Prospect Spotlight: DJ Rodman (2019)
Yes, the name DJ Rodman is short for Dennis Rodman, Jr., and no, he doesn’t play anything like his father, and that’s by design.
“I’ve been trying to show that I’m my own player and and not like my dad,” DJ told Prep Hoops SoCal at the Elite 100 at Pomona Pitzer. “I don’t want my dad’s shadow on top of me. I just want to go out and play.”
That’s exactly with the rising junior did this past year at Corona del Mar high school, averaging 20.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, leading the Sea Kings to a 22-8 overall record.
Rodman connected on 55 3-pointers on the season and scored 25 or more points on six different occasions, including a 40-point effort in a CIF Southern Section Division Division IA playoff win over Compton Dominguez.
The 6-foot-5 wing, who plays for Earl Watson Elite’s 16 Under Armour Association team, thinks the perimeter aspects of his game are what stand out the most for him right now.
“The best part of my game right now is my shooting,” he said. “Especially my mid-range game; I think that’s one of the strongest parts of my game.”
As for improvements, Rodman wants to continue to hone his ball skills and become more athletic.
“I need to improve my ball handling and quickness,” Rodman said. “But I think everything needs to be worked on.”
DJ Rodman is using the 3-point shot to emerge from his father’s shadow.And if there’s anything about his father’s game that Rodman would like to add to his, it’s relentlessness energy and effort.
“I knew that he was like that and everyone talks about him that way,” he said. “But that made me want to be something else. I want to have that aggressiveness, intensity and tenacity that he had, but I want to show it in a different way.”
Rodman is satisfied with how he played last season at CdM, but his high school coach has challenged him to take another step in his development.
“It showed me how good I can be; I just gave it my all last season and showed everybody,” he said. “Coach Schachter wants me to be more of a team leader. Even though I played well last year, I was one of the more quiet players on the team.”
Rodman currently holds one scholarship offer from nearby Cal State Fullerton, but the 2019 prospect has a dream school and it’s close to his Newport Beach home, as well.
“I have one offer from Cal State Fullerton,” Rodman said. “But my ultimate goal is to go to UCLA. It’s my dream school. It’s really close to home and I don’t want to go far away from home.”