3 Darnell Dodson

Darnell Dodson was born September 1, 1989, in Washington, D.C., to David and Hattie Dodson. Raised in Greenbelt, Maryland, he attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School, where he became the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,262 career points. As a senior, the 6-foot-7 forward averaged 29.1 points, 11 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game after producing 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists per contest as a junior. He helped lead Eleanor Roosevelt to consecutive Maryland Class 4A state semifinal appearances and initially signed with Pittsburgh but never played for the Panthers.

Dodson instead began his college career at Miami Dade College during the 2008–09 season. He averaged 15.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, shot 76.7 percent from the free-throw line and earned first-team All-Southern Conference honors. The Sharks finished the regular season 26–2 and captured the Southern Conference championship. Dodson later committed to Memphis but followed coach John Calipari to Kentucky after Calipari accepted the Wildcats’ head coaching position in 2009.

During his only season at Kentucky, Dodson appeared in 35 games and made seven starts for a team that finished 35–3, won Southeastern Conference regular-season and tournament championships and advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight. He averaged 6.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per game while leading the Wildcats with 50 made three-pointers. His best performance came against Hartford on December 29, 2009, when he came off the bench to score 19 points, collect eight rebounds and make six three-pointers in a 104–61 victory. He also scored 16 points against Mississippi and reached double figures eight times during the season.

In August 2010, Calipari announced that Dodson would not play for Kentucky during the coming season, although he initially left open the possibility of Dodson returning if he met the program’s standards. By October, Dodson was no longer enrolled at Kentucky, and he subsequently transferred to Southern Mississippi. After sitting out the 2010–11 season and later resolving academic and legal issues that temporarily removed him from the team, he was reinstated in December 2011. Dodson averaged 11.2 points and 4.9 rebounds in 24 games for the Golden Eagles, highlighted by a buzzer-beating three-pointer against Arizona State and a 23-point performance in a victory over Memphis. Southern Miss finished 25–9 and earned a berth in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Following his college career, Dodson was selected by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the fourth round of the 2012 NBA Development League Draft, played briefly for the Los Angeles D-Fenders and continued his professional career internationally in France, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile.