Published: May 08, 2008 01:36 pm            

Flemings takes talents to Hawaii

The road from DeSoto to Weatherford had a lot of twists and turns for Weatherford College Coyotes basketball player Roderick Flemings, however, his patience recently paid off when he decided to take his talents to the University of Hawaii to join the Rainbow Warriors’ basketball program.

“It came down to Hawaii and Kentucky,” former Weatherford College head coach Mark Osina said of Flemings’ decision. “I feel like in the WAC, the Western Athletic Conference, he’ll have the chance to put up the same kind of numbers he put up for us, you know, lead the conference in scoring, rebounding. The Southeast Conference that Kentucky’s in is a little stronger league.

“He’s a good player. He will be successful wherever he went. Like I said, we’ve had seven All-Americans here and he’s the first one that has made All-American, first-team.”

After stops at Oklahoma State University, where he saw some playing time, and North Texas, where he redshirted, Flemings stormed onto the North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference scene.

Flemings led the conference in scoring with 20.7 points per game and he was among the league leaders in rebounds with 11.7, blocks with 1.5, steals with 2.7 and field goal percentage with .562.

Flemings helped the Coyotes win the NTJAC Championship with a record of 24-6.

For his efforts, Flemings was selected as All-Region and was also named NTJAC Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and First Team All-Conference. He was also named a first team All-American by the National Junior College Athletic Association.

Osina said Flemings was able to make a dramatic impact on his team and in the conference because of his work ethic, style of play and knowledge of the game.

“He’s a very good player,” Osina said. “He’s always played hard and has a very good head for the game.”

For now, Flemings is making a return to the Division I ranks, but Osina said, Hawaii is definitely not the last stop in this young man’s career.

“I see him making All-Conference next year and within two years, if he works in the weight room a little bit, I wouldn’t be surprised, I know he’ll play overseas somewhere, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t have a chance to maybe make it in the [NBA],” Osina said.

Before deciding on Hawaii, Flemings was sought after by Kentucky, Texas A&M, Georgetown, West Virginia and Connecticut to name a few.

        

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