Persistence marks the success of Dondre Rhoden, Knights forward
By CARLY EDELMAN
Staff Writer
Men’s basketball forward Dondre Rhoden, attributes some of his success to luck. As a freshman, he was part of the 2015-2016 NEC Championship team and got to experience being a part of an NCAA championship tournament.
Outside of practice, Rhoden works hard in his classes with the goal of earning a degree in sports administration. While Rhoden dreams of making it as a professional basketball player, he acknowledges that that dream is a difficult one to achieve. He is driven to pursue that dream to the best of his ability, but he said he likes the idea of having something to fall back on should that not work out.
Surprisingly, when Rhoden left high school, he was not immediately offered to play sports at the collegiate level.
Instead of giving up, he kept playing his sport, and one day when he was working out, someone took notice and he got his shot at the NCAA.
“Never give up, because you never know who is watching,” Rhoden said.
Rhoden said being an athlete doesn’t mean that you can’t have other interests. This parallels with his goal of being well-rounded. When Rhoden is o the court, he likes spending time with his friends and works hard to stay on track with his classes.
“Everyone has some sort of taste of success, whether as a boss or as a volunteer,” Rhoden said, “but at the end of the day, you need to do what’s best for you.”
While Rhoden acknowledges that he has been lucky thus far – to have landed on an NCAA Division I basketball team – he also knows that no one ever makes 100% of the shots they attempt.
Rhoden also wanted to take the time to thank his coaches, past and present, for pushing him to his limits and for helping shape him in to the man he has become. As far as people that inspire him to be better, he accredits his coaches with helping him to strengthen his drive and determination.
To see Rhoden and the rest of the men’s basketball team in action, check out their first home game in an exhibition against Manhattanville on Nov. 2 at 7 p.m.
