The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Grant finding his way
Freshman from Lorain is averaging 9.3 points with RedHawks
Miami University coach Jack Owens first found out about Dae Dae Grant through the AAU circuit. It was there that Owens began to hear rumblings about the Lorain basketball star tearing up the Lake Erie League nearly 250 miles away from Oxford.
After Grant averaged 21.3 points per game as a junior, it didn’t take long for Owens to reach out to Lorain to set up an on-campus visit for Grant.
On that visit, Grant fell in love with Miami, so much so that he verbally committed to the RedHawks that December and officially signed in April.
Thirteen months later, Grant feels right at home in Miami.
Through Miami’s first 19 games, the freshman guard is averaging 9.3 points per game in 16 games. Not bad for a freshman playing in one of the tougher mid-major conferences in the country.
“He’s playing well,” Owens said. “He’s a hard worker. He’s a team-first kind of guy but he also has the ability to score. He’s the kind of guy you can count on. He’s consistent, he works every day. He’s got a chance to be one of the better guards in this league.”
Four years ago, Miami’s basketball team was floundering near the bottom of the Mid-American Conference. That all changed with the hiring of Owens, who has since started to turn the program around, thanks in large part to the stellar recruiting classes he’s brought in.
Two years ago, the RedHawks earned a berth in the College Basketball Insiders Tournament behind the strong play of MAC freshman of the year Nike Sibande.
“I love my teammates. They keep me going and I really like playing with them. I’m excited that I’m going to be able to continue playing with them.” — Dae Dae Grant
While the RedHawks stumbled last year and have struggled so far this year (8-11, 1-5 MAC) Owens likes what he’s seen out of Grant.
“He’s a guy who doesn’t get too high or too low,” Owens said of Grant. “He’s staying in the moment, which is one of the great things about him. He has the chance to be a special player.”
One of the reasons Grant — who was named Lorain County Mr. Basketball his senior year after averaging 26.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists — has been able to earn so much playing time this season is because of the construction of the RedHawks roster, which features only one senior.
While that inexperience has led to some inconsistent play out of the RedHawks, Grant feels as if he’s starting to connect with his teammates.
“I love my teammates. They keep me going and I really like playing with them,” he said. “I’m excited that I’m going to be able to continue playing with them.”
Grant appears to have settled in as the season has gone on, as he’s scored in in double-figures in all six of the RedHawks conference matchups thus far. In their lone MAC win against Kent State on Jan. 14, Grant had 11 points.
He contributes part of this success to a how practices were run at Lorain under coach John Rositano.
“I like how coach (Rositano) used to run practice,” Grant said. “It wasn’t as fast paced, but we did a lot of things that other high school teams didn’t do. Some of the drills we did there really got me ready for college.”
Even with this, Grant knows there’s still plenty of room for improvement.
“I knew I was going to have to play a lot smarter and improve my defense,” he said. “I feel like I have but I still have some work to do. I definitely had some adjustments I had to go through at the beginning of the year. Now I feel a lot more comfortable playing with my teammates.”
While the youth movement in Miami hasn’t resulted in a plethora of wins, Owens is hoping that this season lays down a framework of success for Grant and his fellow underclassman.
“It could be a special group,” he said. “We’re a young team. The reason we turned this program around is because of this good young core. If they continue to stay together a work hard, there’s a bright future ahead of us.”