Was Dok's Senior Speech the Greatest Ever?
An investigation that requires a good memory (gulp)
Courtesy of LJ World
Dok’s senior speech was an instant classic. In recent years, I have never known what to expect from these speeches, especially given the personnel turnstile of the transfer portal era. I also believe that Devon Dotson—who is almost certainly turning pro after a NPOY worthy season—should get the opportunity to speak, as well as other players who have to make the tough decision of leaving the program before their eligibility is up. But they don’t get that chance. So, it’s a toss-up.
Whereas senior speeches from the Williams era were slightly more of a production—I remember a little more pageantry, and a little bit of a production as opposed to a simple mic hand-off—Self seems to let guys take as much time as they want, even if all they want is about 2-3 minutes. In the TikTok era, that amount of time can totally suffice for a college student and I won’t hold that changing standard against them. It’s about the emotion, not the COMS 130 grade.
Dok has not been the most vocal player throughout his time at KU—for the majority of his career, he’s been a teenager in a locker room that skewed older and louder. So his speech, after a career-high 31 point performance, hurdled every possible expectation. No matter what room you were sitting in, it got a little dusty in there, didn’t it?
Going back through the historic senior speeches at KU is a little bit of a tricky exercise. If you grew up with KU, it’s downright probable that you remember some of these speeches as mile markers in your life. I was texting with Rustin a little bit about this—because his memory of details is much sharper than mine—and he couldn’t really recall what exactly the ‘90s ceremonies were like, either. There’s a few clips on YouTube —Raef, above, giving the most Iowan speech of all time—but nothing cohesive. The archive is missing speeches that stand out in my memory/imagination, like Jacque and Keith. But maybe having these speeches live in the memory alone is the best spot for them.
This Nooner speech is good, throughout. “Fan favorite walk-on” is an undefeated spot to be in as a speaker. But I don’t remember him calling Roy Williams’ style blend as “suburban-type basketball”, which is just perfect.
Happy March, everyone. My heart is in my stomach.