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Darnell Rogers

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Darnell Rogers
Rogers with UMBC in 2019
Personal information
Born (1997-04-27) April 27, 1997 (age 27)
NationalityAmerican
Listed height5 ft 2 in (1.57 m)
Listed weight150 lb (68 kg)
Career information
High school
College
PositionPoint guard
Career highlights and awards

Shawnta Darnell Rogers Jr. (born April 27, 1997) is an American former college basketball player who last played for the UMBC Retrievers of the America East Conference. Standing 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m), he is the shortest person ever to play Division I men’s basketball.

Early life

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In his childhood, Rogers lived in Baltimore, Maryland as well as in France, due to his father's basketball career. He moved to Charlotte, North Carolina at age nine, though he continued to live overseas, and did not attend an American school until he was in third grade. Rogers grew up preferring football and soccer but chose to focus on basketball in high school.[1]

High school career

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Rogers began playing varsity basketball for Indian Land High School in Indian Land, South Carolina as a seventh-grader alongside his older brother, Terrell.[2] In his junior season, he averaged 28.2 points, 6.9 assists and 5.1 steals per game. Rogers was Indian Land's all-time leading scorer with 1,776 career points, two-time Region 4-2AA Player of the Year and led his team to its first two regional titles. As team captain, he also helped his team reach two Upper State Final Fours.[3] After the season, Rogers drew the attention of NCAA Division I programs while playing for the CP3 All-Stars with top recruits Harry Giles and Alterique Gilbert at the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League. For his senior season, he transferred to Shiloh High School in Snellville, Georgia to play against better competition.[4] Rogers subsequently moved to Believe Preparatory Academy in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where he averaged 23 points, seven assists and two steals per game.[5] He recorded 18 points and five assists in a 102–56 loss to Oak Hill Academy.[6]

Recruiting

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Rogers was a consensus three-star recruit, according to major recruiting services. On October 6, 2015, he committed to play college basketball for George Washington, his father's alma mater.[7] On May 18, 2017, Rogers switched his commitment to Florida Gulf Coast.[8]

College career

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As a freshman at Florida Gulf Coast, Rogers served as a backup point guard for Brandon Goodwin.[3] Listed at 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m), he was the shortest Division I player in the country and became the shortest scholarship Division I men's player in history (excluding unverified early-year players).[9] Rogers mostly played on Florida Gulf Coast's scout team and averaged 6.4 minutes in 20 games. He scored a season-high 11 points in a 115–61 win over Webber International. After one season, Rogers transferred from the school.[10] As a sophomore, he moved to New Mexico Junior College for more playing time and averaged 14 points and 3.7 assists per game. For his junior season, Rogers transferred to UMBC because of head coach Ryan Odom's success with undersized guards like K. J. Maura.[1] In his debut, he registered a double-double of 14 points and 10 assists in a 134–46 victory over Valley Forge.[11] He drew national attention during a game against LSU on November 19, 2019.[12] Rogers scored a season-high 23 points two times. He suffered a season-ending leg injury early in the season and averaged 14 points, 4.3 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game in seven appearances.[13] He was granted a medical redshirt. In his following season, Rogers averaged 9.8 points, before announcing that he would transfer from UMBC.[14]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Florida Gulf Coast 21 0 6.0 .250 .250 .500 .3 .4 .2 .0 0.9
2019–20 UMBC 7 6 29.9 .446 .422 .684 3.4 4.3 .7 .0 14.0
2020–21 UMBC 20 20 28.1 .384 .400 .800 1.5 1.8 1.2 .0 9.8
2021–22 UMBC 30 27 29.5 .369 .344 .907 1.9 3.6 1.0 .0 11.7
Career 78 53 22.8 .378 .367 .834 1.5 2.3 .8 .0 8.5

Personal life

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Rogers' father, Shawnta, was named Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year and won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award while playing college basketball for George Washington from 1995 to 1999. He is a member of the school's Athletics Hall of Fame.[15] Shawnta later played professionally for about 10 years in Europe.[16] Rogers' brother, Terrell, played college basketball for Delaware, among other programs.[2] His cousin, Aquille Carr, was a high school basketball standout and played professionally.[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b Puciato, Nate (June 27, 2019). "Darnell Rogers Comes Back To Hometown With UMBC Men's Basketball". Press Box Online. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Stark, Andrew (January 16, 2015). "On the court, Indian Land's Darnell Rogers stands tall". The Herald. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Caldwell, Dana (July 13, 2017). "Little freshman guard Darnell Rogers should be really big for FGCU". Naples Daily News. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  4. ^ McCormick, Bret (August 1, 2015). "Darnell Rogers proved he belonged this summer". The Herald. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  5. ^ Gotham, Paul (May 19, 2017). "5-foot-3 point guard Darnell Rogers signs with FGCU". Pickin' Splinters. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  6. ^ Verboven, Jake (November 21, 2019). "5'2 guard Darnell Rogers coming up big at UMBC". Busting Brackets. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  7. ^ Goodman, Jeff (October 6, 2015). "5-3 guard Darnell Rogers commits to play for George Washington". ESPN. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  8. ^ Jones, Liam (May 18, 2017). "Darnell Rogers commits to FGCU". 247Sports. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  9. ^ "Darnell Rogers". FGCU Athletics. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  10. ^ Rothman, Matt (April 17, 2018). "Fan-favorite Darnell Rogers transferring from FGCU". Eagle News. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  11. ^ Mayfield, Deontay (November 9, 2019). "UMBC Dominates Valley Forge 134-46". The Retriever. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  12. ^ Curtis, Charles (November 20, 2019). "Meet Darnell Rogers, the 5-foot-2 UMBC guard who will inspire you". For The Win. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  13. ^ "Darnell Rogers". UMBC. Archived from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  14. ^ Borzello, Jeff (March 8, 2021). "UMBC Retrievers' 5-foot-2 guard Darnell Rogers enters transfer portal". ESPN. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  15. ^ "Shawnta Rogers (2012)". George Washington University Athletics. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  16. ^ Allen, Scott (August 1, 2014). "Son of former GW star Shawnta Rogers is a 5-foot-nothing high school star". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  17. ^ "5-2 Darnell Rogers' Junior Year Mixtape is Crazy". Slam. March 18, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
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