David Roddy is pursuing an NBA career — his thoughts on leaving CSU early, what he needs to show teams this month, and a look at how the decision impacts the Rams moving forward

FORT COLLINS — David Roddy is NBA bound. The 2021-22 Mountain West Player of the Year has elected to forgo his collegiate eligibility and remain in the 2022 NBA Draft. 

Coming off of a phenomenal junior season in which Roddy was named a Third Team All-American by Sports Illustrated after averaging 19.2 points per game on 57 percent shooting overall and 44 percent shooting from deep, CSU fans hoped to get another run in a deep league with their superstar leading the way. Had he chosen to return for a senior season, the Rams would have been locks to enter the 2022-23 campaign ranked in the top 25. After going through the NBA Combine and working out for a multitude of individual teams, though, Roddy ultimately decided that the best move for his future is to pursue a professional career now. 

“It’s for sure the hardest decision I’ve ever made in my life, by far, just because of the emotional attachment I have to CSU, all of the relationships that I have, it’s definitely gotten me teary eyed a few times while making phone calls and everything,” Roddy told the local press. 

The 6-foot-6, 255-pound forward explained that helping change the culture of CSU men’s basketball is something that means a lot to him, and while not everyone will understand the conflicting emotions that he has, leaving the program early is heartbreaking for him. 

“Sometimes, when you go through these decisions, you have to sacrifice, you know, a lot of things,” Roddy said. “I’m glad that I left it better than I found it, but again, that was definitely the toughest part about the decision.”

According to Roddy, the pre-draft evaluation process has been beneficial for him when it comes to carrying himself as a professional. He said that CSU prepared him extremely well but that everything is just on a different scale at the next level. Whether it’s working out, playing in exhibitions, or even traveling — it’s all more intense in the NBA — and there is no room for error. 

Roddy also gave some insight into the feedback that he has received from NBA teams so far, and unsurprisingly, some view his unique frame and style as a mismatch to throw at opponents while others simply see him as undersized. He said that the biggest thing for him will just be continuing to work on his defense and proving he has the ability to guard multiple positions. 

Roddy’s draft projections have been all over the map, with some forecasting him as a fringe first rounder and others tabbing him as a mid to late second rounder. Sources with inside knowledge have told DNVR that most teams at this point are more inclined to target the versatile forward later in the draft process, which would mean that guaranteed deals are not seemingly on the table right now. However, Roddy is working out for Portland and Golden State this week and will surely have others between now and June 23. And ultimately it only takes one team to take a shot on him. 

When asked if Roddy has a preferred destination, the 21 year-old said not really, and that he just wants a chance to prove himself. 

“I know that some teams are interested and that some teams aren’t,” Roddy said. “I just have to do my best, you know, improve and show these teams that they should draft me. All I’m asking for is just the right system, and for the organization to have a plan for me… Everybody loves to win. Hopefully I can show my competitiveness and my love for winning. And hopefully the organization matches that as well. I’m just excited, wherever I land.” 

While he is understandably jazzed about the future, Roddy said what he will miss most about CSU is the experiences with all of his teammates. He talked about going down to the Virgin Islands last season, when the Rams were able to win the Paradise Jam. He reminisced about playing late-night UNO with the guys on the road, when they were supposed to be in bed but were way too animated around each other. “Just hanging with the guys, I think that’s the biggest thing.”

“The atmosphere was amazing,” Roddy continued. “The fans have been amazing, you know, just seeing familiar faces after every game, taking pictures, signing autographs, it’s something I’ll miss as well. Just being in Moby Arena every day and doing what I love with the people that I love — that’s definitely going to be rough adjustment trying to start that process all over again.”

Finally, Roddy may be leaving Fort Collins but he made it clear that he is still going to be extremely locked into what’s happening with the team. He joked that he probably will get way too animated and yell at the TV when watching the games. He still is going to text the guys and provide scouting tips when he can, though. And ultimately he is going to be their biggest fan — which will be a bit weird for him — but also exciting because he still views CSU as a very dangerous team. 

“Everybody is still there,” Roddy said. “The culture is still there, the community is still there.  We added so many guys that are super talented and (also) high character people.”

Roddy continued, explaining that in addition to bringing in experienced veterans like SG Josiah Strong and PF Patrick Cartier, the returning players from last season have strong winning tendencies as well. He emphasized how crucial they were to leading CSU to a 25-win season and a 6-seed in the NCAA Tournament, and that Ram Nation should not lose faith in this group. 

“Many people are due for breakout seasons. And so I’m just super excited.”

So where does CSU go from here? 

Losing Roddy is a massive blow, there’s no doubt about it. He has been one of the most dominant individuals in the MWC for the last two years and trying to replace him at any point of the recruiting cycle would be nearly impossible, let alone in the first week of June. 

Keeping this in mind and understanding that there are legitimate restraints for CSU on the recruiting trail, I’d expect the Rams to explore the possibility of bringing in a power forward via the transfer portal. Again, you are not going to find a one for one replacement, so there’s no point of even entertaining that mindset. But you can go out and bring someone in that helps offset some of the production you lose on both ends from Roddy. In a lot of ways it would be like using the Moneyball approach — you can’t simply replace Jason Giambi, so you try to create similar production with a variety of different players. 

CSU signed Patrick Cartier, a two-time Division II All-American, back in the spring and he seemingly will slide into the starting lineup now that Roddy is out of the mix. The 6-foot-8 forward scored 1,624 points and made 640 field goals during his illustrious DII career. Most importantly, though, Cartier is similar to Roddy with the way that he can score at all three levels, so the Rams shouldn’t have to change much with their spacing. In a smaller lineup Cartier can serve as the five, and when James Moors is on the floor, Cartier can then move to the four. 

In the 2021-22 season Cartier averaged 22 points per game on 66 percent shooting overall and 44 percent from 3-point range. He also shot 75 percent from the free throw line and pulled down six boards per game. I’m not sure it would be realistic to expect him to be quite as dominant now that he’s moved up a level, but after seeing the way Chandler Jacobs’ game translated last season, I’m also not sure why anyone would think that he won’t at least be a competent player.  

Outside of Cartier and Moors, CSU also has a true 7-footer in Jacob Jennisen on the roster. Depending on what the Rams do with their two open scholarships, I would assume that Jennissen will have a chance to compete for playing time after only seeing six minutes of action over five games in 2021-22. He certainly has the size but after injuring his knee during his senior year of high school, the last two seasons have been an uphill battle for the big man from Minnesota as he’s tried to get healthy. Given his injury history it’s tough to say with any type of certainty what kind of player Jennissen can be for the Green & Gold this year. If he can take a big step forward, though, it would be huge for CSU. 

As we’ve already covered, I do expect CSU to look to add depth to the front court. Maybe they even take a look at Emmanuel Akot, who won’t be returning to Boise State this season but removed his name from the NBA Draft. Ultimately, though, this team’s greatest strength is going to be the talent the Rams possess at the guard spots. 

Isaiah Stevens is one of the most underrated point guards in the game today. With Roddy gone this is clearly his team now and I have full confidence that Stevens is up for the challenge. The great thing is that he won’t have to carry the team alone. John Tonje, Jalen Lake and Isaiah Rivera all played significant roles for the Rams last season. Those guys should be capable of stepping up. Not to mention that CSU signed an elite 3-point shooter in Josiah Strong, a two-guard that played 30 minutes a night for Illinois State the last two years. My point here is that the Rams have options. It might not be a situation where one guy is scoring 20+ every night but sticking with the Moneyball theme, they have enough players that can score in different ways to help offset what they lose without Roddy out there. 

The Rams may not be favorites in the MWC anymore — not with the depth San Diego State is going to have — this is definitely still a talented group, though. It would not be surprising at all to still see CSU win 20 or more games and potentially return to the NCAA Tournament, even without Roddy on the squad.

June 1 was a setback but it was far from a fatal blow. Like Roddy said, everybody else is still there, the culture is still there, and so is Niko Medved. Take a deep breath, Ram Nation. It’s going to be alright.