DRIVE Basketball :: Super Sophomores

Part II - STM's exciting combo guard, Denny Dumas

Denny Dumas is one of the most exciting sophomores to watch in BC this year. Denny has the rare ability to be a shooter and a scorer. His fearless takes to the basket are complimented with his deadly stroke from the outside. This ultra athletic wing from St. Thomas More spent this past summer as a key member of our under 15 provincial team that won silver at this years nationals in Halifax, “Playing on the provincial team was an awesome experience for me.
I had the chance to compete against the best players in the province which made me work harder. I could tell that it really improved my game. I had a great summer playing with team BC and going to nationals was a sweet” says the energetic Dumas.

Denny is a custom to hard work, growing up in a family with 2 older brothers who were constantly passing along their knowledge of the game and toughness to him. He is constantly working hard on his game trying to improve. “During the summer I would work on my game anywhere between 3-5 hours a day. Now that I have football everyday I like to go to school in the morning to play for an hour or so. After football practice is over after school I get back in the gym for another 1-2 hours.” This kid is focused on becoming great. He wants to be the best and isn't going to let anything keep him from accomplishing that. “The greatest advice I’ve ever received was don’t let hard work be your downfall. You have what it takes to be successful, but you’ve got to work hard. Somewhere someone is out there working harder then you, trying to get better then you.” Asking Denny what his future goals in basketball are, he was quick to answer with a determined look, “My goal is to play Division 1 in the states. That’s always been a dream of mine to play in the NCAA tournament one day.”

When you ask him who his favorite player is the answer may seem obvious. But when he explains it to you in details you can see right away this kid is a student of the game. “My favorite player is definitely Michael Jordan I always heard stories about how he worked extremely hard. Whenever people would criticize a part of his game he would work on that to make that his strength. I remember when the Bulls came to town to play the Grizzlies. The Grizz were up like 17 going into the 4th and some player on our team (thanks Derrick Martin) started to trash talk Jordan, that’s when he took the game over. He completely took the game over by scoring 22 points in the 4th and leading his team to the win.” I asked him why Jordan, why not Kobe or McGrady? “I have always thought Michael Jordan to be the best player ever. He approached the game with an attitude and demeanor that would strike fear into his opponents. He has ability to beat guys off the dribble, pull up super quick and knock down tough, contested fade ways. I’ve always wanted to be like him.”

Denny was in action most recently at the Hooplife.ca tournament in Pitt Meadows where he competed for team DRIVE. “Playing for DRIVE last weekend was super fun. We had some really good players on our squad and we played extremely well together as a team. I think this was a great start for DRIVE basketball and I’m definitely looking forward to playing for team DRIVE in the future.”

Denny Dumas is one of the most versatile wings in BC next year, and the scary part is, he’s only getting better. He’s never satisfied with what he’s accomplished; he’s just hungry for more. Look for Denny to be coming to gym near you this coming season.