Saint Joseph's and Coppin State tip off on Tuesday at Hagan Arena. Dasear Haskins scored a career-high 15 points for the Hawks. (Photo: Aaron Bracy)
By AARON BRACY
November 28, 2024
When Saint Joseph’s coach Billy Lange was recruiting Dasear Haskins, he got a message from one of Haskins’s mentors.
“He has unreasonable confidence,” the mentor told Lange.
That sure beats the alternative, Lange thought.
“I’d rather have that than unreasonable doubt because then you can coach a guy like that,” Lange said. “He’s not going to get down. I’m very hard on him, and he continues to want to be coached.”
Whether it was that unreasonable confidence, Lange’s coaching, or, more likely, a combination of both, Haskins had his best game in his young Hawks career when he scored 15 points and made 6 of 8 shots overall, including 3 of 5 three-pointers, in St. Joe’s 83-54 win over Coppin State on Tuesday at Hagan Arena.
So, where does that confidence come from?
“My coaches and teammates instill a lot of confidence in me, and I trust in my work,” Haskins said after Tuesday’s game. “I always worked hard, and I just trust in it.”
Haskins is an intriguing member of the St. Joe’s roster. After redshirting last season, something that is becoming archaic in today’s era of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal, Haskins entered the season as intriguing, yet unknown. As a wing, he has the size, at 6-foot-8, 200 pounds, to draw one’s attention. And although he played for a nationally ranked Camden High team that was full of high-level recruits, his high school numbers of 10 points and 4.7 rebounds don’t exactly wow you. So it was a bit jarring to see Haskins’s name mentioned in August by Sports Illustrated as a potential NBA draft target before he ever scored a basket on Hawk Hill.
Against Coppin State, he flashed much of that promise, using his long wing span to thwart his opponents, his athleticism to find spots to create shots for himself or others, his height and strength to grab rebounds and make putbacks, and his feathery outside shooting touch that clearly gives the Hawks someone else opposing coaches are going to have to put on their scouting reports–likely opening up even more room for Erik Reynolds II and Xzayvier Brown to operate.
So, what kind of player is Haskins?
“Just a guy that’s going to go at you, do everything, get his teammates open, respect the coaches, and a guy that is going to play hard,” he said.
Simple. And to the point. Seems like the kind of player who is going to let his game do the talking–and his teammates do the praising.
“Dasear is a very dynamic playmaker,” Reynolds said after scoring a team-high 18 points on Tuesday. “He loves to pass. Sometimes I kind of get on him because he passes a little too much. He really shows that he can also shoot the ball really well, too.
“I love to have him on the team. And the fact that he was here last year with us, he already knows what we do and is really comfortable with our concepts. So it really helps out just having another guy like that on the floor.”
Tuesday was a step forward for Haskins, who is averaging 5.9 points and 2.3 rebounds in 16.3 minutes per contest. His role likely will expand as he gains more experience, particularly if his production continues like against Coppin.
“I like his decision-making, obviously when he makes threes that’s a big deal for us,” Lange said. “I thought his defensive endurance was better.”
“He’s just a guy who’s going to keep getting better,” the coach added.
Certainly, he’ll continue playing with confidence, watching from the bench, waiting his turn, and determining exactly what the Hawks need when he enters.
“Whatever we need,” Haskins said of his role. “I’m in a position not to start, see how the game is going. When I go in there, I know I can pick it up with rebounding, I know I can pick it up with shooting the ball, with playmaking. It is a blessing to see what’s going on before I come in. Whatever they need, I come in there and pick it up.”
And if the Hawks need confidence, they’ll know where to turn.
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Aaron Bracy has been covering Philadelphia sports since 1996. His byline regularly appears on Associated Press stories. Follow Bracy on X: @Aaron_Bracy and like his Facebook and Instagram pages. His book on the 2003-04 Saint Joseph’s men’s basketball team is expected to be published on March 1, 2025. Read a summary and preorder it by clicking HERE. Contact him at aaron@big5hoops.com.