Devon Dotson would, ‘for sure,’ return to be part of Rock Chalk Roundball Classic again

LAWRENCE — Back at the end of May, Brian Hanni talked about how excited he gets when former Kansas basketball players participate in the Rock Chalk Roundball Classic for the first time.

Pointing ahead to this year’s edition, held Thursday at Lawrence Free State High School, Hanni mentioned Malik Newman and Dedric Lawson. Hanni, who organized the charity event, highlighted Greg Ostertag and Devon Dotson. And after it concluded, as numerous players interacted with fans on the court, Dotson revealed he does think he’d do it all again in the future.

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“Oh yeah, for sure,” said Dotson, who highlighted as well how the charity aims to help families dealing with pediatric cancer or other challenging illnesses. “I think it’s a great cause. I like what it’s all about. So, yeah, for sure.”

Dotson may have thought the exhibition game that took place was going to be more competitive than it ended up being, but he still enjoyed himself. Dotson played for Team Crimson, led by head coach Wayne Simien, against Team Blue, led by head coach Brett Ballard. Ostertag and Newman were among Dotson’s teammates, while Lawson lined up on the other side.

Despite the more laid-back atmosphere overall, early on the environment seemed to be more competitive and Dotson thrived within it. Dotson hit a trio of 3s in quick succession early in the first half and yelled, “Let’s go,” toward the sideline. By the time the second half started to come to a close, he noticed that competitiveness re-emerge again with the score as tight as it was down the stretch.

“When I saw there was, like, four minutes left, I felt like it was like a game,” said Dotson, who described fellow-participants Wayne Selden Jr. and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk as NBA-caliber talents. “I wanted to keep hooping.”

This summer, Dotson plans on being a part of the NBA’s summer league. He said he and his agent are working on exactly what his future will look like. He does not anticipate returning to the Chicago Bulls’ organization.

Wherever Dotson goes, could lead to him reuniting with former Kansas teammates of his who just led the Jayhawks to the program's most recent national title. The NBA draft is coming up later this month, and could see both Christian Braun and Ochai Agbaji taken in the first round. Dotson was in New Orleans earlier this year when Braun and Agbaji helped lead Kansas to that championship game victory, one that included a significant comeback in the second half, against North Carolina.

“It’s good coming back, seeing all the fans, seeing everybody, the familiar faces with the coaching staff,” said Dotson, who spent two seasons with the Jayhawks from 2018-20. “It was great.”

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Devon Dotson would ‘for sure’ do Rock Chalk Roundball Classic again