One such person is Paul Biancardi, a former college coach and current National Director of Recruiting for the ESPN 100 rankings.
Over the next three days, we’ll bring you Biancardi’s thoughts from years of scouting each of KU’s Top 40 freshmen at AAU events and all-star games — No. 8 Quentin Grimes, No. 20 Devon Dotson and No. 35 David McCormack.
**First up: PG Devon Dotson.**
This spring, when the prep all-star scene was moving fast and furious, Biancardi listed Dotson as one of the four of five best dime droppers in the 2018 recruiting class. But, as it turns out, Biancardi believes Dotson actually belongs on a few lists.
“There’s three things I think Dotson does real well,” Biancardi told the Journal-World. “He can drop a dime, he can drive it and he defends.”
If that doesn’t sound like a player who was meant to team up with Bill Self, I don’t know what does. And Biancardi believes that Self will love just about everything about Dotson, which, if the freshman from Charlotte winds up functioning as the Jayhawks’ primary point guard, will be huge for the 2018-19 team’s chances of contending for a national title.
“It’s everything for every program,” Biancardi said of having a point guard a coach can trust. “The point guard is the leader of the team whether he likes to be or not. And he’s the communicator of the team. He gives the team what it needs and he does what the coach wants. That’s a tough role.”
Time has proven that it’s tougher for a Self pupil than just about anybody because the Kansas coach demands so much from his point guards and yet, at the same time, puts so much trust in them to run the show on instincts and effort rather than always looking to the bench for someone to show him the way.
If Dotson, who turned 19 today, shows early that he can do that, it will become extremely difficult to keep the hard-charging, ultra-confident and extremely competitive point guard off the floor.
“That’s the biggest position on the court in terms of the learning curve,” Biancardi said. “But I’m close to him here. We’re both in Charlotte so I know him fairly well. He played for an outstanding coach at Providence Day and I think that has a lot to do with his growth. He’s very well coached, not just in the game but also in communication and leadership.”
[• Freshman Focus: Kansas SG Quentin Grimes][1]
[• Freshman Focus: Kansas PF David McCormack][2]
[1]: http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/tale-tait/2018/aug/3/freshman-focus-kansas-sg-quentin-grimes/
[2]: http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/tale-tait/2018/aug/6/freshman-focus-kansas-pf-david-mccormack/
