Kansas coach Bill Self told the Journal-World on Tuesday afternoon that sophomore point guard Devon Dotson was back practicing and good to go after rolling his ankle last week.
Dotson, who missed KU’s exhibition opener against Fort Hays State, is likely to play Thursday in the exhibition finale against Pittsburg State at Allen Fieldhouse.
“Unless something happens (Wednesday), he’s in,” Self said later on “Hawk Talk.” “He practiced full speed on Saturday and Sunday and Monday. He just tweaked it. It was no big deal. He’s fine. He’ll be ready to go.”
With Dotson out of the lineup last week, junior guard Marcus Garrett, whom Self described as a “jack of all trades” handled point guard duties, with freshman Christian Braun and sophomore Ochai Agbaji serving as secondary ball handlers for the Jayhawks.
Garrett recorded five assists without a turnover while also scoring 15 points in the victory.
“I just tried not to turnover the ball,” Garrett said after the game. “That was my biggest point.”
Senior graduate transfer Isaiah Moss has not been as fortunate as Dotson.
After dealing with a tweaked hamstring for most of the past couple of months, Moss also missed last week’s win over Fort Hays State.
Self said Tuesday that Moss still has not returned to practice since last week.
“I would say not great,” Self said on “Hawk Talk” when asked how Moss’ hamstring was doing. “But I wouldn’t say defeated either. … I can see how uncomfortable it can be for somebody that has a nagging (hamstring injury) and certainly he does.”
Self then went on to explain how Moss injured the hamstring both in the first place and again more recently.
“He was really progressing at a really good rate,” Self said. “You know, I get on guys for not diving for a loose ball and he pulled his hamstring twice by diving for a loose ball. If I had just kept my mouth shut then we might not be dealing with that right now.”
Expected to be one of KU’s top 3-point threats this season, the former Iowa guard had positioned himself for what Self said would be “starters minutes” in the KU rotation when healthy.
Without Moss and Dotson on the floor — two players that Self said last week likely would be in KU’s top three 3-point shooters — the Jayhawks made 11 of 33 3-point attempts against Fort Hays State, with Garrett (4), Agbaji (3) and Braun (2) combining to hit nine.
KU and Pitt State will tip off at 7 p.m. on Thursday and the Jayhawks then will turn their attention to the Nov. 5 season opener against Duke at the Champions Classic in New York City.
