One of the main foundations of the dribble-drive motion offense is to have effective shooters, thus opening the lanes for the drive. While the current Memphis roster has struggled over the last few years from deep (especially this season at 32.9% from three on the season), the Tigers’ staff have gone out and inked some top-notch guys with range. One of those guys being Darnell Dodson. MemphisRoar had a chance to catch up with Darnell and he had some big things to say about his hopes for his freshman season.
To back up a little bit, Memphis assistant coach Orlando Antigua was the main man behind Darnell’s recruitment. “He (Darnell) chose Memphis first off because of his relationship with Orlando Antigua,” Miami Dade coach Matt Eisele said. Antigua was an assistant under Jamie Dixon at Pitt when Dodson, originally from Greenbelt (MD) Eleanor Roosevelt, initially committed to the Panthers in 2006 and enrolled the following summer. He was later informed by the NCAA Clearinghouse that he had not qualified academically. He left Pitt and enrolled at Miami Dade, hoping to return to Pitt in 2009.
Dodson was prohibited from returning to any Big East school because of a rule that states a non-qualifier out of high school who enrolls at a conference school cannot re-enroll at the original school or any other school in the conference after attending a two-year institution. On his unexpected detour, Dodson said, “Everything happens for a reason so it was just meant to be for me to end up Memphis. I am glad about the decision that I made.”
Eisele said Dodson is extremely underrated and can have a huge impact at Memphis. “Their system of play really fits Darnell. He can play almost anywhere on the court,” added Eisele. “I don’t think there’s more than two or three people in the country who know how good he is,” Eisele said. “He was underrated coming out of high school. He was a Top 150 play in most publications but he’s a lot better than that. He’s now a legit 6-8. He has trimmed down his body fat. He really shoots the ball. He can post up smaller guards and wings. Basically, he can score from anywhere on the court. He can score with anyone in that entire class.”
From Dodson’s point of view, he seemed unsure as to why he has been so underrated his entire basketball career.
“It just kinda happened that way,” explained Dodson. “But it kept me motivated. I just kept getting better and didn’t even get noticed until after my senior year.”
Continuing his career with the underdog mentality, Dodson said his main drive is to continue improving. “I really just focused on trying to get better this season and get to a really high level of play so that I can do well when I get to Memphis. Coach (Eisele) really helped me with my development as a player.”
Known as a shooter, Dodson put on a shooting clinic while on his visit to Memphis is October last year. With reports coming from the Finch Center of Dodson “putting on a show” and “tearing up some of our current players”, it is hard to not get excited while thinking about the possibilities for next season. One of the challenges these guys will face, though, is learning to play defense the way that John Calipari expects. Currently rated as the #1 defense in the country, this current Memphis team puts a lot of defensive expectations on the youngsters coming in next year.
“I would probably say I need to work on my defense the most. Being quicker and being stronger,” Dodson said. “I think it will help a lot next year if I continue to improve my defense and catch on with so that I can fit in with the team next year.”
When speaking to an opposing junior college coach in the state of Florida, Dodson was described as a “really skilled player who likes to mix it up.” He also said, “Dodson has some junkyard dog to him. He’s not afraid to get into it, to do the dirty work. I like him a lot. He’s one of the best we’ve faced.” ‘Junkyard dog’ is a term generally used to describe a player who, much like a real junkyard dog, does whatever it takes to get the job done. Floor burns, scrappy play, getting down and dirty and sometimes mixing it up with the poor-fella that accidentally wandered into its neck of the woods, the junkyard dog is the guy that brings the intangibles.
In describing his own game, Dodson said, “I just try to do what I can to help my team win. I shoot the ball really well and get to the basket. I want to bring energy, size, rebounding. Someone to just come in and mix it up.”
Not really certain of when he’ll be on campus, Dodson said he thinks it will be sometime in the summer. Dodson said that he is going to be watching every game of the tournament along-side Memphis fans. Having a similar opinion as most fans, Dodson believes this team is going to go far. In addition, he said some words for Memphis fans on what to expect next season.
DODSON’S WORDS TO MEMPHIS FANS
“I’m looking forward to getting into the program. I think we are gonna be pretty good next year. I just want to win a national championship and do whatever it takes to get that done. I’m really excited to go to school and can’t wait to get up there and help the team. I really want to make next season enjoyable.”
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