Through Tough Times, FDU’s Rhoden Finally Reaches His Goal

By ERIC KRALJIC

Dondre Rhoden, of Fairleigh Dickinson University, competed in college basketball’s greatest tournament “March Madness” in just his freshman year of college. As a child, playing in college basketball’s greatest stage might’ve seemed like a fantasy to Rhoden, but by overcoming a learning disability, he was able to turn his lifelong dream into reality.

Overcoming adversity is nothing new to Rhoden. Over time he learned to take challenges head on and embrace them.

Rhoden, a 6-foot-6-inch freshman power forward for the Fairleigh Dickinson University basketball team, learned early on in life that nothing was going to be given to him. For as long as he can remember, Rhoden learned from his mother that hard work was the only way to achieve personal goals. By overcoming obstacles early in life, Rhoden was able to fulfill a lifelong dream by earning a full scholarship to play basketball at FDU.

While growing up in the Bronx as a child, Rhoden faced a challenge that he has since overcome: a learning disability that made it difficult for him to do easy tasks such as reading, writing, and doing math.

In the third grade, Rhoden and his mother moved from the Bronx to Ridgefield Park, N.J.to get a better education that would help him get special attention for his significant disability. It was in this small New Jersey town that Rhoden fell in love with the game of basketball and has changed his life ever since.

His early influences

Rhoden’s mother was and still is the central figure in his life and helped him through all of his tough times. She made sure that Dondre knew that when he’s not playing basketball, that he’s focusing on his school work.

“My mother believed in me since I came out the womb. She fought through struggles to keep me happy and fulfilling my dream,” said Rhoden.

Another influential figure in Rhoden’s life is Chris Gaskin, who was his high school basketball coach at Ridgefield Park High School. Aside from the game of basketball, Gaskin is a mentor to Rhoden and has helped him mature and prosper.

“He [Gaskin] showed me to be a man without being spoon-fed by other people,” said Rhoden.

A challenging high school career

By the time Rhoden reached high school he was about 6’4 and still growing. It was at this time he began to form a strong bond with Coach Gaskin and started the transition from being a child into a man.

For Rhoden, academics always came before athletics as his mother made him well aware that he must maintain a strong GPA in order to play basketball. While Rhoden still had some difficulties in the classroom, his hard academic work never deterred  him, and he wound up with straight A’s by his senior year.

By just his sophomore year, Rhoden cracked the starting lineup on the varsity team and was a key part in winning a state championship in 2012.

As his high school career came to an end, Rhoden established himself as one of the best players in the school’s history.  He totaled 1,077 points, averaged a double-double and was named all-county his final two years.

As a senior, Rhoden was only 17 years old, a year younger than most high school seniors and his SAT/ACT scores weren’t as high as he hoped.

Instead of going to college right after high school, Rhoden was advised to spend a year at a prep school to boost his grades and play at a high level of completion of basketball. Although Dondre overcame many obstacles in high school, his disability still affects him to this day, albeit at a very low rate.

[SOUNDSLIDES: Listen to former high school teammate, Dante Capurso, on what Rhoden meant to him.]

Photos Courtesy Getty Images & North Jersey Media Group

Heading to Division 1

Following high school, Dondre enrolled at Putnam Science Academy in eastern Connecticut. This prep school was Dondre’s first time away from home and it was a great learning experience for Rhoden.

“Prep school prepared me physically and mentally. Being able to grow four hours away from home was a major boost of becoming a boy into a man,” said Rhoden.

Putnam Science Academy is a well-known basketball school that is a good stepping stone for student-athletes not ready for college after high school. The high quality of basketball at the school enables students to display their talent to colleges and universities.

The high level of competition had a big effect on Dondre as he said “it was a major eye opener playing in the best prep school conference in the country, showed me a lot to what to improve on to be ready for the next level.”

The time spent away at prep school clearly benefited Dondre as it resulted in one of his biggest accomplishments in life, a full athletic scholarship to Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Although Dondre spent the 2014-2015 school year at prep school, his SAT score was still not high enough in order for him to attend a Division One school. It took months of preparation and tutoring for him to finally be eligible to qualify for a scholarship.

Once he was qualified, the basketball coaches at FDU brought him in for a rigorous workout in which they were impressed by his gritty work ethic. The workout resulted in a scholarship offer which Rhoden accepted in June of 2015.

He came off the bench in and played in 28 games this year and had the opportunity to play on a team that surpassed all expectations as they were picked to finish ninth in the conference, but wound up winning the conference title.

In January, Dondre had the opportunity to visit Lincoln Elementary school, the same school he attended and gave a presentation to hundreds of kids and teachers. In a gymnasium full of hundreds of people, Rhoden accompanied by his college coach Greg Herenda, Dondre spoke about the difficulties he had as a child and about overcoming adversity.

March Madness

On March 15, in just his first season as a collegiate athlete, Rhoden was able to compete in college basketball’s greatest tournament, “March Madness”. Although FDU lost 96-65 to Florida Gulf Coast University, it was a tremendous opportunity for Rhoden as he played in front of 13,000 people in Dayton, Ohio.

Rhoden said the experience of playing on national TV was “great” and that “being a part of it was a huge blessing.”

Former high school coach Chris Gaskin is very proud of Rhoden’s accomplishments on and off the court.

“Watching Dondre grow up since he was a 3^rd grader, I witnessed a kid show much determination as a student to achieve academic success despite a significant learning disability. I truly believe once he figured out what he needed to do to succeed in school, he took that same approach toward basketball. Now, he truly is someone I respect and admire because he is a true representative of the term “student-athlete,” said Gaskin.

As a freshman in college, Rhoden hasn’t yet thought about what his future holds, but he will undoubtedly continue to work hard on and off the court.

Regarding his future, Rhoden said “The question mark is still up over my head. Something will hit me eventually, but until then I am just going to keep focusing on school.”