Dominique Ferguson grows on and off the court

Malcolm Shields / Staff Writer

sports@fiusm.com

Ferguson is averaging 9.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game this season

Head Coach Isiah Thomas has reiterated that he believes in running his offense through the forwards and centers. “We’ve gone out and recruited size,” Thomas said. “Even though our size are freshman and sophomores, we still want to play inside-out.”

One of his big men who has made an impact since entering the program has been sophomore Dominique Ferguson. At 6-foot-9, Ferguson possesses the ideal size, strength and quickness as a forward.

As one of Thomas’ prized recruits in 2010, Ferguson’s game began to flourish during his sophomore year in high school. “I played on a good high school team. We had about seven or eight guys go [to] major D-1,” Ferguson said. “I did not start until the end of the season.”   Throughout that season Ferguson slowly worked his way into the starting lineup. By the end of the season, Ferguson was a starter and obtained his career high at that time.

Being from the basketball haven that is the state of Indiana, his game on the court began to attract the attention of numerous basketball programs from across the country. By the end of his sophomore, Ferguson began to receive letters of interest from schools.

“It was kind of nerve-wrecking. When I first started to get them, I was really excited,” Ferguson said. “I got letters from small schools [and] big schools and first I hung them up. After the first 20 [letters] I just threw them in a shoe box.” The letters got to such a point that he had numerous boxes full of letters from basketball programs. For Ferguson, it was a satisfying feeling of accomplishment. “I thought I had finally started making a name for myself.”

Some of the programs who began recruiting Ferguson were Arizona, Duke, Kentucky, Indiana and UCLA. The one school that drew his interest was FIU. Although the other Universities had higher-profile basketball programs, Thomas’ personality and message made an impression on Ferguson. “When I talked to him, he did not put me on a high pedestal like other schools did,” Ferguson said. “He did not tell me that I was the only one. He was pretty much straight up with me.”

For Thomas, Ferguson’s skill set was intriguing to him. “He had a great skill set in terms of handling the basketball. He was a good dribbler [and] a good passer,” Thomas said. “I think that he is just starting to get a pretty decent understanding of his size and strength.”

Thomas also sold Ferguson on the opportunity that FIU would provide to him as a person. “I told him that my job and responsibility was to make him a better person and a better player and the person comes before the player.”

Once Ferguson made his way to campus in 2010, he had to wait until December due to an issue with the NCAA. “It was hard because it was my freshman year… and I had already bonded with the guys.” Once he was allowed to play, he made an impact. In his first game against Florida A&M, Ferguson finished the game with 10 points, five rebounds and four blocks.

Ferguson completed his freshman year averaging 7.1 points and 4.8 rebounds. The biggest adjustment that Ferguson made from high school to college was the level of physicality of Division I basketball. “In high school, I never got pushed around, but here I still got to battle people,” Ferguson said.

For Thomas, he has been more impressed with the growth and success of Ferguson off the hardwood. “His biggest wins have come off the floor in terms of growing and maturing,” Thomas said. “We are starting to see that maturity come up to the floor in our practices. By the time he is a junior and senior, the full compliment of the person and the player should be on display.”

The Panthers were short-handed beginning this season in the interior with Joey De La Rosa and Brandon Moore joining the team in December. For Ferguson, it was about him doing his job and leading by example. “I was already mentally preparing,” Ferguson said. “I just played my role.” After only scoring in double-figures in three games in the first month of the season, Ferguson has registered 10 games scoring at least 10 or more points.

In order for the Panthers to make a run in the Sun Belt Conference tournament, he knows the team must play as a unit. “Everybody has to come together,” Ferguson said. “We are definitely on the same page right now.”