2023 PG Josiah Dotzler, Bellevue West (Commit)

[SonofFrankTomera]

JD had 24 against Prep tonight. He is the best PG prospect from the Metro I have seen n quite awhile. I would include Chucky Hepburn in that group as well, and I think Chucky will be All BIG before he graduates.

[JaysLifer]

Dotzler was so smooth last night. That 24 seemed pretty effortless, and the scoring wasn't really the highlight of his game. He was finding teammates in traffic for some pretty impressive assists and he played really good defense. He was easily the best player on the court. Last night was the only game I've seen him play, but if it's any indication of the rest of his body of work, he's the best local PG prospect in recent memory. I remember being impressed when I watched Josh play in high school; Josiah was better last night.

[Wizard of Westroads]

I've gotta think we'll offer him. Good enough to play here, brother played here, plus the Abide connection.

[AttyAlum]

I've gotta think we'll offer him. Good enough to play here, brother played here, plus the Abide connection.

If he’s good enough, I hope we offer him, but the other two things you mention shouldn’t be part of the consideration.

[LJay]

Under the present scholarship matrix we don’t have many (any?) 2023 openings and we are in on a lot of kids. In the new normal that is pseudo free agency in college sports I think coaches need to recruit (over recruit) even with no obvious openings in the roster.

[Ethanfor3]

It's interesting that if you look the major services, there appears to be almost no-one offering or chasing him right now. Maybe he's the kind of guy that will get notoriety when the summer circuit gets going.

Also, as to the apparent lack of scholarships for 2023...in today's world 2023 is a lifetime away. We could have guys go pro after next year, we could have guys leave for greener pastures, etc. I don't envy the uncertainty that coaching staffs are dealing with today.

[JacobPadilla]

Josiah has offers from Liberty and Drake and significant interest from Colorado State among others.

I'm a big fan of Josiah and I've been watching him play since he was in like fourth grade, but we probably need to slow down just a bit. I think he's the best player in his class, but there are reasons he doesn't have any high-major offers even though both local teams have been following him.

He's planning to play for MOKAN Elite this spring and summer so we'll have to see what comes from that in terms of his recruitment.

Chucky Hepburn was the guy for Bellevue West from day one. Nebraska offered after his freshman year and Creighton among others followed after his sophomore year. The age difference between Chucky and Josiah isn't as much as you'd think based on their classes either. Josiah is a very talented play with a bright future, but don't be so quick to forget about what Chucky accomplished and the player he was during his four years at Bellevue West.

[LJay]

[gtmoBlue]

Not being in the local area, not being privy to the local sports scene, and not being privy to information the
locals may take for granted... Please explain the shortcomings in Josiah's game, if any.

I take it there is/was overlap during the Chucky Hepburn tenure at BW HS? So factor out all of the Chucky
Hepburn stats and give us the straight skinny. Bellevue West doesn't win (1, 2, or 3 State Championships) without
Hepburn? Okay. A theoretical 24 - 60 without Hepburn? A .500 team without Hepburn? Still a State contender without
Hepburn?

Then give us the rundown on a Hepburnless Bellevue West and Dotzler's role on the team. We are assessing
Dotzler aren't we?

[Jayfan3535]

Josiah is a very good player. He is not a natural point guard and does not see the floor the way chucky or his brother Josh did. He is more of a scorer/slasher. Decent shooter but not consistent enough to be considered a knockdown shooter yet. He plays extremely hard all the time which tends to him getting sped up (which is something chucky or Josh almost never let happen). MVC Creighton he is flat out sure offer….big east Jays he is probably not at that level unless the point guard skills improve dramatically.

To compare to Chucky is not fair because Chucky was a generational type of talent to grace the Nebraska high school basketball scene.