Injured Devon Dotson ‘looked really good’ in workout on Wednesday, KU’s Self says
Kansas sophomore point guard Devon Dotson, who missed Tuesday 66-52 victory at Oklahoma because of a left hip pointer, remains questionable for the Jayhawks’ second road game of the week — Saturday’s 1 p.m. contest at Texas.
“I really don’t know,” KU coach Bill Self said Wednesday on his Hawk Talk radio show when asked, “what’s Dot’s status going forward … heading into the Austin game?” by host Brian Hanni.
“He was in the gym today. He was doing a workout on his own and he looked really good. He moved well and everything, but he didn’t get it hit,” Self added of the hip the 6-foot-2 Charlotte, North Carolina native bruised in last Saturday’s home loss to Baylor.
“That’s one of the signs probably on where he will feel physically. Getting hit will set you back temporarily, at least until that initial pain will go away. It will be his call when he comes back,” Self added. “Certainly we would rather have him back sooner rather than later because obviously he’s such an important part of our team. Winning on the road … we obviously dodged a bullet last night. Winning on the road is premium when you are full speed.”
KU junior combo guard Marcus Garrett scored 15 points with five assists, five rebounds and just one turnover while playing 38 minutes at the point vs. Oklahoma.
“I think the perfect world is, it’s very obvious we need Dot,’’ Self said. “But there are things we can do different with Dot in the game now.
“We may be putting the ball in Dot’s hands too much. Let’s get it in Marcus’ hands. Let’s let Dot play off the ball and be the shooter (sometimes). When Dot brings it up every time, we don’t have someone near as effective as Dot who can receive the ball in transition on a pitch ahead that can put pressure on people.”
Self revealed on Tuesday’s Hawk Talk show that another sophomore, Ochai Agbaji, played at less than 100% versus the Sooners.
“I thought Ochai toughed it out. Ochai had a strained back but didn’t even blink. He wasn’t 100% but didn’t blink,” Self said.
Agbaji scored seven points with five rebounds and three assists.
“All Ochai does last night in a game where Dot is not available … he didn’t play great. He had a couple of turnovers early (credited with one). He made the one shot (on night he was 3 of 11; 1 of 4 from three). He didn’t score great. All he did … his man didn’t score (Austin Reaves was 1 of 9 shooting for four points; Brady Manek 4 of 16 for 10 points and Kristian Doolittle 5 of 18 for 13 points),” Self said.
“He plays 36 minutes and he’s hurt doing it. I told him after the game, ‘Gosh I’m proud of you. Numbers wise you didn’t do a lot but you gave us a chance to win by what you gave us.’’’
Self was asked by a radio show listener if senior center Udoka Azubuike (16 points, 14 boards) was OK after hitting his hand on the backboard after blocking a first-half shot. Azubuike could be seen shaking his hand at various junctures.
“I didn’t even ask him (if he was hurt). I don’t even think anybody (on coaching staff) asked him how he was doing. We’d be scared he’d say something,” Self said with a laugh.
“We just leave him alone. He made a couple free throws after that.”
Azubuike, who was 2 of 2 from the line Tuesday, is 11 of 17 from the line in four league games. Overall, he’s made 25 of 61 free throws for 41 percent.
“He has come a long ways,” Self said. Remember, two years ago, OU coach Lon Kruger had his players purposely foul Azubuike, who missed seven of eight free throws late in an 85-80 loss to OU in Norman.
“I think they’d have gone to it last night too,” Self added of the Hack-A-Doke strategy. “I think Lon would have done it if the game was a little bit closer late. If we had been in the bonus with five minutes left, I imagine they would have tried it. By the time we were in the bonus, the lead was 11, 12, 13. I bet Lon thought, ‘We’ll wait and use this another time if we are going to use it.’ It wouldn’t have bothered me if they had done that last night because I think his confidence level is a little different than what it was a couple years ago. He has put in the time in a lot of areas. Shooting free throws is all about putting in time. Getting his body where it is takes a lot more effort than shooting stationary free throws. We should be proud of him and how hard he’s worked.”
This story was originally published January 15, 2020 at 8:31 PM.
