(Editor’s Note: Check out our exclusive interview with Josiah Dotzler on our premium Bluejay Beat podcast series)
Creighton has gained its first commitment for the upcoming 2023 recruiting class. Bellevue West soon-to-be senior point guard Josiah Dotzler announced on Monday that he has accepted a scholarship offer from Bluejay head coach Greg McDermott, and is set to stick around his home state for the next phase of his basketball career.
Bluejay fans will recognize the name, as Josiah is the younger brother of former Creighton player Josh Dotzler, a four-year starter at point guard for the Jays from 2005-2009. He helped Creighton get to the NCAA Tournament in 2007 and finished his career with 388 assists. His 196 steals still rank second all-time in program history behind only Ryan Sears, and you can read more about his career in this feature from way back in 2010. Josiah grew up around the program, first watching his brother play for Dana Altman and later working as a ball boy at CU home games during middle school.
At 6-foot-3, Josiah has a couple inches on what his older brother was listed at in his playing days, and while he isn’t yet the playmaking wizard that Josh was at the same age (few are), he is more advanced as a shooter and a scorer. As a freshman in 2020, he scored half of Bellevue West’s points — including hitting not one, but two 3-pointers — in a 16-0 run over the final 3:58 to help the T-Birds overcome a 14-point deficit to beat Millard North for the Class A state title. He helped his team to runner-up finishes against the Mustangs in 2021 and in his first season as the starting point guard in 2022. As a junior, he averaged 15.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists per game and finished with more steals (68) than turnovers (64). He shot 57% from 2-point range and 38% (on 133 attempts) from beyond the arc. Dotzler was the only non-senior to be selected to the 2021-22 Lincoln Journal Star Super-State First Team and the 2022 Omaha World-Herald All-Nebraska Boys First Team.
Hail Varsity writer/podcaster and Nebraska high school hoops expert Jacob Padilla has seen Dotzler in action quite a bit and had this to say about the newest Jay:
“He has good size for a point guard. He’s great in transition and really pushes the ball with the dribble and the pass ahead. He changes pace and speeds really well and is at his best getting to the rim. He’s a capable shooter and a good passer. Occasionally he’ll get a little bit of tunnel vision and try to do too much, but when he settles in, he’s a very good point guard. He’s willing to get up and pressure the ball defensively, he has good hands. He’s a really crafty finisher around the basket as well. He’s developed his off hand and can finish with both his left and right even though he’s a left-handed player.”
Dotzler had formal offers from Liberty, Drake, Indiana State, and Nebraska-Omaha, but he reportedly impressed with his performance recently at Creighton’s team camp. That earned him an offer from the coaching staff and he is now verbally committed to Jays.