Is DeWayne Russell a Rhode Island Ram Clone and What Comes Next for #0?
DeWayne Russell is practically a cloned Rhode Island Ram basketball player, if you think about it in a very weird way. He was a star point guard on a mid-major team, the Grand Canyon Antelopes from the Western Athletic conference. If that was not enough, this is the elder brother of incoming 2017 Rhody MBB recruit, Daron "Fatts" Russell. Although Rhode Island fans may not appreciate his attempt to persuade his younger brother to go play for Dan Majerle, I appreciate the fact that he allowed his brother to follow his heart and commit to URI. There is nothing worse than an overbearing family member and fortunately, that is not what DeWayne Russell stands for. Before I go off on any longer of a tangent, the Grand Canyon senior is (thankfully) not like Lavar Ball... I'll end this particular paragraph here.
Given my aforementioned explanation, the Rhode Island basketball fan base should be supporting Fatts' older brother in his postgraduate pursuits. Personally, I would have supported him even if he was not the brother of Daron Russell after seeing him torch Rick Pitino's Louisville Cardinals for 42 points. A highly-skilled guard at the mid-major level that not many people know about is the exact type of college basketball player that I want to support. If you need any further details on the point guard's skills on the basketball court, go find the player feature that I published on this man on March 29, 2017. The feature is titled, "The Grand (Canyon) Story of DeWayne Russell - The Heart of the Antelopes" and it can be found under the "Player Features" tab of this website.
All-star games and other all-star festivities may seem like they are justfor fun but competitors compete no matter what and Russell did just that in front of his home crowd on March 30, 2017. On his journey to the finals of the contest, he beat the likes of 2016 NCAA champion Kris Jenkins, as well as great shooters from Power Five schools - Matt Jones, Bryce Alford, Nazareth Mitrou-Long, and Derrick Walton Jr. If NBA scouts were watching the three-point contest, they had to take notice that Russell was lighting it up from beyond the arc.
Divulging deep into his postgraduate options, Russell is obviously going to continue on the chase to go directly into the NBA. By all accounts, he can survive in the NBA and should eventually get there but his journey may not start right in the "big leagues". The Philadelphia native may need to begin his journey from either the D-League or overseas but I bet that #0 makes it work. Similar to VCU alumnus Briante Weber, this point guard can dominate games in the D-League, bounce around a few teams in the NBA, and then eventually find a permanent home on one of the 30 teams. The path sounds treacherous in words but in reality, several NBA players have thrived from starting in the D-League. Everyone remembers Linsanity, right? All in all, do not count out DeWayne Russell at the next level of basketball.
When DeWayne Russell makes an appearance in the Ryan Center to support his brother, I will be there and I can give him a handshake, knowing that I have supported him since I found who he is. In fact, I have voted for him in the online polls for the College Court Report Player of the Year.
Needless to say, I will be following Russell's post-college journey, both on this blog and on Twitter. I will inform those who are interested on where he ends up.
