Extra year of prep school did wonders for Damonte Dodd

After a strong prep school year at Massanutten Military Academy, forward Damonte Dodd will bring his talents to College Park.

After committing to Maryland as a relative unknown from the Eastern Shore, incoming Terrapins forward Damonte Dodd felt that he needed to improve his game before playing at the collegiate level. Dodd decided to play this past season at the prep school level, starring at Massanutten Military Academy where he had extreme levels of success on the court.

After four years at Queen Anne’s County High School, Dodd enjoyed a very productive season at Massanutten in which he averaged 14 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks per game. The incoming Maryland freshman was one of the primary reasons why Massanutten had a 30-4 record and advanced all the way to the National Prep Championship where they fell to Notre Dame Prep (MA) back in March.

In the title game, Dodd made his presence known very early on. In the opening minutes, the future Terp threw down a beautiful alley oop and had an emphatic block on the defensive end. He was quiet for most of the game, but still turned in a solid performance.

Massanutten jumped out to an early 7-0 lead highlighted by the strong play of Dodd. The Eastern Shore native displayed some very nice post moves and also showed his ability to be able to get to the basket. One thing that I was very impressed with was Dodd’s ability to get up and down the court quickly. He moved very well for a post player. Dodd was also able to pass the ball pretty well for a big man. Some post players are not able to dish the ball to their teammates but the Massanutten forward seemed to handle that quite well.

Dodd is also a very valuable commodity on the defensive end of the floor. The Centreville, Md. native is a very strong rebounder and always seems to get good position in the paint. He also has very good hands and that is evident when he catches the ball in the low post. Dodd always can alter his fair share of shots as I noted earlier, having four blocks per contest this year. Now it would do some good for Dodd to put on a little weight. He does have a very impressive wingspan which helps his defense immensely. However, he may not be able to just get by with that at the next level.

All in all, I think Dodd was a remarkable find for Mark Turgeon and company. When Dodd committed to the Terps in February of 2012, many people, national recruiting analysts and myself included, had absolutely no idea who the Queen Anne’s graduate even was. Dodd has emerged from a complete unknown to a three-star recruit that has caught the eye of many around the country. It certainly didn’t hurt that Dodd played his AAU ball with DC Assault, who has churned out some very talented players in recent years. Dodd is the type of player that Turgeon may have to mold in order to become a productive forward in the college ranks. However, when it’s all said and done, Dodd may end up being one of the better players to come out of the DMV area in quite some time.