Even if you disagree with them, it may get you to the doorstep
of your dreams.
Don’t believe that? Maybe Colorado State forward David Roddy,
who’s just two days away from becoming an NBA pro, can persuade
you.
“Ever since I got to Colorado State, I was kind of annoyed with
how much they wanted me in the post just 'cause I knew that one day
I'd have to be a guard,” Roddy told BasketballNews.com in a phone
interview. “But we pretty much had the best of both worlds.
Actually, halfway through my freshman year, we started working on
those mid-post work and footwork and everything, and we've been
working on that literally every day for three years. Now, it's just
muscle memory and I don't even have to think about my reactions or
my moves.
“So it's something that I initially hesitated with, but now,
it's got me to [two] days away from draft day. It's a crazy, crazy
story, and it's just been fun to keep getting better at that and
using that as a tool. Coaches were right."
We hear it every year, but Roddy truly is one of the most
uniquely built, imposing and talented prospects in this upcoming
2022 NBA Draft. How many players do you see with a 6-foot-6,
260-pound frame in basketball? Even if you have that answer, you
can probably count on one hand how many of them bring the blend of
talent he does.
“I think I can use my build to have a lot of versatility. I can
stretch the floor and I can guard small forwards, and I can also
guard the bigger power forwards in the league. My defensive
versatility is something that is there and has the potential to be
really good and really impactful for a team, as well as my
offensive threat as well,” Roddy said.
“I'm not really pinpointed into a certain role. I can do many,
many roles at a decent pace right now, and I think that's something
that's special about my game, and I'm super excited just to explore
that within my career. Starting from a small role into just
furthering my game and expanding my role, I think that's something
that's very exciting."
Taking it to the tape, Roddy reveals that he’s studying much of
Grant Williams’ game. He points to the Boston Celtic forward’s
similar build, his 3-and-D prowess, his ability to knock down big
shots and his success guarding 1-through-5 as similarities and
things that Roddy can do in order to get on the court during his
first couple of years in the NBA.
BasketballNews' Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock has Roddy
going to the Denver Nuggets at No. 30 in his latest 2022 NBA Mock Draft:
Despite not being heavily recruited out of high school, David
Roddy far exceeded expectations while at Colorado State. Roddy
possesses brute strength, a high basketball IQ and three-level
scoring abilities. He also has tremendous vision, creativity, and a
terrific feel for the game.
"You should draft me because I have a great professional
mindset,” Roddy said in an elevator pitch. “You'll never have to
worry about me off the court. I'm an unselfish guy and a guy that
can do any specific role that you need. Very versatile, fun guy to
be around, and always have a positive attitude."
Roddy began his pre-draft process in April, electing to forego
his senior season and take his chances at getting to the next
level. After a shift of scenery (leaving Fort Collins, Colorado to
train in Phoenix with Octagon and Phil Beckner, as well as in
Dallas with Tyler Relph), he’s gone through 15-plus workouts with
teams around the NBA. Roddy feels that each session since declaring
has gone better than the next, and he’s continued to gain a greater
understanding of the mental approach needed in the professional
ranks.
Earlier this week, Roddy finished his pre-draft workout schedule
with a visit to Boston. When asked which workouts stood out the
most, Memphis and Cleveland came to mind.
“Just overall, I shot it extremely well and competed well,"
Roddy said. "There really isn't one (in particular
performance-wise), but I think metric-wise and measurements and
score-wise, I would say Cleveland would be my best."
Roddy’s feedback from the teams he’s worked out for has been
"pretty positive."
“Just keep improving your game, keep trying to get in better
shape as well. I think that's the biggest adjustment between the
NBA and college, as well as just my defensive versatility. Just
continue to get better,” Roddy said of what he's been told.
“Defending off the ball and on the ball. There's a bunch of bigger,
faster, stronger athletes. Adjusting to that, as well as just keep
on shooting and keep on honing basically your all-around game.”
Choosing to go west instead of staying local in Minneapolis,
Minnesota, the Breck School alum trusted the visions of head coach
Niko Medved and Dave Thorson. The Colorado State staff heavily
recruited the three-sport athlete Roddy daily, and it also helped
that they were coincidentally from his home state.
Year-by-year growth and improvement were the overlying themes of
Roddy’s experience with the Rams. From learning the ropes as a
freshman and becoming a high-usage player over the following
two-and-a-half seasons to helping steer Colorado State to the
school’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2013, he’s grateful
for what he and the team were able to accomplish.
“Man, I think (it was) one of my biggest achievements, one of
the team's biggest achievements as well. We just had such a fun
year,” Roddy said. “It's just so many lifelong memories that we
made over this last season that, we'll come back 10 years from now
and always talk about the Virgin Islands tournament or the big
games that we were in, or even the little things. The team meals,
the UNO games after our snack at night and how competitive they
were.
“So many fun experiences we had over this year, and it was a
really special year, so I can't take that for granted... I grew and
improved in pretty much every aspect of my life (in those three
seasons)... My coaches have helped me both on the court and off the
court just to be a better person and a better leader. On the court,
my teammates, they pushed me so much to be one of the most
competitive groups that I've been with, as well as to just enjoy
the moment. I think there's just so many things that I've learned
that I can take into my professional career that we've been working
on every day. And so, I'm just super, super grateful for everybody
who's been along with me through this journey.”
Roddy finished strong with the Rams, producing 19.2 points, 7.5
rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.2 steals per contest on a sizzling
64.5% True Shooting percentage as a junior. The dominant campaign
earned him Mountain West Player of the Year and a second
consecutive All-MWC First Team honor.
Though he makes his money as a terrific back-to-the-basket and
face-up player closer to the basket, the strides that he made with
his three-point shot pop off the stat page. Vaulting from 19.5% to
27.8% to a legitimate 43.8% perimeter marksman in college is
nothing to understate.
In fact, Roddy deposited a career-high 7 triples in a
career-best 36-point winning effort against Creighton last
November, and drilled 4 each in three other games after not making
more than 3 in a single contest in the two seasons previously.
“I would say a ton of reps, a ton of self-reflection and
allowing yourself to fail as well,” Roddy said of the drastic
improvement. “I think that's something that not a lot of people can
handle, I would say. It's a really rough adjustment period to say
to yourself, 'Okay, hey, I really need to work on this. Let's make
a routine or a practice that can help me develop in those ways.'
But for me, it was just mental confidence as well.
“I trusted the work, and having big games where I made a lot of
threes my junior year kinda gave me a sigh of relief. After that, I
really just had fun and started just shooting 'cause I knew I
could."
Despite being a go-to guy in Fort Collins, Roddy often displayed
what he could outside of scoring with great impact, something that
he’ll need to do in the pros to find floor time early. He believes
those intangibles can translate to the NBA on a consistent
basis.
“I think that's something that's special about my game and
something that's starting to be noticed even more is that I can
kinda make those glue-guy plays,” Roddy said. “I love getting my
teammates open; it helps the team. I can get rebounds as well as
make the right play — making the one-more pass, making the great
screen and certain Xs-and-Os plays or ATOs.”
Part of what makes Roddy’s skill set so distinctive is that he’s
applied what he’s learned from the football and track programs he
participated in at Breck. He was an All-State quarterback and a
discus champion at the Class-A level, and if it weren’t for the
close-knit recruiting process and seamless relationship-building he
found with basketball vs. the numbers game on the gridiron, who
knows if he’d still be throwing the pigskin?
That’s in the past now, but he’s thankful for the experiences
those other sports gave him.
“Football is something that is near and dear to my heart. I
still love football kinda the same way I love basketball. I think
the physicality is the biggest thing — not being afraid of contact,
not being afraid of bigger guys,” Roddy said. “I think that's first
and foremost what really helps me on the court, as well as being a
quarterback. Kinda understanding defensive schemes, and reading a
defense is something that's very important in football. And so, I
just kinda carry that over with my passing ability in basketball. I
love to get guys open and love to make them look good, so I think
that's something that's a part of my game that sometimes is
underappreciated, but is something that I am definitely willing to
do at the beginning of my career as well.
“Track is a unique sport because it's so individual, and so you
really have to push yourself, and it's really technical as well. So
I bring that to basketball to master my form of shooting, master
footwork and how important balance is and everything. So those two
work hand-in-hand with track and basketball, and man, I definitely
loved and learned a lot from track."
The youngest of five boys in the family, Roddy’s brothers and
his father, Pierre Sr., will undoubtedly have their eyes glued to
the television on Thursday evening. David, though, says his mother
Darcy has become his strongest support system throughout this
journey.
“She's just helped me so much over the past year-and-a-half,
becoming just a better man and just a better basketball player as
well,” Roddy said. “She just kept me along with my faith and is
super, super helpful in teaching me things about scripture and
keeping my confidence up as well.”
Outside of the family, it’s been Colorado State assistant and
former March Madness and Northern Iowa hero Ali Farokhmanesh.
“He's pretty much my big brother and mentor," Roddy said of
Farokhmanesh. "For him, it's really exciting to have one of his
guys go through this process, and I'm just trying to relay all the
messages to him as much as possible."
Taking it day by day, it hasn’t quite hit Roddy yet that he’s
going to be an NBA pro in a little over 48 hours. He’s admittedly
had tunnel vision since declaring.
But the pre-draft process is over now. It’s time to look around
and appreciate what those long hours in the gym have led to.
“It's been a long journey, but time has been flying, so I really
have enjoyed it and learned a lot,” Roddy said. “As soon as I lift
my head up, it'll be draft night, and that's gonna be crazy."
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &
family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than
125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket
marketplace of BasketballNews.com. Order online now!