The blue word on the pink band on Jartavius Dobbs’ right wrist captured the sentiment of the morning.
DREAM.
Given to him by his girlfriend, Amber, the band served as the perfect message for Dobbs and Columbus High School boys basketball teammate Demetrice Clopton on Wednesday morning in the Columbus High gym.
With family and friends on hand to watch, Dobbs and Clopton signaled the next steps in their lives when they signed National Letters of Intent to play basketball at Austin Peay and Jackson State, respectively.
“It was a big dream — a big dream come true — to be able to get a full scholarship and to get a chance to do what I know I can do best,” Dobbs said. “I think I have improved a lot, especially coming to Columbus. … Coach Riley has worked with me from the summer until now, and I know I have improved a lot. I know I can improve even more in college and put up good stats.”
Dobbs said there were plenty of times when he wondered if his dream was going to come true. He said Austin Peay, which is in Clarksville, Tennessee, feels like a good fit because he feels wanted and believes he will have a good chance to step in as a freshman and take the place of 6-8 senior forward Chris Horton.
Dobbs feels he will be able to contribute immediately because the coaches at Austin Peay see his potential. He said he plans to break a couple of the records Horton has set at the school.
“It makes me feel good to know I am going to a place where I am wanted and needed,” Dobbs said. “I am looking forward to going up there because I love the campus and the coaching staff I look forward to helping Austin Peay be a top contender in the OVC.”
Columbus High first-year head coach Luther Riley, who won four state championships and a Grand Slam title at Provine High in Jackson, has only been in Columbus for six months, but he has seen Dobbs, a transfer from Aberdeen High, and Clopton make substantial progress in a short amount of time.
Dobbs, a 6-foot-9 center, averaged 4.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 4.0 blocked shots per game last season to help Aberdeen advance to the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 3A state title game, where it lost to Velma Jackson.
Clopton, a 6-9 center, averaged 6.8 points and 5.1 rebounds in 20 games last season for Columbus, which went 22-6 for coach Sammy Smith and lost in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs.
“I think from the time I made it here to now they have grown so much as young men and as basketball players,” Riley said. “I think the first time I was around Clopton he said maybe five words to me. Now I can’t stop him from talking.
“He and Dobbs are great young men. I am fortunate to be able to work with these young men. I tell them always that what makes my heart smile is when you sign a scholarship and get your school paid for.”
Clopton said Wednesday was a dream in that he realized a goal he has had for a long time. When he was in the ninth grade, Clopton said he didn’t know what he was going to do. He said he gained an appreciation of what it meant to be disciplined on and off the court. It wasn’t until he grew nearly a foot in the summer of his 10th-grade year. That’s when he realized basketball might be the path for him.
“I am like a sponge,” Clopton said. “I can learn and sit back and you can just teach me and I will follow up and whatever you show me.”
That mentality fits with the word “potential” as far as Clopton is concerned. He said his goal is to become “an elite” basketball player. He hopes to continue to polish his fundamentals so he will be able to have a solid senior season and make a run at a Class 6A state championship.
“I am still learning,” Clopton said. “There is no this is my best game because he is teaching all of the things I am going to go through in college.
“It hasn’t sunk in (that he is going to get a chance to play basketball in college). I am trying to get a feel for it first.”
Riley said both schools got “steals” because Dobbs and Clopton have scratched the surface of their potential as basketball players. He credited Austin Peay, which is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, and Jackson State, which is in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, for seeing the potential in the players.
Dobbs credited his family and Riley for helping to make his dream a reality.
“Just working with coach Riley all summer, I think that had a big part in it to make the dream come true,” Dobbs said.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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