By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., October 22, 2023 — I absolutely had to share a photo posted on Facebook today by DeMatha Catholic High School about the upcoming induction of its former basketball star Adrian Dantley into the Maryland State Hall of Fame with readers of my online publication, BAHAMAS CHRONICLE, which has a huge following among the Bahamian diaspora across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom as well as in The Bahamas and the wider Caribbean.
I have been a huge, huge fan of Adrian Dantley from he was in high school. His mother, Virginia Dantley, has been like “my sister” from I first met her in 1965 when I was a young reporter at The Tribune and she and a friend, Bobby Polston, visited Nassau as tourists.
After I relocated to Washington, D.C., in 1975, I got to meet A.D. in person and was a frequent guest for dinner and parties at the lavish home he bought for his mother in an upscale neighborhood of Northwest, D.C.
Virginia and I have remained good friends over the years and I called her earlier today to request that she extend my congratulations to A.D.
DeMatha Catholic High School posted its photo with the following narrative:
“Adrian Dantley ’73 interviewed at DM today for his induction into the MD State Hall of Fame next month. Coincidentally, AD began his NBA career on this exact day in 1976.”
I decided to do some research on Dantley during his NBA career, and in the process ran across several photos that I have included in the collection of photos that have been added to the photo posted by DeMatha High School for publication with this article.
Adrian was an outstanding basketball star with the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He was named the National Player of the Year as a junior in 1975-76 by the United States Basketball Writers Association; was a two-time first-team All-American in 1974-75 and 1975-76; a member of the United States Olympic basketball team that won the gold medal in Montreal in 1976; averaged 18.3 points per game as a starting forward as a freshman for the Irish in 1973-74; finished second nationally in scoring as a sophomore with a 30.4 average; and ranked fourth nationally in scoring as a junior in ’75-’76 with a 28.6 average, among other notable basketball accomplishments while attending Notre Dame.
After passing up his senior season to make himself available for the NBA draft, Adrian returned to finish his degree requirements at Notre Dame by 1978.
The sixth overall pick in the ’76 NBA draft by Buffalo Braves, Adrian was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in ’77 with a 20.3 scoring average and a 7.6 rebound mark.
Adrian played 15 seasons in the NBA, averaging 24.3 points per game.
