Dontaye Draper's success tied to family and his good buddy, Carmelo Anthony
2/22/2007 5:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Players aren't supposed to yell at coaches during games, it's supposed to be the other way around. Players certainly never yell at the head coach of the other team.
But in the bouncing paradox that is Dontaye Dominic Draper's basketball life, everything makes sense upon closer inspection.
The intimidating tattoos? They tell sweet stories.
The church league height, 5-11? You better double-team the College of Charleston's senior point guard and even then, look out.
"A first-round draft pick," Denver Nuggets All-Star Carmelo Anthony said of Draper, his close friend since early childhood. "I think so."
Durability? Yes, pity Chattanooga, UNC Greensboro and everyone else on the Cougars' schedule unaware Draper outworked Anthony and other NBA players in an intense summer training program that lasted five weeks.
The soft-spoken silky smooth manner? Don't worry, the gritty corn-rowed kid from a housing project in depressed west Baltimore is aptly handling as much leadership responsibility as any player in college basketball.
So maybe Chattanooga head coach John Shulman shouldn't have been surprised last season when Draper dribbled by with a message.
"Hey," Draper said during the heat of battle. "I love the way you coach."
Shulman was at once flattered and frustrated, and surprised.
"Well, Dontaye," Shulman said. "I love the way you play. We should have joined forces."
Since joining the College of Charleston, Draper has produced like few others in school history. He enters his final college home game, tonight against The Citadel, ranked eighth on the Cougars' career scoring list with 1,455 points. Draper is only 109 points behind Thaddeous Delaney, Charleston's career NCAA Division I leader.
"I admire that kid incredibly," Wofford head coach Mike Young said. "He's just one of the truly great players I've seen in this league."
He certainly is one of the most prepared.
Loyalty in WB
Draper and Carmelo Anthony, both 22, met as 9-year-olds playing youth league football in West Baltimore. They have been best pals ever since and Anthony on his way to NBA stardom has matured along with Draper and other old friends he continues to embrace. Anthony labeled the group HOOD, which stands for Holding Our Own Destiny. Anthony's Baltimore charity projects include the renovation of a youth center.
His boot camp last summer at a Washington, D.C., health club emphasized conditioning drills, running, basketball games and nutritional meals. Draper often outshined Anthony and the other participants, including New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul and Memphis Grizzliesforward Rudy Gay.
"I really went at it, knowing this was going to be my senior year and I'd be playing point guard," Draper said. "For me, I knew it was my most crucial summer. My main goal was to get my energy up."
Anthony says Draper played evenly with Paul, the NBA's reigning Rookie of the Year, and gave everyone else fits.
"He's a floor general," Anthony told Denver's Rocky Mountain News. "He's a guy who can score, but he can run his team. He's a pure point guard and ballhandler. He rarely turned the ball over."
Anthony hosted Draper at his homes in Baltimore and Denver last summer.
The tattoos on Anthony's arms say "Loyalty" and "Honesty" and pay tribute to West Baltimore with "WB."
Draper is loyal, too. The tattoo covering most of one arm honors Aundra Coner. The tattoo on the other honors Mary Coner, "Rose of my heart." Both mother and grandmother, respectively, will be on hand to see an only child play on Senior Night at John Kresse Arena.
'Always working'
Bobby Cremins, the former television analyst, witnessed Draper taking over games last season. A master recruiter of point guards at Georgia Tech - the list includes Mark Price, Kenny Anderson, Travis Best and Stephon Marbury - Cremins at 59 ended a six-year Hilton Head sabbatical to take over the Cougars last summer.
"Thank God I get to coach Dontaye Draper," said Cremins, who essentially has turned his offense over to Draper's decision-making skills. "I wanted to get back in coaching and one of the reasons Charleston was attractive was because of Dontaye Draper. I knew coaching him would be fun, though I wasn't sure at first."
Indeed, the initial adjustment from shooting guard in former head coach Tom Herrion's offense to point guard in Cremins' offense was awkward. With Drew Hall as a senior point guard last season, Draper enjoyed more floor space. A series of give-and-take meetings with Cremins lasting up to an hour each helped convince Draper things could work well this year.
Stunning Shulman, he sparked Charleston to a 67-54 victory at Chattanooga with three 3-point shots in 58 seconds.
At UNC Greensboro, Draper scored 28 points with eight 3-point baskets in 10 attempts.
"I called a play and Dontaye just waved me off," Cremins said. "It was like, 'Sit down, coach, I've got this one.' Next thing I know, a bomb is going off and nothing but the net."
Or, as UNC Greensboro guard Ricky Hickman said, "He puts his team on his back."
Draper takes a beating every game. UNC Greensboro tried running Draper through screens on defense and tried traps and double teams when he got the ball.
"But all the sudden he takes over," UNC Greensboro head coach Mike Dement said. "He's good. He's confident, too. You can see it in his face and his body language."
Teammates see it frequently.
"He's a workaholic, after practice, before practice, after games," said Cougars freshman guard Tony White Jr. "He's always working. As a teammate, you want to be like that."
Cutting both ways
After every summer workout, Draper just had to do something extra. A few more sprints. A few more shots.
"Carmelo told me he wanted to average 30 points this year," Draper said. "If I saw him getting lackadaisical, I'd say, 'Remember, you told me you want to average 30.' I know those guys were in the NBA, but I won a lot of the one-on-one drills we'd do."
Anthony later in the summer redefined his previously shaky image by playing the starring role for Team USA and head coach Mike Krzyzewski. He leads the NBA in scoring with a 30.3 average.
Draper, averaging 16.0 points, leads the SoCon with 38.6 minutes per game.
"Dontaye obviously has grown immensely," said Herrion, who discovered Draper at a New Jersey summer camp and signed him when the next best scholarship offers were from Robert Morris and Siena. "He's still a quiet individual but he has a lot of substance to what he is and who he is."
If Draper isn't an NBA draft prospect already, he may get his chance at one of several pre-draft camps.
"Everybody knows about Draper," NBA scouting director Marty Blake said.
John Shulman should have known what he was in for. The Chattanooga head coach spent part of last summer vacationing in Charleston with his wife and young sons.
"One night we weren't doing much so I decided to take my boys over to see John Kresse Arena," Shulman said. "It was pretty late but there was a light on so I found an open door and we walked in. And who was in there but Dontaye Draper, shooting baskets with David Lawrence."
Tonight, Draper will shoot baskets for one last time in the John Kresse Arena game night spotlight. When he and his tattoos get a standing ovation before tip-off, know that the loyalty cuts both ways.
"When the College of Charleston started recruiting me and I read about the history here, I fell in love," Draper said. "Once I got down here, I never wanted to leave. I love the fans. I love the school. I just love everything about Charleston."
Gene Sapakoff of the Charleston Post and Courier
