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ATLANTA -- As time ran down in regulation during Sunday night’s epic Elite 8 matchup between Kansas and Duke, next year’s college basketball stars were stalling as long as they could before stepping onto the court for Sunday night’s practice at the McDonald’s All-American Game.
“We caught the second half until like two minutes left and then they called us out to practice,” five-star Kansas guard commit Devon Dotson said. “… [Five-star Kansas commit] Quentin Grimes and I were kind of the last ones out trying to peek over at the game, but they had it on the screen by the court so we were trying to peek and watch the game.”
Once the Jayhawks secured the win and the players were informed of the results, the focus shifted to the Final Four matchup between Kansas and Villanova. With commits of both schools participating in the McDonald’s Game as part of the West Team’s roster, there figures to be plenty of discussion heading into this weekend’s matchup.
“We haven’t done a lot of talking yet, but it’s coming,” five-star Villanova point guard commit Jahvon Quinerly said. “They just pulled it out yesterday, so we haven’t had much time to talk about it yet. Villanova had a convincing win, so we didn’t have to sweat it.”
The subtle jab from Quinerly is just one of many that Grimes expects to increase as the week goes along.
“We haven’t done a lot of talking yet but I’m pretty sure as soon as the game starts, we’re going to be getting into it a little bit,” Grimes said.
In the meantime, Quinerly and Dotson are roommates for the week, and while the two have an eye toward Saturday’s matchup between their future programs, they also have another Kansas-Villanova matchup on their minds.
“We just both thrilled to have our future squads in the Final Four,” Quinerly said. “Villanova and Kansas play each other next year in the regular season and that will be our time. We’re just excited and ready for college, really. We just can’t wait to get to college.”
But before they step onto the court at the college level, Quinerly said he and Dotson are relished the chance to work together this week and continue to improve each other’s game.
“We’re bringing the best out of one another,” Quinerly said. “Even though we’re roommates, we’re still going at each other at practice and we’re not letting up at all. We’re not letting our friendship affect our play and that’s what we’re supposed to do.”
As far as predictions for the Final Four, predictably Grimes, Dotson and Quinerly all expect their respective squad to come away with the victory.
“I know it’s going to be a good game,” Dotson said. “They’re good on their end but I think Kansas will pull it out.”
Quinerly provided a more confident prediction, saying that the Wildcats track record in the tournament has them poised for another trip to the championship game.
“Honestly, I never got nervous during the tournament,” he said. “In all three of my brackets I have Villanova winning and I feel like they’re looking like they’re tough to beat right now. They’re playing great basketball. Someone new is stepping up every game. That team is too seasoned. It’s going to be a good one.”
