DG157

Before switching back into football mode for another season, there's still a little time left to see how some college basketball players with dreads did during the 2014-15 season - specifically, the 72 players on Division 1 teams that I know of who had dreads when the season ended. That total of 72 is the most ever, thanks to (as I mentioned in my first look post back in February) the large number of players who just began growing their dreads this season. None (as usual) of the 72 finished the season playing in the Final 4 of the NCAA Tournament; but there were a couple who got to raise trophies in the minor tournaments. Two of the 72 were drafted by NBA teams. Congratulations to William & Mary G Marcus Thornton and Louisville F Montrezl Harrell (photo above), both of whom were selected in the 2nd round of the NBA Draft on June 25. (Pay no attention to those dreads that Kentucky C Willie Cauley-Stein, a 1st round pick, had on draft night - which he didn't have until after the season was over - because they were already gone by the time the summer league began two weeks later.) If not for the injuries they suffered, there would have been two more players with dreads selected in the 2nd round.


I did not take the time to do a dread news report this year. Sorry about that. But most of dread gallery #157 will be devoted to what I usually have covered in reports from previous seasons - namely my annual all-America with dreads and dread all-America teams, the teams with two or more players with dreads, and the leading players with dreads in the main statistical categories. Then we'll look at some action from the regular season and the postseason tournaments in the next two DGs.

Before getting started, a quick shout out has to go out to the UAB Blazers - for single-handedly ruining a lot of my enjoyment of this postseason. In a span of one week UAB not once, not twice, but three times killed me as they ended the title hopes of some of my favorite players. First the Blazers defeated regular season champ Louisiana Tech in the semifinals of the CUSA tournament on Friday, March 13 - yet again denying Kenneth Smith and the Bulldogs a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament. The next day the Blazers eliminated Darnell Harris and MTSU for the conference championship. And then, as if they hadn't done enough damage already, 5 days later on the afternoon of the first day of the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament - just like a punch in the gut - the #14 seeded Blazers knocked out #3 seed Iowa State and Jameel McKay, a defeat so devastating that it had McKay in tears after the game. Thank you so much, UAB, for all of that. Not!

Since I don't want to spend all of September working on this, I'm not going to check the game situations for most of the photos. There are just too many pictures to do that. And one other thing: with so many players having short dreads, it will be hard to see their dreads, even if you click on the thumbnails. But for a lot of the photos, if you save the picture (after clicking on the thumbnail) you'll be able to get a larger and better look at the dreads. OK. Let's begin DG157 with a look at the best players with dreads.


2015 COLLEGE BASKETBALL ALL-AMERICA WITH DREADS

It keeps getting more difficult every year to pick the team of who in my opinion were the best players with dreads. That, of course, is a very good thing, because it means that not only is the number of players with dreads increasing, the number of good players is increasing too. Since Division 1 teams are allowed to have 13 scholarship players, I pick 13 players for this team. And this season - for the first time - there were so many really good players with dreads that I had to exclude a couple of players who deserved to be on the team. This also means that it's more likely that you might have a different opinion than I do of who the best players were. If so, I'd love to hear from you. (FYI: The asterisk (*) or (HM) next to a player's name indicate that he is a repeat selection from last year or earned an honorable mention last year.)

STARTERS

• Montrezl Harrell - 6-8 JR F - Louisville - 2nd team all-ACC - 15.7 PPG, 56.6 FG%, 9.2 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.2 BPG
• Michael Qualls (*) - 6-6 JR G - Arkansas - 2nd team all-SEC - 15.9 PPG, 43.6 FG%), 5.3 RPG, 1.7 APG
• Chasson Randle - 6-2 SR G - Stanford - 1st team all-Pac-12 - 19.6 PPG, 40.3 FG%, 3.3 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.4 SPG
• Kenneth "Speedy" Smith (*) - 6-3 SR G - Louisiana Tech - CUSA player of the year, CUSA all-defensive - 6.4 PPG, 37.9 FG%, 4.0 RPG, 7.4 APG, 1.9 SPG
• Marcus Thornton (*) - 6-4 SR G - William & Mary - CAA player of the year - 20.0 PPG, 45.6 FG%, 2.8 RPG, 2.9 APG

RESERVES

• Rico Gathers - 6-8 JR F - Baylor - 1st team all-Big 12, Big 12 all-defensive - 11.6 PPG, 45.9 FG%, 11.6 RPG, 1.2 SPG, 1.0 BPG 
• Jameel McKay - 6-9 JR F - Iowa State - 3rd team all-Big 12, Big 12 defensive player of the year - 11 PPG, 58.3 FG%, 7.6 RPG, 2.4 BPG 
• Stefan Moody - 5-10 JR G - Mississippi - 1st team all-SEC - 16.6 PPG, 38.8 FG%, 3.4 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.7 SPG
• Justin Moss - 6-7 JR F - Buffalo - MAC player of the year - 17.5 PPG, 52.1 FG%, 9.2 RPG 
• Maurice N'dour (*) - 6-9 SR F - Ohio - 2nd team all-MAC - 16.0 PPG, 48.4 FG%, 8.3 RPG, 1.7 APG, 2.3 BPG
• Terran Petteway (*) - 6-6 JR G - Nebraska - 3rd team all-Big 10 - 18.2 PPG, 39.6 FG%, 4.9 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.1 SPG
• Taurean Prince - 6-7 JR F - Baylor - 2nd team all-Big 12 - 13.9 PPG, 47.2 FG%, 5.6 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.5 SPG
• Levi Randolph (HM) - 6-5 SR G - Alabama - 2nd team all-SEC - 15.4 PPG, 48.1 FG%, 5.1 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.5 SPG 

1. Montrezl Harrell gets the first of his career high 5 blocked shots, rejecting Pittsburgh F Jamel Artis with 17:02 remaining in 1st half on Feb. 11 at Louisville. Harrell also had a double-double in the game with 28 points and 12 rebounds, playing all 40 minutes in a 69-56 victory. In his first season with dreads Montrezl led the Cardinals (and was 2nd in the ACC) in rebounds and was named winner of the inaugural Karl Malone Award, given to the best power forward in the nation. He also was one of 21 players to make the ACC all-academic team. He decided to enter the NBA draft early and barely missed being picked in the 1st round, getting selected by the Houston Rockets with the 2nd pick in round 2. Some year, huh?

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2. Michael Qualls drives against Missouri G Keith Shamburger (left photo) in Arkansas' 61-60 road win on Jan. 24 and dunks home 2 of his 13 points (right photo) in a 78-72 road win over SMU on Nov. 25. In his second season with dreads Michael made his first all-SEC appearance and - much more importantly (lol) - according to the Razorbacks website made five appearances on ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 plays, upping his total to 13 appearances over the last two seasons.

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3. Speedy Smith tries to drive past Temple G Will Cummings on Nov. 17. Smith had 8 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists in Louisiana Tech's 82-75 defeat, the first of two losses to Temple this season. Making his 3rd straight appearance on the team, Speedy averaged only 6 points a game because he'd rather pass than shoot. He finished the season with 198 FG attempts and 267 assists, with his 7.4 APG average ranking #5 in the nation. He had 9 games in double figures in scoring and 10 in assists.

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4. Also making his 3rd straight appearance on the team is Marcus Thornton, here taking a shot against North Carolina on Dec. 30, a game in which he scored 17 points but William & Mary lost 86-64. Thornton led all players with dreads in scoring at 20.0 PPG and scored in double figures in all 33 of the Tribe's games. If all goes according to plan Marcus will be wearing a different kind of green jersey next season, after being picked by the Boston Celtics in the 2nd round of the NBA Draft.

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5. Chasson Randle was a 4-year starter for Stanford; but this is his first year starting on the all-America with dreads team because, as you can tell, it was his first season with dreads. Randle, here driving against Cal G Tyrone Wallace on Jan. 14, led the Cardinal in points, assists, and steals this season, scored at least 20 points in 17 games and scored in double figures in every game but one (he had 9 points vs. Denver on Dec. 13.

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6. Did Stefan Moody deserve to be a starter on the team? No doubt. (So did Rico Gathers.) But only five can start; and although Stefan had an outstanding season, I couldn't rank him ahead of Smith, Thornton, and Randle. Moody shot 1 for 9 from the field and scored 7 points in his debut in a Mississippi uniform (left photo) on Nov. 14 in a 66-65 home loss to Charleston Southern. But he was pretty good after that, including a 25-point game at Kentucky on Jan. 6 (right photo) in which he hit 8 for 13 from the field, including 5 of 7 on 3-point attempts. A 2nd team all-SBC selection as a freshman for FAU in 2013, Moody transferred to junior college the following season before making 1st team all-SEC this year.

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7. Rico Gathers follows through on a dunk against Oklahoma during 2nd half of Baylor's 69-58 home win on Jan. 24. Gathers led the Big 12 and was #4 in the nation in rebounding, and averaged a double-double, remarkably finishing the season with 394 points and 394 rebounds. And he made the Big 12 all-defensive team too. Despite that, you could make an argument that he wasn't even the best player with dreads on his team .....

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8. Well, this is a first - two players from the same team on the all-America with dreads team. Also representing Baylor is junior F Taurean Prince, looking to pass the ball while defended by Oklahoma star G Buddy Hield (left photo) on Jan. 3 and dunking in the 1st half on Feb. 28 (right photo) for 2 of his 20 points in Baylor's 78-66 home win over West Virginia. It was one of 7 games in which Prince scored 20 or more points. Despite starting only 6 games (he was named winner of the Big 12's 6th man award), Taurean led the Bears and was 6th in the Big 12 in scoring.

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9. 4 of the 13 players on the team debuted their dreads this season, and that includes Buffalo F Justin Moss, shooting a layup against Akron on Feb. 24. Justin's 25 points and 13 rebounds in the Bulls' 67-62 home win were only slightly above a normal game for him. He was named the MAC's player of the year after leading the league in scoring and rebounding, recording 15 double-doubles on the season. Unfortunately Moss will be looking for a new home to play his senior season - anybody that will have him after the caper he was involved in earlier this summer, which I will go into more detail in DG159.

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10. Maurice N'dour gets Ohio U's home game against Akron on Feb. 4 off to an exciting start, slamming home the first 2 points of the game on the Bobcats' opening possession. N'dour had 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots in Ohio's 83-82 win. Although the Bobcats had a very disappointing 10-20 season, N'dour makes the team for the 2nd straight year after leading the Bobcats in points, rebounds, and blocked shots and recording 10 double-doubles. When NBA training camps begin in a few weeks, Maurice will be trying to earn a roster spot with the Dallas Mavericks .....

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11. ..... And Terran Petteway will be trying to earn a job with the Atlanta Hawks. Petteway makes his 2nd straight appearance on the team, although I had to take him out of the starting lineup this year. Here Terran takes a shot against Michigan State on Jan. 24 in his best game of the season, as he scored a season high 32 points in Nebraska's 79-77 victory. The Cornhuskers went from making the NCAA Tournament in 2014 to finishing 13-18 this season; and I think it was the lack of help from his teammates (who admittedly aren't as talented as he is) that convinced him to skip his senior season.

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12. Levi Randolph battles for a rebound against G J.P. Macura during 1st half of Alabama's 97-84 loss to Xavier on Dec. 6 at Cincinnati. After making the team as a sophomore in 2013 but not last year, Levi finally stepped up and played as well as we all thought he could. After entering his senior season with a career scoring average of 8.0, Randolph nearly doubled that this season, never scoring less than 8 points in any game while leading the Crimson Tide in points, assists, and steals and earning all-SEC honors for the first time.

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13. Jameel McKay puts up a shot against C Isaiah Manderson (right photo) in a 78-73 loss at Texas Tech on Jan. 24 and defends a shot (I think) by Oklahoma F Ryan Spangler (left photo) in a 94-83 road loss on Feb. 9. After missing the first 9 games of the season (he wasn't eligible to play until Dec. 20 after transferring from Marquette), McKay wasted no time becoming the player Iowa State hoped he would be, leading the team in blocked shots and being named the Big 12 defensive player of the year. For some reason (maybe he didn't play enough games) he isn't listed among the leaders in the conference's official stats. But the averages he had would have ranked him 4th in rebounds, 2nd in blocked shots, and 1st in FG percentage. Playing alongside several talented teammates, Jameel got free for a lot of dunks to finish the season at 58.3%.

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HIGH HONORABLE MENTION

• Anthony "Cat" Barber - North Carolina State SOPH G
• Charles Jackson - Tennessee Tech JR C

HONORABLE MENTION

• DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell - Illinois State JR G
• Mo Alie-Cox - VCU SOPH F
• Jamee Crockett - DePaul SR F
• Aaseem Dixon (HM) - Northern Arizona SR G - HM all-Big Sky
• Shaq Goodwin (*) - Memphis JR F
• Rod Hall (*) - Clemson SR G
• Montel James - Loyola (Chicago) JR F
• Xavier Johnson (*) - Colorado JR F
• Reco McCarter (HM) - Campbell SR F
• Dominique McKoy (*) - Duquesne SR F
• Brandon Taylor (HM) - Penn State JR F
• Estan Tyler - North Dakota JR G 
• Damien Wilson - Kennesaw State JR F

14. Anthony Barber goes to the basket during North Carolina State's home wins over Louisiana Tech (left photo) on Dec. 23 and Virginia Tech (right photo) on Feb. 21. I really wanted to include Barber on the team, but I just couldn't put him ahead of any of the 13 players I picked. He should have no trouble making the team next year. Anthony had braids as a freshman before switching to dreads this year and had a fine season, leading the Wolfpack in assists.
ANTHONY BARBER (2014-15): 35 games, 32 MPG, 12.1 PPG, 43.9 FG%, 3.3 RPG, 3.7 APG

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15. 6-foot-10 junior C Charles Jackson of Tennessee Tech wrestles G Elijah Stewart for a rebound (left photo) in a 70-58 road loss to USC on Nov. 17 and shoots against F Willie Carmichael (right photo) in a 61-58 road loss to Tennessee on Dec. 19. Jackson had double-doubles in both of those games, 2 of the 18 he had for the season. A good player on a not very good team, Jackson led the Golden Eagles in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots, and steals in his first season after transferring from junior college. Perhaps a bit intoxicated by his success, Charles decided to skip his senior season and enter the NBA Draft but was not drafted. He'll begin his pro career in New Zealand.
CHARLES JACKSON (2014-15): 30 games, 27 MPG, 13 PPG, 57.1 FG%, 9.5 RPG, 1.3 BPG, 1.1 SPG

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16. Memphis F Shaq Goodwin doesn't let a little friendly shove from UConn F Kentan Facey dissuade him from making this slam dunk during 1st half on Mar.5. Goodwin had 8 points and 8 rebounds, including the most important 2 points of the game, as Memphis won 54-53. I don't know what happened, but for a time in late January Shaq's playing time really decreased; but at least he finished strong in February, although not strong enough to make the team again.
SHAQ GOODWIN (2014-15): 31 games, 26 MPG, 9.6 PPG, 54.4 FG%, 7.1 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.1 BPG

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17. Doing what he does best, VCU F Mo Alie-Cox blocks a layup attempt by Cincinnati F Octavius Ellis early in 2nd half at Cincinnati on Dec. 20. Alie-Cox had one other block in the game, along with 6 points and 2 rebounds in VCU's 68-47 win. The 6-foot-7, 250-pound Alie-Cox started all 36 games for the Rams in his sophomore season and ranked 4th in the Atlantic 10 in blocked shots.
MO ALIE-COX (2014-15): 36 games, 26 MPG, 7.4 PPG, 59.4 FG%, 5.7 RPG, 1.9 BPG

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18. Staying in the A-10, here's Duquesne F Dominique McKoy going for a layup past VCU F Justin Tillman (left photo) on Jan. 17 and what looks like grabbing a rebound (right photo) against Saint Louis on Mar. 11 - although with nobody paying any attention to him, maybe the whistle had already been blown. For some reason (maybe he was injured) McKoy had a poor start to the season; but once 2015 began he started playing like he did last year, when he made the team.
DOMINIQUE McKOY (2014-15): 30 games, 24 MPG, 7.9 PPG, 54.4 FG%, 6.2 RPG 1 APG

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19. For a change Penn State F Brandon Taylor takes a shot close to the basket, against George Washington F Yuta Watanabe on Dec. 14. Taylor had 17 points and 8 rebounds - one of his best games of the season - as the Nittany Lions improved to 10-1 with a 64-51 win. It seems nothing will cure Taylor of his love for shooting 3-pointers. For the 3rd straight year the 6-foot-6, 225-pounder attempted more 3-pointers than 2-pointers, and for the 3rd straight year didn't hit a high percentage on those 3-pointers, although the 33.5% he shot this season was a bit better than the 28.6 and 32.2% he shot in his first two seasons. 
BRANDON TAYLOR (2014-15): 32 games, 27 MPG, 9.1 PPG, 37.1 FG%, 5.3 RPG

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20. Xavier Johnson drives to the basket against USC G Malik Marquetti during 1st half on Jan. 4, the afternoon on which he hit 7 of 10 from the field and scored 17 points in Colorado's 86-65 win. Johnson is one of 4 players who made the team last year that has to settle for honorable mention this year. An ankle injury he suffered in CU's next game limited his playing time the rest of the season.
XAVIER JOHNSON (2014-15): 29 games, 24 MPG, 10.3 PPG, 44.5 FG%, 5.6 RPG

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21. 6-foot-4 F Jamee Crockett of DePaul dunks (left photo) for the first 2 of his 13 points in an 83-61 home win over UW-Milwaukee on Dec. 7 and defends against G Darrun Hilliard (right photo) during a 68-55 home loss to Villanova on Jan. 31. After waiting and wondering for three years if he would, Crockett finally turned that mass of hair of his into dreads for his senior season and was a welcome addition to the house. Bouncing back from a disappointing junior season, Crockett finished strong this season even though his team didn't, losing their final 8 games of the season.
JAMEE CROCKETT (2014-15): 32 games, 31 MPG, 11.9 PPG, 46.9 FG%, 3.1 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.4 SPG

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22. From one Chicago school to another, here's Loyola junior F Montel James driving against F Nate Buss during a 63-49 loss to Northern Iowa in the MVC tournament on Mar. 7. Some others with better numbers than James didn't make honorable mention. I gave Montel the nod because his production came in just 21 minutes per game. Hopefully next season he'll get the chance to show he can be even more productive with more playing time.
MONTEL JAMES (2014-15): 36 games, 21 MPG, 9.4 PPG, 53.2 FG%, 4.3 RPG

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23. Also representing the MVC on the HM list is 6-foot-5 Illinois State G DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell, here grabbing a rebound during a 71-70 road loss to Indiana State on Jan. 14. Akoon-Purcell was a big-time performer for the Redbirds, especially late in the season as he played at least 30 minutes in the Redbirds' final 9 games, including 37 in their season-ending 50-49 road loss to ODU in the 2nd round of the NIT.
DE VAUGHN AKOON-PURCELL (2014-15): 28 games, 26 MPG, 12.8 PPG, 42.4 FG%, 5.6 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1 SPG 

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24. More than just a player with great dreads, Northern Arizona G Aaseem Dixon was a good player with great dreads. Here Dixon goes to the basket for a layup during NAU's 80-74 loss at Mississippi on Nov. 23. Looking at his game log, Dixon was usually either very hot or very cold. 7 times he scored 20 or more points in a game; and 7 times he scored 5 or less points, including an 0 for 11 shutout vs. Toledo on Nov. 16. But no matter what his temperature, he was nearly always on the court.
AASEEM DIXON (2014-15): 37 games, 35 MPG, 12.9 PPG, 36.3 FG%, 3.4 RPG, 2.3 APG

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25. 6-foot-1 G Estan Tyler goes to the basket against Northern Colorado on Jan. 17, the afternoon in which he shot 7 for 8 from the field and scored a season high 21 points but North Dakota lost 88-78 in OT. Playing his first season in a North Dakota uniform after a transfer from UMKC, Tyler had 13 games in which he scored in double figures.
ESTAN TYLER (2014-15): 27 games, 30 MPG, 11 PPG, 40.8 FG%, 2.5 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.0 SPG

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26. In his first season with dreads and his first season after transferring from Memphis to Kennesaw State, 6-7 F Damien Wilson tries to shoot against Illinois G Kendrick Nunn (right photo) on Dec. 27 and handles the ball against Stetson (left photo) in Atlantic Sun action on Jan. 22. Wilson had a double-double against Illinois (10 points, 11 rebounds) even though KSU got slaughtered 93-45 and scored a season high 28 points against Stetson (an 88-82 win). Damien didn't play much in his two seasons at Memphis but was one of the Owls' best players this season.
DAMIEN WILSON (2014-15): 22 games, 29 MPG, 10.6 PPG, 38.3 FG%, 4.8 RPG, 1.9 APG

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27. 6-6 F Reco McCarter teams up with G Andrew Ryan to try to thwart a drive by G Leron Fisher during Campbell's 70-65 loss at Longwood on Feb. 28. McCarter is a repeater on the HM list despite his numbers being slightly lower than last season.
RECO McCARTER (2014-15): 28 games, 28 MPG, 10.2 PPG, 44.2 FG%, 4.3 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.5 SPG

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28. Rod Hall drives while defended by F Charles Mitchell during Clemson's 70-63 victory over Georgia Tech on Feb. 28. Rod didn't have a bad season; but it wasn't quite as good as last year and not good enough to make the team this time.
ROD HALL (2014-15): 31 games, 34 MPG, 9.2 PPG, 40.5 FG%, 2.3 RPG, 3.4 APG

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2015 COLLEGE BASKETBALL DREAD ALL-AMERICA

Now that we've seen the best players with dreads, let's look at the players with the best dreads this season. If I was picking a starting five strictly on who had the best dreads, they would all be guards. But since this is supposed to be a team, I got to have a couple of big men in there starting. And another thing: since there was a shortage of players with sick dreads this season, I cheated to spice things up a little bit, including a couple of players from Division 2 teams. With their being only 3 seniors on the 2014 team, there figured to be a lot of repeaters this year. But there was more attrition than I expected; so it turns out that only 6 of the players are repeat selections.


STARTERS

• Aaseem Dixon (*) - Northern Arizona SR G
• Cameron Dobbs (*) - American International JR G
• Darnell Harris - MTSU JR F
• Tyler Logan - Florida Southern SR G
• David Rivers (*) - Nebraska SR F 

RESERVES

• Mo Alie-Cox (HM) - VCU JR F
• Brandon Bolden - Kansas State SOPH C
• Jordan Goodman - New Mexico JR F
• Jurmelle Hall - Mississippi Valley State JR G
• Rod Hall (*) - Clemson SR G
• Jameel McKay - Iowa State JR F
• Marcus Thornton (*) - William & Mary SR G
• Devin Wilson (*) - North Florida SR G

29. Middle Tennessee State junior F Darnell Harris takes a shot during a 72-69 home win over UNC-Charlotte on Jan. 24 (left photo) and looks for a way past F Michale Kyser (right photo) during a 75-68 loss to Louisiana Tech on Feb. 7. Upon his transfer to MTSU, Harris instantly became the player with the longest dreads in CUSA. 

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30. In Big 10 action on Mar. 8 Nebraska F David Rivers steals the ball from F Damonte Dodd (right photo) and battles for the rebound against forwards Michal Cekovsky and Jake Layman during a 64-61 loss to Maryland. As his dreads became very long during his final two seasons with the Cornhuskers, Rivers often stifled them too much, using two bands to bunch them together. But during the last month or so of this season he got rid of the second band, and they looked a lot better.

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31. The Big 12 is the only conference with two players on the team, thanks to a couple of newcomers. Here is 6-11 Kansas State C Brandon Bolden, eligible this season after transferring from Georgetown, going in for one of his two dunks (left photo) against Southern Utah in the season opener on Nov. 14 and trying to block a layup by Savannah State F Brian Pearson (right photo) on Dec. 14 ......

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32. ..... And the other is Iowa State junior F Jameel McKay, in action against Baylor F Royce O'Neal on Jan. 14 (left photo) and going to the basket against Oklahoma (right photo) during the Big 12 tournament on Mar. 13. McKay is one of two players to make both of my all-America teams.

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33. VCU sophomore F Mo Alie-Cox defends against G Ryan Arcidiacono (left photo) on Nov. 24. Despite a 5 for 6 shooting game from Alie-Cox, VCU lost for the first time after a 3-0 start, 77-53. On the right Mo throws down one of the many dunks he had this season - this one during a 93-87 home win over Northern Iowa on Dec. 13. After an HM last year and a reserve spot this year, Alie-Cox has a great chance to be a starter next season - but only if he has a lot fewer games with reduced dreads than he had this year.

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34. Jordan Goodman, 6-9 F for New Mexico, defends against F Moses Morgan (left photo) during a 67-59 home win over Cal State-Fullerton on Nov. 16 and tries (but looks like fails) to stop New Mexico State F Pascal Siakam on Dec. 20. Goodman scored 9 points in 15 minutes as the Lobos defeated the Aggies for the second time in less than 3 weeks, 69-67. With these dreads Goodman barely missed being in the starting lineup.

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35. I couldn't find a lot of photos from North Florida games, so the best shot of Devin Wilson's dreads I have is the one (above left) where he's standing around during a timeout on Dec. 17 at Florida State. On the right the 5-11 Wilson (bravely, and maybe foolishly) battles for a rebound against 7-1 C Adam Woodbury of Iowa on Dec. 22. Devin made the team in both of his seasons at UNF after transferring from junior college.

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36. The best dreads in the SWAC this season were still at Mississippi Valley State, even after Cameron Dobbs transferred at the end of last season. With sick dreads that are not quite as long as Dobbs', here's 6-2 junior G Jurmelle Hall, defending against Iowa State G Clayton Custer (left photo) on Dec. 31 and against Southern U G Trelun Banks on Jan. 19. In case you wondering, I don't know. Hall is listed as #25 on the team's roster but for some reason isn't wearing that number in either of these games. Jurmelle appeared in 16 games after becoming eligible at the end of the fall semester but in only 6 of them did he play more than 10 minutes. The Delta Devils finished the season 6-26.
JURMELLE HALL (2014-15): 18 games, 9 MPG, 2.8 PPG, 30 FG%, 1.7 RPG

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37. Rod Hall (no relation to Jurmelle that I'm aware of) may not have the most dreads, but you won't find many basketball players with longer dreads. I'm not sure, but I think Rod - shown in both photos from Clemson's 66-53 win over Syracuse on Jan. 17 - becomes the first player to make the dread all-America team 4 years in a row.

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38. Marcus Thornton celebrates (left photo) at the end of William & Mary's 76-72 home win over UNC-Wilmington on Jan. 14, a game in which the Tribe trailed by 20 points at halftime. On the right Marcus tries to scare the ball from going out of bounds at North Carolina on Dec. 30. As you can tell, Thornton kept his dreads flowing as freely as possible this season, something I wish more players would do. However, it was troubling to see him with his dreads reduced while playing for the Celtics' summer league team. Hopefully he's not planning on reducing them permanently; but with them being so long now, I wouldn't be surprised if he was.

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39. Aaseem Dixon drives to the basket against 6-10 F Sean O'Mara (left photo) in Northern Arizona's season-opening loss at Xavier 93-60 on Nov. 14 and defends against Montana G Brandon Gfeller during NAU's loss in the Big Sky Tournament on Mar. 13. Aaseem makes the starting lineup for the 2nd straight year, just edging Marcus Thornton for the third and last guard spot.

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40. Just because Cameron Dobbs transferred to a Division 2 school you didn't think that was going to keep me from putting him on the team, did you? After playing his first two seasons at Mississippi Valley State, Dobbs and his awesome dreads were on display mostly in Springfield, MA, this season after his transfer to American International. These photos are from the Yellow Jackets' preseason exhibition game at UMass on Oct. 30. Cameron made a 3-pointer to give AIC an early 5-0 lead, and then UMass proceeded to crush them 120-71.

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41. You may recall that in DG153 last year I mentioned that Florida Southern began the season with 4 players with dreads. Well, there was just one this season - 6-3, 175-pound senior G Tyler Logan. And yes, that is the Division 2 national championship trophy he is raising after exiting the team bus back on campus in Lakeland the day after the Mocs capped their 36-1 season with a 77-62 win over Indiana U (PA) on Mar. 28. Logan was scoreless in the game but had 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 blocked shot. He started all 37 games this season, playing only about half the minutes. The championship capped a pretty nice week for Tyler. Evidently he is more of a star in the classroom than on the court, and five days before the final he received a fantastic honor, being named one of the winners of the NCAA's Elite 89 award: http://fscmocs.com/sports/mbkb/2014-15/releases/201503230dubpv ..... Nice going, Tyler! And good luck in the future.
TYLER LOGAN (2014-15): 37 games, 19 MPG, 5.9 PPG, 42.4 FG%, 3.1 RPG, 2.2 APG

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HONORABLE MENTION

• Justin Edmonds - Marshall JR G
• Reese Holliday - UMKC SR F
• Aron Phillips-Nwankwo - Pittsburgh SR F
• Levi Randolph - Alabama SR G
• Tyvoris Solomon - South Carolina State FR G
• Estan Tyler - North Dakota JR G
• Tony Wills - Illinois State - SOPH G 

42. In the best photo (on left, from Dec. 28) I could find of Reese Holliday's dreads, the photographer - who admittedly was only interested in making sure that Indiana State F Khristian Smith is in the shot - doesn't quite get all of his dreads in the shot. But there's enough of them there to see why he barely missed making the team. On the right Holliday drives past Grand Canyon G Jerome Garrison on senior night on Feb. 28. Holliday scored a season high 24 points (hitting 16 of 17 FT) in his final home game as UMKC won 70-65.

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43. On Illinois State's visit to Indiana State on Jan. 14 the photographer gets it right this time, including all of Tony Wills' dreads in this shot of G Brenton Scott. With dreads like these Wills, who had 9 points and 4 rebounds in the 71-70 loss to Indiana State, definitely has a good chance to be on the team next season.

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44. Senior F Aron Phillips-Nwankwo of Pittsburgh scores his first 2 points of the season on this shot (left photo) over Niagara F Ramone Snowden in the final minute of Pitt's 78-45 win on opening night on Nov. 14. On the right Phillips-Nwankwo wrestles G Olivier Hanlan for the ball during a 71-65 win over Boston College on Feb. 24. I probably would have put Aron on the team if not for the (too many) times he had his dreads reduced. But hey, reduced or not it was nice to his his dreads on the court a little more this season after he hardly played at all in his first 3 years.

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45. The same as with Aron Phillips-Nwankwo, G Justin Edmonds had dreads worthy of strong consideration to be included on the team when he had them going full blast, as you can tell as here as he handles the ball during Marshall's 72-51 home loss to ODU on Jan. 8; but too often he was on the court with them reduced.

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46. To see (arguably) the longest dreads in the MEAC this season you had to be wherever South Carolina State was playing for a look at freshman G Tyvoris Solomon, shown here defending against Virginia G Malcolm Brogdon on Nov. 18.

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47. Estan Tyler, driving against Dickinson State G Curtis Redd on Dec. 19, gets an honorable mention nod on both of my teams in what turned out to be his only season for North Dakota after a transfer from UMKC. Even though he has one season of eligibility remaining, he will not be returning to UND for his senior year. And I can't find anything on which new school or pro team he'll be with next season.
  
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48. In his senior year Levi Randolph's dreads finally got long enough that he thought he needed to bunch them into a ponytail. Randolph is fouled (I think) while attempting a shot against G Chance Murray (right photo) during a 76-71 victory over Arizona State on Nov. 25. Levi scored 28 points in the game, including 10 for 10 from the FT line, which improved him to 35 for 35 through the first 5 games of the season. On the left Randolph drives against G Wes Clark during a 62-49 home win over Missouri on Feb. 4, a game in which he scored 20 points - one of 5 times he scored at least 20 points this season.

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SPECIAL MENTION

• Donnell Minton - would-have-been Lamar JR G

49. As I mentioned back in this season's First Look post, the new coaching staff at Lamar denied Donnell Minton a chance to make the team. Minton was told that - per new team rule - you can either cut off your dreads or be suspended; and as you can see in this photo on his Twitter account from about a month ago, he decided to go with the suspension. What I still don't understand and still haven't found out is why he didn't transfer before the season started instead of after it was over. And I have not yet found out which school (if any) he has transferred to. But wherever you are, long live your dreads, Donnell.
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Now here are a few more photos of this year's dread all-Americans.

50. Jordan Goodman puts up a short shot (right photo) against Boise State on Jan. 18 and three days later has his dreads folded up as he goes to the basket against UNLV G Cody Doolin (left photo). Goodman had 10 points in a season high 21 minutes in the 69-59 loss to Boise State and had 8 points, including the game-winning putback with 9.1 seconds remaining, in the 71-69 win over UNLV. Goodman was a star player in junior college but didn't play a lot for New Mexico this season because he hadn't fully recovered from offseason knee surgery. Then in mid-February he had to have surgery on his foot and missed the final 7 games of the season. He will be transferring to another school for his senior season.
JORDAN GOODMAN (2014-15): 19 games, 13 MPG, 6.3 PPG, 36.3 FG%, 2.3 RPG

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51. Mo Alie-Cox slams home 2 of his 8 points (left photo) as VCU defeated Davidson 71-65 on Jan. 7 - right in the middle of an 11-game winning streak. On the right Mo says no to LaSalle G Amar Stukes, one of the 5 blocked shots he had on Feb. 11. He also had 8 points and 9 rebounds in the game, but the Rams fell to LaSalle 74-69 in double OT.

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52. 6-8 F Darnell Harris defends against 6-8 F Chris Cokley of UAB on Feb. 28 at Birmingham. In a wild game I actually watched a lot of, Harris had 5 points and 6 rebounds in 23 minutes as MTSU lost to UAB 100-95 in triple OT.

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53. Jameel McKay's dreads made a spectacular showing during Iowa State's game at Kansas on Feb. 2, as he battles for a rebound against F Jamari Traylor (left photo) and takes an elbow to the chops while battling F Cliff Alexander for a rebound (right photo). McKay had 8 points and 7 rebounds in ISU's 89-76 defeat.

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54. It's another hair-raising moment for Jameel McKay, as he takes down a rebound of a missed 3-pointer by Oklahoma State with 7 seconds remaining in the game on Feb. 18. McKay was fouled and hit 2 FT to clinch the Cyclones' 70-65 road victory. Jameel had 17 points (including 13-18 FT), a season high 14 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots in just 26 minutes. 

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55. Rod Hall's dreads touch the floor as he tries to get the handle on a loose ball (left photo), and he drives to the basket for his familiar short floater (right photo) in action against Georgia Tech. Clemson jumped out to leads of 20-2 midway through the 1st half and then 30-7 a little later on senior day for Hall and G Damarcus Harrison but blew the big lead entirely before rallying to win 70-63 in OT. Rod had 15 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists in 41 minutes.

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56. David Rivers finds teammate Benny Parker to flip the ball to as he keeps it from going out of bounds during the season opener on Nov. 16. Rivers had 12 points (5-5 FG) and 6 rebounds in Nebraska's 80-61 win over Northern Kentucky but then scored in double figures only twice more the rest of the season.

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57. Cameron Dobbs drives against G Harrison Taggart (left photo) on Mar. 7 during the Northeast-10 championship game and is congratulated after the game (right photo) after being named to the all-tournament team. No doubt every player wants to be good enough to excel in Division 1, but obviously not everyone can be. After two not very good seasons for Mississippi Valley State, Dobbs found he could excel on the D-2 level, being named 3rd team all-conference in the NE-10 and being named MVP of the conference tournament. Cameron was in the zone in the 1st half of the semifinals, hitting eight 3-pointers (and 9 of 11 for the game) as he scored 38 points in American International's 82-79 road win over Southern New Hampshire; and three nights later he scored 27 in an 85-79 road win over St.Anselm for the championship, AIC's first conference crown in 21 years. If you've got 10 minutes, here are some highlights from those two games:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3gAxg9Dq88
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICxFxq0Lqqw 

The Yellow Jackets were then seeded #1 in their regional in the D-2 national tournament; but after winning their first game they lost at home to Southern Connecticut State 86-65 in the regional semifinal to finish at 24-7.
CAMERON DOBBS (2014-15): 30 games, 35 MPG, 17.8 PPG, 42.6 FG%, 2.0 RPG, 1.5 APG

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DREAD DUOS (and trios)

There were 9 teams in Division 1 with at least two players with dreads when the season ended, with Bethune-Cookman being the only one of them with three. Here's the list of the 9, ranked by the total points per game accounted for by those players.

1. BAYLOR (25.5 PPG) - Taurean Prince (13.9), Rico Gathers (11.6)
2. NEBRASKA (22.5 PPG) - Terran Petteway (18.2), David Rivers (4.3) 
3. MISSISSIPPI (18.3 PPG) - Stefan Moody (16.6), Roderick Lawrence (1.7)
4. BETHUNE-COOKMAN (17.9 PPG) - Quintin Brewer (9.2), Delino Dear (4.4), Travis Elliott (4.2)
5. ILLINOIS STATE (17.1 PPG) - DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell (12.8), Tony Wills (4.3) 
6. VCU (12.6 PPG) - Mo Alie-Cox (7.4), Doug Brooks (5.2)
7. CAMPBELL (11.7 PPG) - Reco McCarter (10.2), Quinton Ray (1.5)
8. SIU-EDWARDSVILLE (10.3 PPG) - Rozell Nunn (9.4), Michael Chandler (0.9)
9. SOUTH CAROLINA STATE (9.4 PPG) - Darryl Palmer (7.5), Tyvoris Solomon (1.9)

58. Thanks to the strong performances by Rico Gathers in his first season with dreads and Taurean Prince in his second season with dreads, Baylor replaced Louisiana Tech as the team with the most points per game by players with dreads.

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59. Central Arkansas F Albert Christensson has to contend with both of Nebraska's players with dreads as he tries to shoot on Nov. 18. Terran Petteway (#5) and David Rivers improved from 21.1 PPG last year to 22.5 this season but had to settle for 2nd place again.

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60. Quintin Brewer (#2) and Delino Dear (#1) of Bethune-Cookman try to bother Ball State F Franko House as he goes to the basket on Jan. 3. B-C might go from three players with dreads this season to none next season. Dear and Travis Elliott are seniors, and Brewer will be part of a new dread duo after his transfer (with immediate eligibility) to Illinois State. We'll have to wait and see if any of the Wildcats' 6 newcomers has dreads.

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61. F Kendall Pollard of Dayton tries not to lose the ball to G Doug Brooks (#5) or F Mo Alie-Cox of VCU midway through 1st half of the Atlantic 10 championship game on Mar. 15. Brooks and Alie-Cox improved from a combined 5.2 PPG as freshmen last season to 12.6 this season; and that number figures to continue to rise next season.

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62. Juniors Stefan Moody and Roderick Lawrence battle each other to see which player with dreads will get this rebound during Mississippi's win over Austin Peay on Jan. 3. At 6-foot-5, Lawrence is 7 inches taller than Moody; but Stefan has those special hops and gets to the ball first.

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I did not include Kennesaw State among the dread duos even though Damien Wilson (10.6 PPG) and Nate Rucker (3.7 PPG) were on the roster, mainly because Rucker - due to injury - only played in 6 games all season and not at all after Jan. 3. For that reason also Rucker is the only one of the 72 players with dreads that I have no photos of from this season. I also did not include DePaul, as the Jamee Crockett/Forrest Robinson partnership ended when Robinson cut off his dreads (which I don't think were his own hair anyway) near the end of the season. And I also did not include Northern Colorado because ..... stay tuned.
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STATS
A ranking of the leading players with dreads in the five main categories.


SCORING (at least 10 points per game)
Marcus Thornton (photo on right) - William & Mary - 20.0
Chasson Randle - Stanford - 19.6
Terran Petteway - Nebraska - 18.2
Justin Moss - Buffalo - 17.5
Stefan Moody - Mississippi - 16.6
Maurice N'dour - Ohio - 16.0
Michael Qualls - Arkansas - 15.9
Montrezl Harrell - Louisville - 15.7
Levi Randolph - Alabama - 15.4
Taurean Prince - Baylor - 13.9
Charles Jackson - Tennessee Tech - 13
Aaseem Dixon - Northern Arizona - 12.9
DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell - Illinois State - 12.8
Anthony Barber - North Carolina State - 12.1
Joe Edwards - IPFW - 12.0
Jamee Crockett - DePaul - 11.9
Rico Gathers - Baylor - 11.6
Cam Griffin - Denver - 11.4
Jameel McKay - Iowa State 11
Estan Tyler - North Dakota - 11
Damien Wilson - Kennesaw State - 10.6
Xavier Johnson - Colorado - 10.3
Reco McCarter - Campbell - 10.2

REBOUNDING (at least 5 per game)
Rico Gathers (photo on right) - Baylor - 11.6
Charles Jackson - Tennessee Tech - 9.5
Justin Moss - Buffalo - 9.2
Montrezl Harrell - Louisville - 9.2
Maurice N'dour - Ohio - 8.3
Jameel McKay - Iowa State - 7.6
Shaq Goodwin - Memphis - 7.1
Quintin Brewer - Bethune-Cookman - 7
Abdul Lewis - South Alabama - 6.9
Darryl Palmer - South Carolina State - 6.7
Dominique McKoy - Duquesne - 6.2
Cam Griffin - Denver - 6.1
Mo Alie-Cox - VCU - 5.7
DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell - Illinois State - 5.6
Xavier Johnson - Colorado - 5.6
Taurean Prince - Baylor - 5.6
Michael Qualls - Arkansas - 5.3
Brandon Taylor - Penn State - 5.3
Travis Elliott - Bethune-Cookman - 5.2
Levi Randolph - Alabama - 5.1
Reese Holliday - UMKC - 5.0

ASSISTS (at least 2 per game)
Kenneth Smith - Louisiana Tech - 7.4
Landon Drew - Cal State-Northridge - 4.5
Anthony Barber - North Carolina State - 3.7
Rod Hall (photo on right) - Clemson - 3.4
Chasson Randle - Stanford - 3.0
Marcus Thornton - William & Mary - 2.9
Terran Petteway - Nebraska - 2.8
Tyvoris Solomon - South Carolina State - 2.8
Paul Baxter - Sam Houston State - 2.6
Levi Randolph - Alabama - 2.5
Cam Griffin - Denver - 2.4
Stefan Moody - Mississippi - 2.4
Aaseem Dixon - Northern Arizona - 2.3
Estan Tyler - North Dakota - 2.3
Joe Edwards - IPFW - 2.2
Reco McCarter - Campbell - 2.0




STEALS (top 10)
Kenneth Smith - Louisiana Tech - 1.9
Cam Griffin - Denver - 1.7
Stefan Moody (photo on right) - Mississippi - 1.7
Reco McCarter - Campbell - 1.5
Taurean Prince - Baylor - 1.5
Levi Randolph - Alabama - 1.5
Jamee Crockett - DePaul - 1.4
Chasson Randle - Stanford - 1.4
Damon Collins - Howard - 1.2
Rico Gathers - Baylor - 1.2
Doug Brooks - VCU - 1.2



BLOCKED SHOTS (top 10)
Jameel McKay - Iowa State - 2.4
Maurice N'dour (photo on right) - Ohio - 2.3
Darryl Palmer - South Carolina State - 2.2
Mo Alie-Cox -VCU - 1.9
Charles Jackson - Tennessee Tech - 1.3
Montrezl Harrell - Louisville - 1.2
Shaq Goodwin - Memphis - 1.1
Quintin Brewer - Bethune-Cookman - 1.1
Rico Gathers - Baylor - 1.0
Michael Chandler - SIU-Edwardsville - 1


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OK. Let's finish off DG157 with some of the players with dreads on teams in the West.

63. After stealing the ball, Steven Thornton, 6-4 senior F for UC-Riverside, gets an uncontested dunk (left photo), giving him 11 points in the first 8 minutes of the game and giving the Highlanders a 16-10 lead over UCLA on Dec. 10. On the right Thornton offers scant resistance on a drive to the basket by F Winston Shepard during a 61-33 loss to San Diego State on Dec. 22. Riverside also lost the game to UCLA 77-66 after leading 36-28 at halftime. Thornton's first season with dreads was similar statistically to his junior season. He scored in double figures 13 times, with a season and career high game of 22 points. The Highlanders finished at 14-17.
STEVEN THORNTON (2014-15): 31 games, 29 MPG, 9.2 PPG, 38.8 FG%, 3.3 RPG, 1.0 APG, 1.1 SPG

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64. Landon Drew, 6-1 junior G for Cal State-Northridge, has this shot returned to sender by Louisville F Jaylen Johnson during 1st half on Dec. 23. Drew finished with 0 points (0-4 FG), 3 assists, and 5 turnovers in 25 minutes in the Matadors' 80-55 defeat to the #4 ranked (at the time) Cardinals. As you can see, Drew's dreads are in their beginning stages. They'll look much better than this if he gives them a chance to grow longer. 

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65. Marley Biyendolo, 6-3 freshman G for Pepperdine, drives against Cal Lutheran on Nov. 17 (the same game from which I had of photo of him in my First Look post). Biyendolo never played more than 11 minutes in a game and never scored more than 3 points in a game. And for that reason he'll be playing Division 2 basketball next season after transferring to Southwest Baptist.
MARLEY BIYENDOLO (2014-15) (season totals, not averages): 21 games, 102 minutes, 12 points, 35.7 FG%, 6 rebounds, 9 assists, 5 steals

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66. Anthony Johnson, 6-2 sophomore G for Northern Colorado, defends as Colorado F Wesley Gordon looks to go to the basket on Dec. 13. Johnson has not played a lot in his first two seasons for the other UNC; but you get the feeling he's a big-time scorer waiting to happen if he ever does. After hitting 45% from 3-point range as a freshman, he upped that to 53.3% this season. Hopefully the coaching staff is planning on putting him on the court much more often next season.
ANTHONY JOHNSON (2014-15): 23 games, 8 MPG, 3.5 PPG, 54.9 FG%, 0.9 RPG

And who, you ask, is that #44 with dreads hidden in the photo by Johnson's arm? .....

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67.  ..... It's none other than former Colorado State G Dwight Smith, who transferred to Northern Colorado for his senior season. Here Smith, a 6-4 G, gets called for an offensive foul as Wyoming G Jason McManamen goes down midway through 2nd half on Nov. 16. It was the 3rd of 4 fouls called on Smith in a span of 3:22, as he fouled out with 10:20 remaining in the game. This performance notwithstanding, Smith's career with the Bears seemed to be off to a decent start; but then all of a sudden, during the week after the game at Colorado on Dec. 13, he was dismissed from the team. I checked the team's website and Dwight's Twitter account looking for the reason why, but I'm still in the dark. If any of you knows anything, please leave a comment. I still would like to know what he did that caused us to miss out seeing his dreads for one last season.
DWIGHT SMITH (2014-15): 8 games, 20 MPG, 2.9 PPG, 36.4 FG%, 1.9 RPG, 1.5 APG