OLSM’s Kareem Rozier commits to Duquesne
Oakland County’s own version of Mighty Mouse will be taking his superhero ways on the hardwood to the Steel City.
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s pintsized senior point guard Kareem Rozier committed to Duquesne University of the Atlantic 10 Conference this week, delivering to Dukes head coach Keith Dambrot another in a long line of tiny, but ultra-talented backcourt maestros to mold.
The cerebral, hot-shooting 5-foot-9 floor general admits Dambrot’s history of success with “little big men” played a deciding factor in giving Duquesne the nod in his recruitment.
“The fact that Coach Dambrot has such a rich history with smaller guards made me feel even more comfortable with my decision,” Rozier said. “I want to play in the A-10, I want to play for Coach Dambrot and I couldn’t be more pleased with making Duquesne my college choice.”
Dambrot coached LeBron James in high school at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary’s and has deep ties to the state of Michigan. He was a top assistant at Eastern Michigan in the 1980s and head coach at Central Michigan in the early 1990s. Duquesne competes out of the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Rozier will be entering his fourth year starting at the point for the St. Mary’s Eaglets when the 2021-22 campaign tips off next week. Last season, Rozier averaged 16 points and 6.5 assists per game on an Eaglets team that advanced to the Division 1 quarterfinals. St. Mary’s has been nationally-ranked the past two seasons and goes into the winter as the state’s preseason No. 1 squad.
“Kareem is without a question the best true floor general in the state, he’s the definition of what it means to be a pace setter and a coach on the court,” St. Mary’s head coach Todd Covert said. “The fact that he can shoot it lights out, has pro range and is just tough as nails, make him the perfect point guard. He’s the most natural leader I’ve ever coached.”
And another one
St. Mary’s fab frosh wing guard, Trey McKenney, the No. 1 ninth
grader in the Midwest, scooped his first Big Ten offer last week, earning a bid from the University of
Illinois following an unofficial visit to campus last month. He took an unofficial visit to Michigan in October. DePaul, Texas, TCU, Temple and Eastern Michigan all offered the 6-foot-4 McKenney scholarships back in the summer.