DG172

The number of basketball players with dreads keeps increasing with each passing year; and as it does, it keeps becoming less and less rare each year to see a game where both teams have players with dreads. But two years ago it still was an unusual occurrence. Here in dread gallery #172 we'll finish (finally!) our look at the 2015-16 college basketball season with a look at all of the photos I could find (almost all) showing players with dreads on opposing teams on the court at the same time. Then after that, there will be a couple of extras, including answers to any questions you might have about the player holding the ball in the photo on the right.

1. If you wanted to see dreads on Division 1 opening night - Friday, Nov. 13 - the place to be was Viejas Arena in San Diego, where five players with dreads were on the court as San Diego State hosted Illinois State. You'll have to look closely to see the dreads of senior F Quintin Brewer (#2) and junior G Tony Wills (#12) in this photo (on left) as they defend a shot by senior F Angelo Chol. In the photo on the right G D'Erryl Williams gets set to make a pass as he brings the ball upcourt between Williams and freshman F Roland Griffin. Griffin was the game's top scorer with dreads, debuting with 13 points in 31 minutes. Junior G Paris Lee (not pictured) had 10 points in his first game with dreads. Brewer scored 8 points, and Wills had 2. Chol finished with 3 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots in 8 minutes for the Aztecs as they beat Illinois State 71-60.

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2. There were also five players with dreads in uniform for the Nov. 13 season opener between Stephen F. Austin and Baylor. Three of them are shown here, as sophomore F Johnathan Motley looks to get rid of the ball while pressured by sophomore G Ty Charles (#4) and senior F Clide Geffrard (#11) during the 1st half.

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3. Playing his first game with dreads, Johnathan Motley follows through on a dunk (left photo) that increases Baylor's lead to 57-32 with 14:03 remaining. Geffrard's hand is just above Motley's thigh after he failed to block the shot from behind. Later in the 2nd half, the third SFA player with dreads in the game- junior F CJ Williams - looks on as Motley hits a layup against G Thomas Walkup that makes the score 79-45.

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4. Here Johnathan Motley has a close encounter with Ty Charles as he tries to get to the basket during the 1st half. This looks like the same play as photo #2, with this one taken a second before photo #2, just before Clide Geffrard comes over to help Charles.
Baylor's two players with dreads outscored SFA's three 22-8. Motley was the top scorer with dreads with 12 points. Taurean Prince had 10 points for the Bears. Geffrard and Charles had just 3 points each, and Williams scored 2. Baylor won easily 97-55. But I'd have to say that SFA eventually got the last laugh. At the end of the season the Lumberjacks advanced one round further in the NCAA Tournament than the Bears did.

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5. Freshman G Josh Delaney was the player with the longest dreads on the court when Sam Houston State took the 99-mile trip to Stephen F. Austin for their SLC game on Jan. 23. Delaney defends against CJ Williams (right photo) and Clide Geffrard (left photo). Josh finished with 6 points, 2 assists, and 4 fouls in 15 minutes. Williams played only 3 minutes and didn't score. Geffrard, however, was the game's leading scorer with 22 points (7-10 FG, 4-4 FT) in 29 minutes, helping SFA improve to 6-0 in the SLC with the 76-64 victory.

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6. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi fans probably were wondering who was wearing jersey #25 when the Islanders faced SFA on Feb. 13. Star F Rashawn Thomas almost always was on the court with his hair in a mid-size afro; but for this game (and probably only this game) he had dreads, as here he loosely contests a jump shot that Ty Charles misses. I know Charles missed because both of the shots he made were layups. He finished with 10 points (2-6 FG, 6-7 FT) and 4 assists. Thomas had 13 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 turnovers. SFA increased their SLC lead over TAMU-CC to two and a half games, improving to 11-0 with the 70-58 home win.

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7. 6-7 senior F DeMondre Harvey of Louisiana-Monroe and 7-1 senior C Jordan Dickerson of Penn State spent a lot of time near each other during their time on the court (26 minutes each) on Dec. 12. Harvey has a great view (right photo) of one of the two dunks that Dickerson made during the 2nd half and tries to prevent Dickerson from getting to the basket (left photo).

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8. Both in their first season with dreads, DeMondre Harvey and Jordan Dickerson have an even closer encounter on this play, as Dickerson reaches over the top to try to tie up Harvey.

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9. Dickerson and Harvey were not the only players with dreads on the court at Penn State on Dec. 12. Here Harvey defends as senior F Brandon Taylor begins a drive to the basket.

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10. DeMondre Harvey has to deal with both Brandon Taylor and Jordan Dickerson on this play. There was no caption with this photo, but this probably is when Harvey had his layup blocked by Dickerson early in the 2nd half. DeMondre finished with 2 points and 8 rebounds and was the only player in the game who fouled out. Dickerson had 5 rebounds, 6 points, and a career high 7 blocked shots. Despite shooting 4 for 14 from the field, Taylor scored a team-leading 16 points. Penn State's other player with dreads, G Isaiah Washington, played only 5 minutes and had 0 points and 1 assist.
More often than not ULM had the lead; but Penn State, scoring 15 points in the final 6 minutes, eked out a 54-50 victory.

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11. DeMondre Harvey and junior G Marcus Johnson were on the same court three times, during the meetings between ULM and UALR, the top two teams in the SBC. Here Harvey finds himself in the uncomfortable position of having to defend the 5-11 Johnson on the perimeter during the SBC tournament championship game at New Orleans on Mar. 13. Harvey (10 points in 36 minutes) and Johnson (14 points in 37 minutes) both hit double figures. After splitting two close games during the regular season, Little Rock, the regular season conference champ, won the game that counted the most, outscoring ULM 42-17 in the 2nd half and winning 70-50.

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12. In DG169 we saw a practice photo of South Carolina State junior F Jaylen Reid. Here's the only photo I could find of him from a game, and unfortunately he has his sick dreads reduced as he watches junior F Clarence Williams dunk to up East Carolina's lead to 38-18 with 7:12 remaining in the 1st half on Dec. 22. Reid played a season high 9 minutes and scored his only 2 points of the season. Williams finished with 8 points and 5 rebounds in 16 minutes.

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13. Also from the SCSU-ECU game, SCSU senior forward Darryl Palmer defends as ECU freshman F Kentrell Barkley looks to drive to the basket. Palmer finished with 8 points and 4 assists in 25 minutes, while Barkley had 3 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocked shots in 22 minutes. There was one other player with dreads in the game: sophomore G Ty Solomon had 0 points and 6 assists in 20 minutes for SCSU. East Carolina led by 27 points at halftime (58-31) and cruised to a 98-71 home victory.

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14. In a duel between 6-6 freshmen with dreads Kentrell Barkley throws a bounce pass as Tulane G Melvin Frazier defends in AAC action on Feb. 10. In a game that went three overtimes these two were on the court for a combined 89 minutes. Frazier had 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists in 40 minutes; while Barkley started and scored 20 points and also finished with season highs in rebounds (14) and steals (5) in 49 minutes. Tulane won a three-overtime game for the first time in school history, improving to 2-10 in the AAC with a 100-92 road win over East Carolina, which dropped to 2-9.
Unfortunately last season you couldn't say that Frazier and Barkley were 6-6 sophomores with dreads because Frazier, after one season, decided to cut his dreads off.

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15. After grabbing an offensive rebound, senior F Shaq Goodwin has his eyes on the basket but can't get the shot up before he is fouled by Kentrell Barkley during the 1st half at Memphis on Jan. 24. Looks like Kentrell is heading for a rough landing, but he must not have been injured because he played 39 minutes. As was mentioned in DG171, Goodwin had a very productive 34 minutes, recording a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Barkley had a good game too, finishing with 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists to help the Pirates ended their 6-game losing streak with an 84-83 victory over the Tigers.

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16. If Shaq Goodwin thought he was going to be the only player with dreads in Memphis' road game against SMU on Jan. 30, he was in for a surprise. As mentioned in DG168, this was the game that junior F Ben Moore debuted his dreads. I'm including two photos of the same play because the tighter shot (on the left) doesn't show all of Moore's dreads. Goodwin goes to the basket between Moore and F Markus Kennedy but can't hit the layup with 5:59 remaining in the 1st half, keeping SMU's lead at 33-21. Shaq led the Tigers with 18 points; but the Mustangs, with Moore contributing 12 points and 8 rebounds, held a double-digit lead for the final 29 minutes of the game and whipped Memphis 80-68.

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17. With Shaq Goodwin on the court for 34 minutes and Mississippi senior G Stefan Moody for 37, the two saw a lot of each other during their game at Memphis on Dec. 18, especially with Moody's tendency to often drive inside the lane. Goodwin had 4 blocked shots in the game, including one attempted by Moody, but this (left photo) doesn't look like that one as Stefan takes one of his 11 shots in the paint. In the right photo Moody decides not to shoot in the lane, passing the ball between Goodwin and F K.J. Lawson. Goodwin finished with 7 points and 15 rebounds. Despite shooting just 6 for 20 Moody led the Rebels with 21 points in their 85-79 road win over the Tigers.
Goodwin and Moody figure to be seeing a lot more of each other during the 2017-18 season that just recently started - like every day. You may recall that in DG171 I mentioned that they are now teammates .....

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18. ..... And here's the proof, in a couple of shots from the Rethymno Cretan Kings' home game on Oct. 28. Moody and Goodwin defend Lavrio G Steven Gray (left photo). You might remember that once upon a time Gray had dreads (during his junior and senior seasons at Gonzaga in 2010 and 2011) but obviously not anymore. In the background is a third player with dreads for the Kings, F Hugh Robertson. Goodwin and Moody challenge a short shot by F Antwaine Wiggins (right photo). Alongside Robertson (far right side of the photo) are some more familiar dreads, on the head of former Kansas State F D.J. Johnson. Moody had a tough game, shooting 0 for 5 from the field and scoring 1 point. Goodwin finished with 9 points, 6 rebounds, and a game high 6 assists. Robertson scored 17 points. Johnson had 14 points (6-7 FG) and 8 rebounds in just 19 minutes. Gray was the game's high scorer with 25 points. Rethymno dropped to 1-3, losing at home to Lavrio (2-2) 95-73 in the Greek A1 League.

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19. Back to 2016 now, and back to Stefan Moody, this time going against junior G T.J. Dunans on Feb. 20. With Alabama G Dazon Ingram being injured early in the season, and with Texas A&M F Tavario Miller having dreads for only very early in the season, and with Dunans missing the first Auburn-Ole Miss game on Jan. 27, this was the only SEC game all season that had a player with dreads on both teams. Moody carries the ball for a first down .... I mean, drives to the basket between Dunans and F Cinmeon Bowers (left photo) and looks to pass after driving to the basket against T.J. (right photo) during the 1st half. Stefan finished with a game high 23 points and a game high 5 assists. In his first game back after missing 15 games due to a knee injury, Dunans had 7 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocked shots, and 4 turnovers in 21 minutes. Mississippi got the road win 69-59.

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20. I couldn't find any photos of Baylor senior F Taurean Prince in the same shot as any of the Stephen F. Austin players with dreads in the season opener, but here are a couple of him from Dec. 23 against one of two New Mexico State players with dreads, as he has the ball poked away from him by sophomore G Matt Taylor during the 1st half. With Prince finishing with a career high 34 points, Baylor's two players with dreads (Johnathan Motley was the other) outscored NMSU's two (Taylor and G Ian Baker) 34-23 in the Bears' 85-70 home victory.



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With four of their ten teams having players with dreads - Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas State, and Oklahoma State - I found myself often watching Big 12 basketball in 2016 - especially when those teams played each other.

21. In the first meeting between Baylor and Iowa State on Jan. 9 Taurean Prince, after dribbling into the lane, pulls up for a short jumper and gets it high enough to prevent senior F Jameel McKay from blocking it. Prince hit the shot to cut Iowa State's lead to 23-17 with 8:29 remaining in the 1st half.

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22. If F Rico Gathers had kept his dreads for a second season, this photo would have had three players with dreads instead of two. McKay meets heavy resistance as Gathers and Prince make sure he doesn't get an easy slam dunk late in the 1st half. The foul was charged to Prince, and Jameel made 1 of the 2 FT to increase Iowa State's lead to 29-26 with 4:20 to play until halftime.

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23. After Jameel McKay dribbles from the right baseline into the lane against F Terry Maston, Taurean Prince comes over to double team him, so McKay decides to pass the ball out to the left wing. It would have been his 4th assist of the game, but G Monte Morris missed the open 3-pointer, keeping Baylor's lead at 77-73 with 3:20 remaining in the game. Prince finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists; while McKay had 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. However, the best player with dreads in this one was Johnathan Motley; but I couldn't find any photos of him and McKay in the same shot. Motley shot 13 of 15 from the field and finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds. After trailing 20-8 in the 1st half, Baylor stormed back, scoring 84 points in the last 30 minutes of the game to knock off the Cyclones 94-89.

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24. A week and half later (Jan. 20) Baylor was at home, and I could find some photos of Johnathan Motley in the same shot with Kansas State's only player with dreads, the aforementioned (in photo #18) D.J. Johnson. Less than a minute after entering the game Johnson, the first time he touches the ball, looks to go to the basket against Motley, as Taurean Prince looks on. This photo was taken a split second before Johnson pump faked Motley off his feet then made the layup and one. He made the FT also to give K-State a 7-6 lead.

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25. This time Johnathan Motley is successful in blocking a shot by D.J. Johnson, with a little help from Terry Maston, in the 2nd half. It was the 2nd of Motley's game high 4 blocked shots.
Kansas State got the rebound but missed two more shots on the possession; and after the last miss, Taurean Prince grabs the rebound .....

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26. ..... And takes it coast to coast, finishing with a layup over D.J. Johnson and F Dean Wade. The two points were the 7th and 8th points of an 11-0 run, and they gave Baylor a 43-41 lead (their first lead since it was 11-9) and caused Kansas State to call a timeout. Prince led the Bears with 19 points and 13 rebounds in 46 minutes. Johnson had 11 points and 7 rebounds in 27 minutes. Motley finished with 15 points and 9 rebounds in 37 minutes. Despite the game going two overtimes, neither team reached 80 points, as Baylor came out on top 79-72.
By the way Johnson was in the jersey with no name in this game because the jersey with his name on it - #4 - didn't make it to Waco. According to the announcers doing the telecast, he forgot to bring it with him.

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27. In the second meeting between Baylor and Kansas State (on Feb. 10) D.J. Johnson remembered to bring his own jersey, but unfortunately for him Johnathan Motley also remembered how to block his shot. This one, Motley's 1st block of the game, came with 11:15 to play in the 2nd half, as Taurean Prince and others look on. Motley got his 2nd blocked shot on the same possession a couple of seconds later, keeping Baylor's lead at 53-46. Johnson took a season high 15 shots from the field, making 7. Of the 8 he missed, 3 were blocked, including 2 by Motley. D.J. finished with 19 points (a new career high which he would surpass later in the season) and 8 rebounds. Motley finished with 9 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots. Prince finished with 18 points. Despite the game not going into overtime, Baylor reached 80 points this time. The Bears improved to 7-4 in the Big 12 with the 82-72 road win over K-State, which dropped to 3-8. 
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28. Standing 6-foot-9, D.J. Johnson doesn't often find himself looking up at the man he's guarding; but it happens here on Mar. 9 as he defends a shot by 7-0 C Anthony Allen of Oklahoma State during the 2nd half of a 1st round game in the Big 12 Tournament. Allen has an easy jump hook from 5 feet away but bounces it off the front of the rim with 15:17 remaining and K-State leading by 12. More often than not during the season Allen found himself on the bench, especially during conference play; but he was on the court for 20 minutes (16 in the 2nd half) in what would be his last game for Oklahoma State. He had 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 blocked shot. Johnson also had 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 blocked shot before fouling out with 2:34 to play. Leading by 18 late in the 1st half, K-State held on for the 75-71 victory in the game between the teams that finished in 8th and 9th place in the conference.

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29. In the first meeting between Kansas State and Iowa State on Jan. 16 Jameel McKay very briefly has his hands on this defensive rebound after a missed 3-point shot early in the 2nd half. But if the photographer had taken another picture a fraction of a second later, it would have shown both D.J. Johnson and Dean Wade reaching in and causing McKay to lose control of the ball. The ball ended up going out of bounds, with the Wildcats keeping possession still trailing by 9 points.

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30. Late in the 2nd half on Jan. 16 D.J. Johnson comes over to help G Justin Edwards stop a drive by G Matt Thomas, so Thomas passes the ball to Jameel McKay wide open underneath the basket. But Jameel thinks Thomas is going to shoot and is hardly ready to catch the pass. The ball ends up bouncing off of McKay's arm, with Thomas being charged with the turnover. But their was no harm - the Cyclones still led by 10 with 1:46 to play. Johnson and McKay both shot 3 for 4 from the field in the game. Johnson finished with 7 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 blocked shot; while McKay had 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots. Both teams started the game with 1-3 records in Big 12 play, and it was Iowa State improving to 2-3 with the 76-63 road win. 

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31. There were very few games where Jameel McKay played with his dreads reduced; but whenever he did, he certainly didn't mess around, clumping all of his locks together into one. It was a look I didn't enjoy watching very much, and when D.J. Johnson showed up for the same game (on Feb. 27) with his dreads in a bun, I quickly lost my desire to watch this game at all. As Johnson looks on (photo above) McKay reaches to block a shot by F Wesley Iwundu with 3:40 remaining in the 1st half. Unfortunately for McKay Kansas State got the rebound and made a shot 5 seconds later to cut Iowa State's lead to 25-23. In the 2nd half, as McKay looks on (photo on right) Johnson tries to stop F Georges Niang from running him over too after he already has run over Iwundu and been whistled for a charging foul with 7:28 to play and Iowa State leading by 8.
Between them Johnson and McKay hit 13 of 20 shots from the field. D.J. finished with 22 points and 9 rebounds, and Jameel had 14 points, 17 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots. After going on a 13-0 run early in the 2nd half to take a 50-39 lead, the Cyclones led by at least 6 points for the rest of the game and defeated the Wildcats 80-61.  

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32. As was mentioned in DG171 Jameel McKay finished with 118 dunks in his two seasons for Iowa State; but as we all know, he actually had 119. He got robbed of this one on Feb. 29 with 3:01 remaining in the game against Oklahoma State. Jameel dunks hard on Anthony Allen only to have the ball bounce off the top of Allen's dreads and carom back out of the basket. Goaltending should have been called; but somehow all three officials blew the call - even though the announcer on the telecast immediately knew what had happened: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxaEYm-j518
It's funny the way Jameel, while running back on defense, is waving his arms trying to get the officials to get the call right, making it all the way to midcourt before giving up and realizing that these are two points he's just not going to get credit for. It would have been a nice way to score his last two points at home; but instead of finishing with 8 points he has to settle for 6 on senior night in Iowa State's 58-50 victory.

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33. Jameel McKay's final game against a team that had a player with dreads came in Iowa State's game against UALR in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament on Mar. 19 - although on this play it's not the player with dreads - G Marcus Johnson - but one of Johnson's teammates, that's causing him all the grief. As Johnson reaches for the ball from behind, G Kemy Osse reaches from the front but gets his fingers in McKay's dreads instead. The caption with this photo didn't indicate what the outcome of this play was, so I guess you'll have to use your imagination. McKay finished with 6 points and 10 rebounds. Johnson had 9 points in 35 minutes, but Little Rock had their season end with a 30-5 record after losing to Iowa State 78-61.

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34. Utah State senior G Chris Smith has a trio of Nevada players to deal with in this MWC game on Jan. 30, including freshman G Lindsey Drew. Checking the game play-by-play, this likely is one of the two layups Smith made in the 1st half or one of the three layups he missed. Smith outscored Drew in the game 19-0, but Drew came away with the W, as Nevada won on the road 89-84.

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35. Lindsey Drew decides to watch from a safe distance, but Morehead State junior F Treshaad Williams goes right into the crowd - as a peacemaker, of course - after a scuffle breaks out late in the 1st half of Game 2 of the CBI championship series at Reno on Mar. 30. Technical fouls were called on both teams, but nobody was ejected. No doubt this was the most eventful thing that happened in Williams' 5 minutes of playing time. He finished with 1 rebound. Drew had 7 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals in 30 minutes as Nevada evened the best of three series 1-1 with a 77-68 victory.

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36. Two of the better players in the ACC - and the best two with dreads - were on the same court on Jan. 7 at Raleigh in the only meeting between Louisville and North Carolina State. Louisville senior G Damion Lee is in pursuit (photo above) as junior G Anthony Barber tries to dribble away from him and F Anas Mahmoud. In the photo on right the shoe is on the other foot - or, in this case, the ball is in the other hand - as Lee makes a pass while defended by Barber and F Caleb Martin. As usual, Lee and Barber led their teams in minutes played in the game - Lee with 36 and Barber with 39. Barber also led his team with 20 points and 4 assists. But Lee got the W, finishing with 13 points in Louisville's 77-72 victory.
Barber and Lee did not cross paths in the D-League last season because Delaware and Maine didn't play each other until after Lee tore his ACL in late December.

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37. Still on the road for their next game three days later on Jan. 10 Damion Lee finds himself on the court with another ACC player with dreads - but only briefly, as senior F Josh Smith of Clemson played just 3 minutes in the 1st half. Smith looks on as Lee goes up to take a short shot in the lane that was blocked by F Donte Grantham (#15), keeping the Louisville lead at 14-13 with 7:32 remaining. Bad shooting was the story of this game. Between them the two teams made only 38 shots from the field and missed 73 (34.2%). Clemson pulled off the upset thanks to their 32-11 advantage in FT made. In his 3 minutes on the floor all Smith did was pick up 2 fouls. In his 37 minutes Lee finished with only 6 points (2-12 FG) as the Cardinals dropped to 13-3 with the 66-62 loss to Clemson.

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38. In only 8 of his 26 games did Josh Smith play more than 10 minutes. One of those came in Clemson's game against Rutgers at Las Vegas on Nov. 25. Here Smith tries to keep junior F Deshawn Freeman from driving past him in the 1st half. Freeman led his team in scoring but had only 13 points in 31 minutes. Smith finished with 2 points and 6 rebounds in his 12 minutes as Clemson won easily 76-58.

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39. Unless I missed someone else, Kent State senior G Xavier Pollard was the only player with dreads in the MAC in 2015-16; but he did face an opponent with dreads in a couple of nonconference games, including the one against Penn State on Dec. 23 at Las Vegas. Here Pollard watches Brandon Taylor go to the basket for a layup - something that happened often in the game, as Taylor shot 10 layups (going 5 for 10). Pollard finished with 11 points and 3 assists. Taylor scored a career high 29 points (and it would have been more if he had done better than shoot 4 for 10 on free throws) to lead Penn State to a 75-69 victory.

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40. With this game on Dec. 22 being one of the few that junior G Tahjere McCall had his hair in dreads, he was one of five players with dreads who saw action in Tennessee State's game at Illinois State. Freshman F Roland Griffin loses control of the ball, but only because he has been fouled by McCall, on a drive to the basket during the final minute of the 1st half. Griffin made 1 of the 2 FT to increase the Redbirds' lead to 35-23. With usual starters Paris Lee (3 minutes played) and Quintin Brewer (DNP-CD) temporarily in Coach Muller's doghouse, and with McCall having a subpar game (2-11 FG, 4 points), seven players with dreads in uniform totaled just 23 points in the game, led by Griffin's 10. Illinois State got the 66-55 home win to snap TSU's 5-game winning streak. 

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41. The Nov. 16 game between Southeastern Louisiana and Texas A&M counts as one with both teams having players with dreads because it was early in the season, before junior F Tavario Miller untwisted his beginner dreads and went back to normal hair. Here Miller and G Danuel House box out junior F Keith Charleston during a Southeastern FT attempt. Charleston finished with 7 points and 5 rebounds. Miller had 6 points and 7 rebounds in the Aggies' easy 100-58 victory.

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42. A week later (Nov. 24) Keith Charleston's opponent with dreads was Cincinnati sophomore F Quadri Moore. Charleston isn't able to block this shot on a drive by Moore but does cause him to miss it with 9:34 to play in the 1st half, keeping UC's lead at 21-11. Moore missed the only other shot he took too and went scoreless in 6 minutes. Charleston finished with 2 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 turnovers in 30 minutes, as the Lions dropped to 1-4 with the 64-49 road loss to the Bearcats.
2016 would be the only season with dreads for Moore; but Charleston, after redshirting last season, still has his dreads. And with both him and James Currington expected to be in the starting lineup this season, Southeastern Louisiana will be one of the best teams to watch if you want to see a team with two players with long dreads.   

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43. A lot of fans disguised as empty seats were on hand for the can't miss Wednesday afternoon quarterfinal game in the SWAC Tournament between Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley State at Houston on Mar. 9. Here in the 1st half senior F Latrell Love of Valley looks on as senior F Tyrel Hunt puts up and shot - and hits it - over F Ta'Jay Henry to give Alcorn a 21-20 lead. Hunt missed the other 3 shots from the field he took and finished with 4 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists in his final game in an Alcorn State uniform.

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44. Latrell Love once again is a spectator on Mar. 9 as G Kylan Phillips (accidentally, I hope) connects with a left jab to the face of senior F DeAndre Davis. Phillips' only foul of the game came after an offensive rebound by Davis with 7:04 remaining in the 1st half, so maybe this is a photo of that. Davis finished with 5 points and 4 rebounds. Of the four players with dreads who saw action, Love was the top scorer with 8 points, helping MVSU, the 9th place team in the SWAC, upset 2nd place Alcorn State 64-61.

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45. Even teams from the MEAC have a cupcake opponent on their schedules, and for their 2015-16 home opener on Nov. 16 South Carolina State hosted Voorhees, an NAIA team that made the half hour trip from Denmark to Orangeburg. SCSU sophomore G Ty Solomon rarely found himself as the player with the second longest dreads on the court; but that might have been the case in this game, as here he is defended by 6-3 F Marcus Walker. The five players with dreads who saw action combined to score 36 points, led by Walker's 14. Solomon finished with 8 points and 3 assists in 17 minutes as South Carolina State won easily 113-69. Walker, by the way, averaged 5.3 PPG for the season.

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46. Ty Solomon most definitely did have the longest dreads of the four players with dreads who were on the court on Mar. 12 for the championship game of the MEAC Tournament. The caption for this photo says that Solomon was called for a foul as junior G Lawrence Cooks of Hampton tries to drive past him. If that's true, then this happened with 7:08 remaining in the 1st half. Cooks made 1 of the 2 FT to cut SCSU's lead to 27-22. He finished with 5 points and 2 rebounds in 36 minutes. Solomon had 2 points, 4 rebounds, and led the Bulldogs with 5 assists in 26 minutes. Hampton outscored South Carolina State 10-0 in the final 2:30 of the game to pull away and win a thriller 81-69 for the championship.

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47. It seems strange that Jacksonville State, a school in Alabama, would schedule a nonconference game all the way out in Los Angeles; but they did, and it gave Loyola Marymount fans a chance to see dreads other than those of junior F Adom Jacko on Dec. 18. Here Jacko looks to get to the basket while defended by junior G Greg Tucker. Unfortunately the photographer for the LMU website is more interested in getting a shot of Jacko and doesn't include all of Tucker's dreads in the picture. Jacko led the Lions with 21 points and 11 rebounds in just 23 minutes. Tucker scored 11 points - the 3rd of 14 games he scored in double figures during the season - but the Gamecocks dropped their 5th game in a row, losing to Loyola Marymount 77-60.

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48. I have to apologize for not finding a larger version of this photo; but even if I had, it still would be difficult to tell who had the longest dreads in CUSA - senior F Darnell Harris of MTSU or senior G Justin Edmonds of Marshall. Harris and Edmonds stand side-by-side as they wait for the outcome of a drive to the basket by MTSU F Reggie Upshaw between G C.J. Burks (#14) and F Terrence Thompson during a semifinal game is the CUSA Tournament at Birmingham on Mar. 11. Trying to keep his career going one more day, Edmonds scored a season high 13 points - going 5 for 12 from the field in 10 minutes; but it was for naught. Harris scored 12 points (5-9 FG) as all five MTSU starters scored in double figures in their 99-90 victory over Marshall.

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2016-17 SEASON

For the rest of DG172 I'd thought we'd look at some of the photos I saved from last season. And we'll start with a few more dread duels.

49. It certainly has not been unusual to see dreads on the Wisconsin football team over the years. But basketball? When Nigel Hayes turned the hair he was growing out during his junior season into dreads for his senior season, I think he became the first ever UW basketball player with dreads. Hayes, a 6-8, 240-pound F, looks to drive against Rutgers F Deshawn Freeman (the same player we saw in photo #38) during a game played at MSG on Jan. 28. Hayes had 7 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists; while Freeman finished with just 5 points and 4 rebounds. In an ugly game that featured poor shooting, Wisconsin rallied from a 41-32 deficit in the final 3:20 of the 2nd half and defeated Rutgers 61-54 in overtime.
After missing most of the 2015-16 season and taking a redshirt, Freeman was in the starting lineup for almost every game last season for Rutgers and averaged 11.1 PPG and a team-leading 7.8 RPG.  

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50. In Wisconsin's two games against Minnesota, Nigel Hayes spent a lot of time going against freshman F Eric Curry. Hayes drives against the 235-pound Curry (photo above) during the game on Jan. 21. Four players with dreads combined for 49 points in the game, led by Hayes' 21. Curry, one of three Gophers with dreads, had 5 points and 5 rebounds. Wisconsin won 78-76 in OT. In the game at Madison on Mar. 5 Hayes takes and hits a 3-pointer against Curry (photo on right) early in the 2nd half, breaking a 33-33 tie and putting the Badgers ahead to stay. Hayes finished with 12 points and 6 rebounds in his final home game in a Wisconsin uniform as the Badgers won 66-49, leaving both teams with 23-8 records.
There's bad news to report about Curry - on two fronts. He suffered a serious knee injury during a pickup game two months ago and will not play this season. And the other thing? He cut off his dreads.
As for Hayes, in his first season with dreads he had a slightly disappointing senior year. He averaged 14.0 points, a career high 6.6 rebounds, and 2.7 assists and was named 3rd team All-Big 10. That's disappointing because he made 1st team and averaged 15.7 PPG as a junior. Not many players play 17 career games in the NCAA Tournament; but Hayes did, making the Sweet 16 all four years and the Final 4 twice..
Unfortunately there will be no 2nd season with dreads for Hayes. It looked like there would be, as he still had dreads during the NBA Summer League back in July. But he has since cut them off, as he begins his pro career in the NBA G (formerly known as D) League with the Westchester Knicks.  

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51. There's no need to adjust the color on your computer; those really are blue dread tips on the head of NJIT sophomore F Abdul Lewis as he and G Tim Coleman double team one of the other two Minnesota players with dreads, 6-10, 260-pound C Reggie Lynch, at Minneapolis on Dec. 6. Lewis, a 6-10, 225-pounder, finished with 9 points and a game high 9 rebounds. Lynch had 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots as the Gophers outscored NJIT 16-7 in the last 7 minutes to pull out a 74-68 victory.
Both Lewis and Lynch were new to their teams last season. In his first season with the Gophers, which was also his first season with dreads, Lynch, a suburban Minneapolis native who transferred to Minnesota after playing his first two seasons for Illinois State, was named Big 10 defensive player of the year - finishing 2nd in the nation in blocked shots (3.5 per game). He also accounted for 8.4 of the 23.4 points per game the Gophers got from their three players with dreads. Eric Curry averaged 5.5 PPG, and senior G Akeem Springs averaged 9.5 PPG in his first season with dreads.
Lewis also transferred back home (he's from Newark, the same city where NJIT's campus is located) after playing his freshman season for South Alabama in 2015. He kept the blue tips for the first 6 weeks of the season before changing to blond. In his first season for the Highlanders (who finished 11-20) he set a new school record with 264 rebounds, averaging 8.5 RPG and 9.7 PPG.

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52. Taurean Prince and Jameel McKay weren't there anymore, but Iowa State vs. Baylor still had dreads on both sides in 2017. With dreads noticeably longer than the year before, Johnathan Motley decides whether to pass, drive, or shoot while being defended by 6-8, 240-pound freshman F Solomon Young during the 1st half at Waco on Jan. 4. Young was busy during his 12 minutes on the court, scoring 5 points and picking up 4 fouls. Motley recorded his 5th double-double of the season (and 3rd in a row), finishing with 13 points and 12 rebounds as Baylor improved to 12-0 with a 65-63 win over Iowa State.

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53. Here's a better look at Solomon Young's dreads in a couple of shots from the second meeting between Baylor and Iowa State, on Feb. 25. They're a bit longer than they appear because Young, as he did for most games, folded them in half and tucked them under his headband. Young again defends against Motley (left photo) in the 1st half and challenges Motley for a rebound (and loses) (right photo) early in the 2nd half. Motley recorded the 12th of his 15 double-doubles, finishing with 27 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists. Young had an excellent performance too, with 11 points (4-4 FG, 3-5 FT), 3 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots; and he did what McKay couldn't do - that is, beat Motley and Baylor at home. The Cyclones almost gave up an 8-point lead in the final 22 seconds but held on to defeat the Bears 72-69.
Young moved into the starting lineup at the start of February and figures to be a major contributor for the Cyclones this season. As a freshman he averaged 4.4 points (64.3 FG%) and 3.3 rebounds in 17 minutes per game.
Motley, in case you didn't hear, was named 1st team All-Big 12 and 2nd team All-America after averaging 17.3 points and 9.9 rebounds in just 30 minutes per game last season. This season, after not being picked in the NBA Draft, he signed a two-way contract with the Dallas Mavericks, meaning he figures to play for both them as well as their affiliate in the G-League, the Texas Legends.He had 15 points and 7 rebounds in the Legends' season opener on Nov. 4.

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54. I think these two photos are shots from different angles of the same play, featuring a dread duel between two junior college transfers. And I think it shows them battling for a rebound late in the 2nd half (but I could be wrong about that). Despite getting a piece of Keanu Pinder's wrist (right photo), Matt Smith is not called for a foul (that I'm not wrong about) during Arizona's home-opening 78-66 win over Cal State-Bakersfield on Nov. 15. Pinder, a 6-9, 220-pound junior F, had 4 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 fouls in the game; while Smith, a 6-6, 190-pound senior F, finished with 2 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 fouls.
In his 2nd season for Bakersfield Smith improved to 10.1 PPG and 5.7 RPG (from 4.5 and 2.8 as a junior), but the Roadrunners didn't make it back to the NCAA Tournament. After winning the regular season title in the WAC but losing in the championship game of the conference tournament, CSUB reached the final four of the NIT before losing in the semifinals and finishing at 25-10.
Pinder, who was born in Australia while his father was playing pro basketball there (and getting into a lot of off the court trouble too), averaged 2.2 points (53.7 FG%) and 2.9 rebounds in 12 minutes per game and led the Wildcats in blocked shots (22) in his first season on the team.

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55. Senior G Donnell Minton of Presentation College gets slapped in the face by his own dreads as he runs into a screen set by F Austin Sparks that allows freshman G Brandon Armstrong to dribble away from him during South Dakota's easy 99-60 home victory on Nov. 16. Armstrong, a 6-5, 205-pounder, finished with 12 points in 22 minutes - one of two times he scored in double figures during his rookie season and the only time he led the team in scoring. For the season he averaged 2.3 points and 0.9 rebounds in 10 minutes per game.
As for Minton, the player pictured at the top of this page, he scored what would have been a season low 7 points; but since this was considered an exhibition game for Presentation (but not for South Dakota), none of his or his teammates' stats from this game counted. I'll have more on him a little later.

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56. If you made it all the way to the end end of DG169, you already know that senior G Paris Lee's dreads became more colorful during his senior season for Illinois State; but until now I haven't mentioned that F Zach Brown started growing dreads during his junior season for Wichita State. Here Lee takes it to the basket against Brown on two separate drives during the championship game of the MVC Tournament on Mar. 5. The two teams both finished 17-1 in the MVC in the regular season, and ISU was the #1 seed in the conference tournament because they had the better RPI. Lee finished with 18 points and 6 rebounds, but the Redbirds could not avenge their 41-point thrashing at the hands of the Shockers a month earlier, getting blown out again. Brown had 2 points and 4 rebounds in 21 minutes as the Shockers began to pull away late in the 1st half and held a double-digit lead for almost the entire 2nd half in their 71-51 victory.
Brown, a 6-6, 215-pounder, has increased his scoring averaged from 3.3 to 6.7 to 7.4 in his first three seasons and still has his dreads at the start of his senior season as Wichita State, after 72 years in the MVC, plays their first season in the AAC.
Lee was named conference player of the year and defensive player of the year after averaging 13.0 PPG and leading the league in assists and steals, but he finished his college career playing in the NIT after ISU got snubbed for the NCAA Tournament despite their 27-6 record. Lee's dreads are back to black this season as he begins his pro career playing for Telenet Giants Antwerp in Belgium.

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57. I can't find a video of the Kentucky-Alabama game on Feb. 11, so I can't tell you exactly when during their 10 minutes on the court together in the 1st half that this battle for possession took place between freshmen Dazon Ingram and Wenyen Gabriel. Gabriel played a season high 29 minutes and finished with 2 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots. Ingram also played 29 minutes and had 12 points, 8 rebounds, and a team high 3 assists, but Alabama lost at home to Kentucky (big surprise) 67-58. Ingram, a 6-5 G, who was a redshirt freshman last season after being injured early in the 2015-16 season, averaged 10.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, and a team-leading 3.3 assists in 27 minutes per game in his first full season for the Crimson Tide. The 6-9, 213-pound Gabriel was born in Sudan but has lived in the USA for most of his life. He played in all 38 games for UK, averaging 4.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in 18 minutes per game.
Ingram and Gabriel are no longer the only players with dreads on their teams; so I guess I'll be watching a lot more of these two teams this season.

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58. Earlier in the season (Dec. 7) Wenyen Gabriel's opponent with dreads was Jubril Adekoya, a 6-7, 230-pound senior F for Valparaiso. The left photo looks like a shot of Gabriel going up for a rebound as Adekoya looks on from under the basket. And you'll have to use your imagination for the photo on the right. The caption said that Adekoya was yelling to a teammate. He finished with 7 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 0 assists, and 5 turnovers. Gabriel had 3 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots in 19 minutes as Kentucky won at home easily 87-63.
During his junior season Adekoya's hair was in the process of turning into dreads, and by the end of the season they indeed did look like dreads; but I didn't officially welcome him to the house until the start of last season. Adekoya's senior season was cut short after just 9 games, as the NCAA declared him ineligible due to an academic issue. He had already graduated after his junior year, so I have no idea what the issue was. No explanation was ever given publicly. Jubril averaged 8.6 points and 5.1 rebounds in 29 minutes in those 9 games. He's currently playing his first pro season for a 2nd division team in Spain.

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59. Junior F Brandon Hollins and the rest of his Portland State teammates are a little slow getting back on defense, and as a result he gets dunked on by 6-2 sophomore G Michael Oguine of Montana during the 1st half of a Big Sky Conference game on Feb. 18. Hollins also was called for a foul on the play, and Oguine hit the FT to give Montana a 16-12 lead. Hollins had more fouls (1) than points (0) in this game, the last of 6 scoreless games he had in his first season for Portland State after transferring from junior college. Oguine finished with 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists to help Montana get an 85-82 home win.
Similar to Jubril Adekoya, I waited until the beginning of last season to welcome Oguine to the house, even though I could have done it toward the end of his freshman season, when his hair looked a lot more like dreads than at the beginning. In his second season as a starter he averaged 11.9 points, 6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.4 steals in 28 minutes per game and was named 3rd team All-Big Sky. Michael just began his 3rd season as a starter; but unfortunately it will not be his 2nd season with dreads because he has cut them off.
As far as I know, Hollins still has his dreads; and that's a very good thing because they are probably among the top 10 longest in Division 1. I mean, this photo doesn't do justice. It doesn't show how really long his dreads are. Brandon, a 6-6, 200-pounder, played 14 minutes per game last season and averaged 6.1 points and 3.5 rebounds and shot much better from the field (60.3%) than the FT line (42.0%).

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60. And speaking of players with dreads among the top 10 longest, here are a couple more. I mean, what are the odds of two players, both with long dreads and both wearing jersey #0, in the same game? Of course, only if you saw them from the front would you have been able to confirm that Murray State junior F Terrell Miller and Wright State senior F Steven Davis both were wearing #0. The two had plenty of time to get acquainted, with Davis playing 28 minutes and Miller 33 in the game at Murray on Dec. 22. My guess is that both of these photos were taken early in the 1st half, with the right photo perhaps being when Davis was fouled by G Bryce Jones while shooting with 15:59 remaining and the photo on the left maybe when Davis got an offensive rebound with 18:59 to play or when he missed a layup with 19:36 to play. Miller finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds; while Davis had 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots as Wright State outscored Murray State 47-26 in the 2nd half to get the 77-62 road win.
It was one of 7 games that Davis, a 6-8, 220-pounder, scored 20+ points. After missing the second half of the 2014-15 season and all of 2015-16 due to injury, he had by far the best year of his career as a senior in 2016-17, starting all 32 games and averaging 14.9 points (49.4 FG%) and 4.3 rebounds in 28 minutes as Wright State went 20-12. These days Steven is hanging out in Hungary, averaging 9 PPG so far in his first pro season for the successful Egis Kormend team.

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61. We didn't get a good look at the long dreads of 6-9 F JaQuan Smith in DG169, when he was with Stephen F. Austin during his junior season; but here's a much better look at just how long they are from last year, after he transferred to Division 2 school Fort Hays State, as he teams up with F Brady Werth on this play to make it very difficult for senior F Xavier Johnson to get to the basket on Dec. 17. Smith finished with 6 points and 8 rebounds, while Johnson had 15 points and 5 rebounds as Colorado took a 17-point lead at halftime and cruised to an 81-71 victory.
After hardly playing at all for SFA, Smith started all 29 games in his only season for Fort Hays (which finished 18-11), scoring 7.9 PPG and leading the team in rebounds (6.6 RPG) and blocked shots (1.2 BPG) even though he played only 22 minutes per game. He was named to the MIAA All-Defensive team.
The 6-7 Johnson, just like Steven Davis, had a solid senior season after missing the 2015-16 season due to injury (torn Achilles), averaging a career best 14.8 points and 5.9 rebounds in 28 minutes per game.
As far as I know, neither Smith or Johnson is playing this season right now. German club MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg was considering signing Johnson but decided not to, and he's waiting for an offer from another team. My guess is that Smith would be playing somewhere; but if he is, I can't find any information about it.

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62. When I was browsing through the pictures I had saved from last season and came to this one, I thought, since he was in a dark blue jersey, it was another one of Murray State's Terrell Miller. But no, it isn't; not at all. Instead it's 6-6 junior G Donte Watson of North Carolina A&T, here standing out of harm's way and letting 6-9 teammate Aaron Scales do all the dirty work defending a drive by East Carolina sophomore F Kentrell Barkley on Nov. 14. Very likely this is a shot of when Scales fouled Barkley with 11:56 remaining in the 1st half. After the media timeout, Kentrell hit both FT to give ECU an 18-8 lead. He finished with 8 points and 4 rebounds. Watson had 6 points and 4 rebounds in the Aggies' 61-51 road loss to East Carolina.
Sadly the 2016-17 season was the end of the line for Barkley's dreads. ECU fans might think that Barkley graduated and somebody else is in jersey #15 when they watch him this season. Thankfully Watson still has his dreads, as he tries to make another appearance on my dread all-America team .....

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63. ..... I know ..... I didn't do a dread all-America team for 2016-17; but if I had, Donte Watson would have been a no brainer for the starting five. Arguably his dreads were longer than anyone's in Division 1 last season. Here's another shot from the rear (on right) of those dreads during the game at Western Kentucky on Nov. 22. And on the left a little face time along with his dreads as he grabs a rebound against Coppin State on Jan. 14. The A&T website had a picture of him from that game because it was his best game of the season. He recorded season highs in points (19), rebounds (8), assists (4), and minutes played (40) in a tough 75-73 loss in overtime. Here's hoping Donte enjoys more success this season. The Aggies finished a brutal 3-29 last season - during which he played 20 games, averaging 6.8 points (51.0 FG%) and 3.3 rebounds in 20 minutes per game in his first year on the team after transferring from junior college.

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64. Newcomers also occupy three of the other four spots in the starting five. Also in the running for the longest dreads was Terrell Miller, whom we saw a little earlier in photo #60. Miller drives to the basket against Illinois State F Deontae Hawkins (left photo) in the season opener on Nov. 11, gives token resistance on a short shot by MTSU F Reggie Upshaw (center photo) four days later, and defends against Austin Peay F Chris Porter-Bunton (right photo) on Jan. 14. I didn't include any photos from later in the season because more often than not - and sadly - he had his dreads reduced then. Miller, an agile 6-8, 250-pounder, made honorable mention NJCAA All-America as a sophomore in 2016, and he continued his excellent play in his first season for Murray State, averaging 16.0 points and 8.2 rebounds in 30 minutes per game in 2016-17. He shot 47.7% from the field, including a respectable 67 for 169 (39.6%) from 3-point range, as he earned 1st team All-OVC honors. Unfortunately the Racers, after going 29 consecutive seasons with a winning record, finished 16-17 last season. They haven't had two losing seasons in a row since 1977-79, so the pressure is on for Miller and friends not to go there. 

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65. Damari Parris, a 6-0, 160-pound G for Western Kentucky, gets off a jump shot (right photo) against North Carolina A&T on Nov. 22 but has his shot smothered by Washington F Dominic Green (left photo) during the 2nd half of WKU's next game on Nov. 25. Parris' dreads made a spectacular showing during his freshman season, even if he didn't as a player. He scored in double figures in just one of the 24 games he played, finishing the year averaging 3 points and 0.8 assists in 11 minutes per game.
If you want to see these dreads this winter, you're going to have to find your way to Athens, TX. Coach Stansbury cleaned house after last season but waited until July to let Parris know his scholarship wasn't going to be renewed. With a transfer to another D-1 school requiring him to sit out this season, Damani instead decided to transfer to Trinity Valley Community College, where he's averaging 10 PPG through the first four games of the season.

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66. Here are views from the front and rear of the awesome dreads of Colin Slater, a 6-0, 185-pound G who was a freshman for Tulane last season. I mean if this is all his own hair, he must have started growing it before Hurricane Katrina forced him to move to California when he was 7 years old. After being named area player of the year by the Fresno Bee during his senior year in HS, Slater played just 13 minutes per game in his first season back home, averaging 4 PPG and just under 1 rebound and 1 assist per game. Even so, he was thrilled just to be back in New Orleans: https://tulanehullabaloo.com/22742/sports/slater-returns-for-basketball/

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67. The final member of my would-have-been 2017 dread All-America starting five is the only non-newcomer; and if Colin Slater's dreads grow as much as Tony Wills' did during his four seasons at Illinois State, I can hardly wait to see Slater when he's a senior. You could actually see the #12 on Wills' back when he was a freshman in 2013-14. But as you can see, that was no longer a possibilty last season - not unless his dreads swung out of the way and allowed you to see it, like in the top right photo, as he tries to but can't prevent Murray State G Jonathan Stark from hitting the game-winning 3-pointer with 2 seconds to play in the season opener on Nov. 11. The other two photos are from Wills' final game in an ISU uniform, during which the Redbirds blew an 18-point lead in a heartbreaking 63-62 home loss to UCF in the 2nd round of the NIT on Mar. 20.
Wills was a reliable scorer in high school but turned into more of a defensive ace with the Redbirds. Still, his numbers steadily increased as his playing time did over his four seasons. Last season he averaged 6.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.2 steals in 27 minutes per game. There's no record of him playing pro basketball with any team right now, but there is a photo of him (on his Instagram account) holding his diploma, so at least he graduated.

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68. Develle Phillips wouldn't have been a starter on my dread all-America team; but with dreads like these, there certainly would have been a place for him as a reserve. When Phillips, a 6-9 F, left DePaul after his freshman season in 2016, the already tiny number of players with dreads in the Big East got even tinier. In fact, unless there was someone I didn't know about, it went down to zero. You can hardly blame Phillips for leaving, as he played only 30 minutes all season. He played in 33 games last season after transferring to Odessa College, a junior college in Texas. The photo on the right shows him dunking during an 85-68 victory over Midland in his final home game on Feb. 27. It was his best game of the season, as he finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds, both season highs. After averaging 5.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots in just 15 minutes per game for a team that finished 28-6 and reached the quarterfinals of the NJCAA Tournament, Develle has transferred to a school much closer to home and a little closer to his talent level for his junior season. The Bowie, MD, native, is now playing for James Madison in the CAA, and in the Dukes' first three games so far he (thankfully) has already far surpassed the 30 minutes he played in at DePaul as a freshman.

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69. A word to the wise .....
If a former high school teammate of yours asks if you know anybody that you and he could rob a stash of marijuana from, try to talk him out of it. And if that doesn't work, kindly tell him "I can't hang out with you no more." No doubt Joeviair Kennedy is regretting he didn't do either of those things when he found himself being asked that exact question around this time a year ago.
A month after getting his Western Michigan career started, and three weeks after being pictured guarding G Alex Hobbs during the 1st half of a 91-70 loss at Boise State on Nov. 20, the only thing Kennedy, a 6-4 freshman G, was being pictured for was his mug shot. He was immediately dismissed from the team and has been in jail ever since after his former teammate - and longtime friend - turned what was supposed to be a simple robbery into a just a bit more serious first degree murder (shades of the old movie "Juice"). If you're interested, here are some details in a couple of articles from the Kalamazoo Gazette (links below), which have links to even more articles (in case you're really interested). Now almost a year later the case still hasn't even gone to trial yet. It sounds like Joeviair, since he wasn't the shooter, is throwing himself on the mercy of the court; but unless he gets a judge who is incredibly merciful, this is going to be a matter of how many decades, not just years, he'll be staying in jail. What a waste.

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2017/01/jake_jones_joeviair_kennedy_jo.html
http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2017/01/former_wmu_basketball_player_r.html

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To wrap up DG172 here are updates on a few players who have been featured several times in dread galleries from previous seasons.

70. After ending his stellar college career at Louisiana Tech in 2015, G Kenneth "Speedy" Smith began his pro career for a team in Latvia. But after playing in only 13 games, he was back in the USA, and he has played exclusively in the G-League ever since. These two photos are from last season, his second with the Los Angeles D-Fenders. He averaged 2.9 PPG and 2.5 APG in 2015-16, and last season, in 22 minutes per game, he averaged 6.5 points and 3.9 assists mostly as a reserve. Speedy remains just as he was in college; that is, he does everything well except shoot. That's what's keeping him from the NBA. He shot 31.6% and 33.3% from the field in his two seasons with the D-Fenders; and he's off to an even chillier start this year in his first season with the Grand Rapids Drive, hitting only 10 of 41 shots (24.4%) in the first 7 games of the season.

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71. After ending his stellar college career at William & Mary in 2015, G Marcus Thornton was picked by the Boston Celtics in the 2nd round of the NBA Draft. Although he has played in the NBA Summer League the last three summers, he still has yet to appear in an NBA regular season game. In 2015-16 he played in Australia, averaging 12.7 PPG for Sydney; and when their season ended in March, he came over to the G-League and averaged 13.6 points for Maine in the last 12 games of their season.
As you may remember from when he was in college, Marcus prefers to play with his dreads as loose as possible; but as long as they are now, you're more likely than not to see him on the court with them reduced. His dreads were flowing at full blast in these two games from last season, including one (right photo) where they did a better job than the opposing player of trying to keep him from making the layup. Last season Thornton averaged 13.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 28 minutes per game for Consultinvest VL Peasro, which finished at 10-20 and in 15th place (out of 16) in the top division in Italy. Marcus is beginning this season in the G-League, playing for the Canton Charge.

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72. After spending one injured-plagued season with New Mexico in 2014-15, 6-8 F Jordan Goodman transferred to Division 2 school Bowie State for his senior season. But unfortunately fans at Bowie State games didn't get the chance to see his really long dreads for long. He got off to a good start, averaging 13.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.9 assists in the season's first 7 games; but then suddenly he was suspended for "failure to adhere to team standards" (whatever that is) and missed the rest of the season. A junior college All-America before signing with New Mexico, Goodman obviously has huge talent. I'm sure he has tried to get his pro career going; but I can't find anything that says he signed with any team. There's mention of him playing in something called the Eurobasket Summer League this past summer, but apparently he didn't impress enough. I'm betting that he'll keep trying.

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73. Even though I know absolutely nothing about the opposing teams that G Cameron Dobbs played against in his two seasons for Division 2 team American International (after playing his first two in D-1 for Mississippi Valley State), it's a safe bet to say that he had the longest dreads on the court in every game he played in college. I couldn't find a lot of photos from his senior season, but these two give you a bit of an idea of how long his dreads are. After earning 3rd team All-Northeast 10 honors and averaging 18.2 PPG as a junior in 2014-15, Dobbs' numbers dropped a bit in 2016, as he averaged 14.7 PPG and settled for honorable mention. In his four years of college basketball, Cameron made 179 2-point FG and 231 3-pointers. I doubt he's playing pro basketball now. If he is, I can't find any information about it.

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74. Last, but not least, we come to Donnell Minton, a player who will always merit special admiration in the house. This is the guy, you might remember, who found out at the start of what was supposed to be his junior season at Lamar in 2014-15 that the new coach really was serious about enforcing his no players with dreads policy. Throughout that season, in which he ended up redshirting, the coach found out that Minton really was serious about keeping his dreads.
Having already sat out one season, he didn't want to sit out another, so he couldn't transfer to another Division 1 school. He ended up going from the top to the very bottom of the ladder as far as college basketball goes, transferring to Presentation College in Aberdeen, SD, a team in Division 2 of the NAIA.
Fortunately the Aberdeen News website actually sent a photographer to some of the Saints' games; so there are several photos of Minton on the web from his two seasons at Presentation. These two are from his first two games, on Nov. 6 (left photo) and Nov. 7, as he shoots against Providence (the one in Manitoba, not Rhode Island) and Oak Hills Christian. He scored 20 and 21 points in the games; but for some reason the Saints, after the games were played, had to forfeit them.

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75. Three weeks later Presentation took their shortest road trip of the season - two and half miles, from the north side of Aberdeen to the south side, to take on Northern State. Donnell Minton, a 6-0, 150-pound G, loses control of the ball trying to drive between two defenders (right photo) and tries to get G Ian Smith tied up before he can pass the ball (left photo) during the 1st half on Nov. 27. Another thing I admired about Minton is that - just like Marcus Thornton - he always played with his dreads flowing freely, barely restrained at all - no matter how long they kept getting. Watching basketball would be so much more fun if everybody did their dreads like him. Donnell had 18 points and 7 rebounds in the game, which was kind of close until Northern State scored 38 points in the final 10 minutes to pull away to a 101-66 victory. But since Northern State isn't an NAIA school (they're NCAA D-2), the game didn't count on Presentation's record.

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76. What do you know - a dread duel in the North Star Athletic Association. The player with dreads that Donnell Minton is driving past during the 1st half on Jan. 23 is G Nate Vieira of Valley City State. They both led their respective teams in scoring in this game, Vieira with 16 points and Minton with 27 as Presentation upset #12 ranked Valley City 77-73.
You would expect a former NCAA Division 1 player to dominate against NAIA D-2 competition, and Minton did. He averaged 24.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 2.6 APG in 2015-16. And he dominated even more as a senior last season, leading the Saints in points (26.6), rebounds (6.5), assists (3.8) and steals (2.1) in 37 minutes per game, and shooting 47.7% from the field, including 41.5% from 3-point range. He was 1st team All-NSAA in both seasons, and earned honorable mention for the NAIA D-2 All-America team in 2016-17, when his 26.6 scoring average was third best in the nation. This highlight video doesn't show every shot he made last season. It only seems like it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2lKVMAu3AQ
I would love to report that Donnell is still hitting those long-range threes for some team oversees this season, but I can't. I can't find anything that indicates that he has signed with a pro team anywhere, so this might be the last we hear of him.