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Sports - December 2003 |
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Dellinger on the grind at East |
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Summer in the gym pays off for point guard By JOHN MARK BROOKS, Staff Writer ———————————— A little hard work can go a long way. Just ask East Lincoln Mustangs’ point guard Darin Dellinger. Dellinger, as a sophomore last season, started in about half of the games. That wasn’t good enough for Dellinger. He wanted to be a starter full-time. “His work ethic is No. 1. He’s pretty much dedicated himself to being a good player this year. We worked out a lot in the spring and in the summer. Darin also went to a point guard camp over the summer,” acting coach Chip Ashley said. Has the hard work paid off? Dellinger is leading the Mustangs in three categories, so all signs point to yes. Dellinger, a junior, is leading his team in scoring average with over 13 a game, assists per game with six and steals with three a contest. The point guard said his hard work was instilled in him early in life. “I’ve just been taught all my life that you have to work for something if you are going to be good at anything. I just take that to the court. Coach Ashley has taught me how to work the right way,” Dellinger said. Ashley attributes Dellinger’s defensive success to how much effort he puts into that facet of his game. “He’s a hustler, going to do the things necessary to make plays and plays hard all the time. He just seems to be in the right place at the right time on defense,” he said. Darin looks at his defensive intensity as a vehicle for exciting his team. “I’m just trying to get my team pumped up a little bit. We have a problem with intensity sometimes,” Dellinger is also a threat at the free throw line shooting 80 percent from the charity stripe this season. The point guard is so effective passing the ball because he can see things develop a step faster than his opponents. “He has good floor vision and gets the ball into people in positions where they can score,” Ashley explains. The hardwood is not the only place Dellinger excels. The A-B Honor Roll student also totes a 3.3 GPA in the classroom. To him academics is a priority, even over basketball. “It’s always come before sports. I just try to work hard on and off the court,” he simply states.
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© 2001 Lincoln Times-News |
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