Excellent DeWayne Russell Article

DeWayne Russell has been one of the most pleasant surprises of the early Big Sky season, as the true freshman has been playing at an all-conference level to begin the season.

Now, the Northern Arizona website has a great article up on him. Russell has originally committed to USC (much like Gelaun Wheelwright, a key piece for Weber State), but then changed his mind.

However, Russell, who moved to Arizona from Philadelphia, Pa. at nine years of age, had a change of heart. USC started recruiting another guard, he didn't feel comfortable about going anymore and his family thought that maybe USC wasn't the best situation for him.

Enter Murphy and the retooling Lumberjacks.

"Through the decommitment process, I met Coach Murphy and he was so real with me and my family thought that it would be good if I stayed close to home," Russell said. "I came up here for a visit and fell in love with the campus and the people and I love it here. Ever since I moved here I've loved the state. I loved playing at my high school, Peoria High, and I thought it would be good to stay close to home."

With a senior trio of guards – Michael Dunn, Gabe Rogers and Stallon Saldivar – Russell joined his Lumberjack mates this fall with a lot of leadership and experience to draw from in the backcourt. While he's just seven games into his collegiate career, Russell has shown to be a blend of all three of his mentors, showcasing the scoring prowess of Rogers, the innate passing ability of Saldivar and the aggressive perimeter defense of Dunn as evident by his team-leading 16.3 points, 3.6 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Despite standing at just 5-11, Russell even has collected the third-most rebounds on the team.

He is worth the price of admission.

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