Athens-native Dominique Doseck leads the freshman class forward.
Dominique Doseck never planned on staying in Athens.
After growing up in The Plains, a few miles from Ohio University, and attending Athens High School, Doseck wasn't very keen on the idea of staying close to home for another four years.
"Honestly, I wanted to get away from Athens, Ohio, if you could see that," Doseck said with a laugh.
But Doseck had been coming to The Convo for quite some time. Her family held season tickets for much of her youth, and after seeing Ohio coach Bob Boldon's offense, Doseck's mind was made up. She was going to stay.
"Ohio was just a great fit, academically and coaching wise," she said. "It fit my playing style and it was just a perfect fit for me."
During her time at Athens High, Doseck was the focal point of former Athens' coach Wayne Horsley's offense. She often brought the ball up the floor, called out plays and took as many shots as she wanted.
Boldon made it clear that she wouldn't be serving that role in his offense.
"You go from her situation to where she’s shooting the ball as much as she wanted to shoot it last year, to kind of getting a limited number of shots and fitting into a more specific role in college," Boldon said.
"I think it’s hard for a high school kid to really understand how she’s going to fit in a college system, because they’re so vastly different."
Doseck averages about five points in 9.9 minutes, as of Thursday, of play each night. She said she hasn't found college life too hard to adjust to.
And now, after years of watching the Bobcats in action, Doseck has finally become one, and she's enjoying her time.
"Inside the locker room it's all goofy and fun," she said. "But once we step out here, it's all serious and we get down to business."
Doseck said the freshman class is big on team bonding, but freshman all work on building relationships with everyone on the team and gaining some chemistry on and off the court.
That's apparent, as Doseck talks with her teammates during after-practice stretches and jokes with them as they leave The Convo and venture out into the frosty January air.
The chemistry is there, and her choice to stay close to home seems to make her more comfortable in her surroundings.
But her real impact comes on the court, where Boldon is confident that his freshman class will get better with time.
"I think their best basketball is well down the road, which is probably the reason you recruit kids, is that they have a high ceiling and they’re going to improve," he said.
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"I think they’re doing a tremendous job, it’s just a lot of information compared to what you deal with in high school. It’s a tough transition."
Doseck has adapted to big roles before. From being the go-to player at Athens, to being a standout freshman just up the road. But she has a very simple goal that starts at the first regular season game and extends to the end of the season: Keep getting better.
If her play so far this season is any indication, Doseck made the right decision by staying in Athens.
@kellenbecoats
kb749012@ohio.edu
