At simply 27 years outdated, former Western Carolina ahead and present Los Angeles Clippers participant improvement coach Carlos Dotson is likely one of the NBA youngest assistants.
Stemming from a taking part in profession that spans nearly each stage of the NCAA’s School Basketball pyramid, he’s now paving the best way for youthful coaches in all places.
“Being with the Clippers has been an excellent expertise and the most effective of my life,” Dotson mentioned. “Being round this nice workers, studying from Tyronn Lue, even the entrance workplace guys, I attempt to study a lot from them. It’s enormous for my profession, I’m 27-years-old, and I’m with a number of the greatest [coaches].”
Nonetheless, there have been occasions when it appeared as if Dotson’s basketball journey shouldn’t have even began.
An underrecruited prospect out of highschool, he battled accidents as a freshman at Division II Anderson and solely made 4 appearances throughout the 2015-16 season.
“It was powerful as a result of in my first school observe, I broke my ankle,” Dotson mentioned. “It was arduous mentally, and I labored on daily basis to get again to my plan, again into taking part in form, and simply to attempt to be able to play school basketball.”
Returning the next season, Dotson emerged for the Trojans and averaged simply shy of a double-double with 10.9 PPG and eight.1 RPG, which earned him a possibility with one of many nation’s high JUCO packages.
Transferring to the School of Central Florida, the physicality of the JUCO stage helped to mould Dotson and confirmed him the grind it takes to achieve success in school basketball.
“You’ve obtained to be powerful as a result of JUCO is completely different,” Dotson mentioned. “You don’t have the luxurious of getting a cafeteria all day or good amenities. You’ve obtained to be a canine to go JUCO as a result of when you’re not, you’re going to fall out.”
Flourishing as soon as once more regardless of all of the challenges, Dotson averaged 13.3 PPG and seven.8 RPG in his lone season on the School of Central Florida earlier than trying to find a protracted awaited Division I alternative.
When Western Carolina introduced the hiring of Mark Prosser, it appeared all of the items had aligned for Dotson.
“Once I was in eleventh grade, I ended up connecting with Coach Prosser, and we simply stayed in contact,” mentioned Dotson. “Throughout my JUCO yr once I was on the brink of decide the [DI] faculties I wished to go to, I knew I used to be going to go to [two programs] and decide between them. Then Coach Prosser known as me earlier than he even went to his [introductory] press convention, and so I routinely moved all the opposite faculties to the again.”
There’s no person within the nation Dotson wished to play below and study from greater than Prosser, and he joined the Catamounts in 2018.
Instantly changing into a starter, Dotson led Western Carolina in scoring and rebounding throughout his first season with 13.9 PPG and 9.5 RPG as this system appeared to rebuild.
Whereas the Catamounts completed with simply seven wins, they introduced in further expertise to pair alongside Dotson in 2019-20, which allowed Western Carolina to safe its greatest document since 2010 at 19-12.
As soon as once more proving a necessary contributor, Dotson mentioned being part of this program and serving to to steer such a profitable season is likely one of the greatest accomplishments of his taking part in profession.
“The followers there at Western Carolina deserved it,” he mentioned. “I bleed purple, so it meant loads to me … Earlier than I went to Western, I knew it was going to be a check that first yr, however I used to be okay with it as a result of I wished to assist Coach Prosser out. Senior yr got here, and I bear in mind going into the summer time considering we have been going to be fairly good. It taught me loads, and I obtained higher as a basketball participant as a result of I turned a pacesetter.”
As his collegiate profession got here to an in depth nevertheless, the COVID-19 pandemic struck and induced havoc all through the sports activities world, leaving Dotson uncertain of his future in basketball.
Nonetheless, he as soon as once more persevered and commenced a brief skilled stint that noticed stops in France, Uruguay and Portugal between 2020-2021.
Whereas his time overseas was completely different than most, taking part in within the midst of a pandemic, Dotson’s three seasons have been nonetheless an unforgettable and distinctive expertise alongside his basketball journey.
“My taking part in profession was brief, however I wished it to be brief as a result of I knew I wished to teach,” Dotson mentioned. “I wished to journey and felt like I deserved it with how a lot I’d put into the sport. My expertise was loads completely different as a result of [it was during] COVID, however being over there taught me loads. I’m glad I did get the expertise.”
However simply as he had deliberate, Dotson was shortly thrust into the teaching world with a graduate supervisor place at Clemson below head coach Brad Brownell.
Dotson grew up in South Carolina and attended Dorman Excessive College, which is simply 70 miles from Clemson. It was the right first foray into teaching for him.
“I used to be taking part in in Uruguay, and it was attending to the purpose once I was actually prepared to begin teaching,” he mentioned. “Brownell is shut with my highschool coach so I known as him and informed him I wished to be on workers. He mentioned that they had a grad assistant spot opening up. I left Uruguay and flew straight to Clemson to go to an interview. That was my first job interview ever. Brownell taught me loads on and off the court docket. We’re actually shut.”
One season at Clemson below Brownell noticed Dotson’s preliminary improvement as a coach, but it surely was the connections made early in his profession that finally obtained him his first full-time alternative.
Whereas Dotson mentioned he had by no means deliberate to work within the NBA, when the Charlotte Hornets got here calling, he knew it was the suitable determination.
“It’s so loopy as a result of the [former] head video coordinator there had seen me play once I was in school,” Dotson mentioned. “Once I related with him, he talked about that they had a job opening up within the video room. I by no means thought of working within the NBA. Rising up, being a basketball participant, I’d thought of taking part in within the NBA however I went for an interview and thought it was fairly cool. They ended up providing me the spot proper after the interview. It was a no brainer that I needed to take it.”
In August 2022, Dotson was employed as a basketball operations assistant and shortly labored his means up the chain to grow to be Charlotte’s assistant video coordinator by 2023.
Simply 25-years-old on the time, he was not solely the youngest workers member of the Charlotte Hornets however was one of many youngest workers members throughout the complete league.
A full yr later, Dotson was employed by the Clippers as a participant improvement coach. He has performed an influential position in serving to to develop a younger roster whereas attending to work alongside NBA superstars like James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook.
Whereas the work isn’t performed but as Dotson continues to pave the best way for youthful teaching on the skilled stage, it’s been a protracted journey from JUCO and Division II to the NBA.
Trying again on that journey, Dotson couldn’t assist however replicate on his time on the mid-major stage and his love for the Western Carolina program.
“I’ll always remember that sport in opposition to Furman the place I had zero at halftime and completed with 27 [points] and 14 boards,” Dotson mentioned. “However at residence, once I scored 1,000 [career] factors, that they had all people making posters and held a contest. It was all the things.”