Quincy Douby: The Pride of New Jersey Enters the NBA Draft

Quincy Douby had a sweet shot in college; the kind of high arching jumper that I dream about in my sleep. He was a top ten collegiate scorer last year while playing the 2 guard at my alma mater Rutgers; averaging better than 25 points a game. I was a little surprised when Douby decided to leave the State University of New Jersey, for two reasons. One, he’s only a junior and could still improve upon some parts of his game; and secondly, he’s really leaving the Rutgers basketball squad in a lurch.

Quincy Douby was Rutgers basketball. For a team that battled all season in the ridiculously hard Big East, Douby was the heart and soul; if Rutgers was going to stick with a good opponent (as they did quite often) Douby was going to have to have a huge game.

I’m not surprised about the lottery talk rumors (the most widely circulated, mock draft calculation has him going to Chicago with the 16th pick). Despite his small stature (Douby is 6’3″, 175 lb.); he actually proved to be a pretty solid defender and pulled down 4.3 rebounds a game. But the key to Douby’s game is his jump shot. There probably wasn’t anyone in all of college basketball (JJ Reddick included) who had a sweeter looking jumper; and there was definitely no other player in Division I who had Quincy Douby’s range. Douby would routinely take shots from five, even ten feet behind the arc; and more often than not these shots would fall without touching rim.

Quincy Douby is a bit of a Rutgers rarity. Major sports at Rutgers have, for the most part (our Women’s basketball team not included), been a long running joke. It’s unfortunate too; with all the talent that New Jersey high school’s produce in football and basketball, it’s a shame that Rutgers isn’t more of a player in recruiting these standout athletes.

Off the top of my head, I was hard pressed to come up with a list of Rutgers alumni who made it big in professional sports; other than LJ Smith, the up and coming tight end for the Philadelphia Eagles. Mike McMahon is the only quarterback in recent years to make a name for himself; and although he’s shown flashes of brilliance, he’s been very inconsistent.

Other famous Rutgers sports figures include Cappie Pondexter, the 2nd overall pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft (that counts right?); and two non athletes: NBA Commissioner David Stern and late coaching great Jim Valvano.

So, Quincy Douby has a chance to do something pretty special; make it in the NBA. If he does (and there’s no reason to think that he won’t), he will be just the second player in over a hundred years of Rutgers history to have an extended career in the NBA. You know who the first was, right?

Well, it’s none other than Roy Hinson. Roy Hinson averaged 14 points and 7 rebounds over a career that lasted eight seasons, from 1984-1991. He played for three different teams, including the New Jersey Nets, and was consistently in the top ten for blocked shots. All in all, a pretty good career that I knew nothing about (I had to look up this information; before today I had never even heard of Roy Hinson).

So there you have it; Quincy Douby has an excellent chance at becoming the best basketball player to ever have come out of Rutgers University; and while that’s not saying much, it means a lot to New Jerseyians like myself.