Little big man: FGCU's Darnell Rogers packs a punch on his 5-foot-2 frame

June 18, 2024

By Wendell Barnhouse

Asked if he understands the irony of a 5-foot-2 point guard playing for Dunk City, Darnell Rogers responds with a chuckle. “That’s interesting,” he says. “That’s something I hadn’t really thought about.”

Referring to him by his full name — Shawnta Darnell Rogers Jr. — might help fill in the story of the Florida Gulf Coast freshman. He comes by his basketball skills and being vertically challenged naturally. His father, Shawnta, was listed at 5-foot-4, and as a senior at George Washington he led the Colonials to a 20-9 record and an NCAA Tournament bid and was named the Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year.

In the late 1990s, Shawnta Rogers was often a curiosity before the opening tip. Before a game at Missouri, the Antlers, the raucous student group, painted themselves blue and serenaded Rogers with the Smurfs song. Rogers countered signs such as “Get Shorty” and chants urging him to “stand up” by scoring 20 points with seven assists and three steals as GW walked off with a victory.

Darnell — he chooses to go by his middle name — hasn’t heard a lot of trash-talking from the stands. When and if he does, he won’t let it faze him. “Once I start playing, I don’t hear much or think about anything but the game,” he says. “And if people want to try and make fun of me because of my height, that only gives me fuel. I know what my skills are. I know I can play.”

Like father, like son. “He needs to be himself and not try to be me,” says the elder Rogers, who retired from pro basketball in 2011 and now advises young people about life skills. “He plays a little like I did because I’ve worked with him on his game. People are always going to doubt him because of his size. That was the case most of my career. He’s just got to keep strong and keep fighting the battle. We’ve always talked about taking on that challenge. Darnell has the tools and he can play. Period.”

The rim is almost twice as far off the floor as Darnell Rogers is tall. Every other scholarship player on the Eagles’ roster can dunk. Rogers can grab the rim, but he can’t flush one, and maybe he never will. A 5-foot-2 dunker would be a sideshow for the program that bills itself as Dunk City. Rogers is more interested in being the headliner. “There’s more to the game than dunks,” he says. “But I think I’ll wind up with a lot of assists on lobs for dunks. That’s just as much fun.”

Rogers isn’t afraid to poke fun at himself. At FGCU’s “Dunk City After Dark” public practice in late October, Eagles coach Joe Dooley asked Rogers if he wanted to participate. Of course, he replied. The solution: a Fisher-Price basketball goal.

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Darnell appeared to be on his way to becoming at legacy at George Washington. He committed to the Colonials and could have been a freshman last season. However, he changed high schools during his senior year, and there were problems with his NCAA eligibility. Plus, George Washington dismissed coach Mike Lonergan, so Shawnta advised his son to reopen his recruitment. He spent last season at Believe Preparatory School in Rock Hill, S.C., averaging 23 points, seven assists and two steals per game.

Dooley, in his fifth year at FGCU after spending 10 seasons as an assistant at Kansas, believes that Rogers has the potential to emulate his father’s college career. “He’s got the same toughness,” Dooley says. “We had seen him a bunch of times in the summer, and he’s the kind of guy we needed in our program. He can pressure the ball, change the tempo on offense. He can definitely have an impact on our program. We want point guards who can run our team, and he can definitely do that.”

Rogers believes he could start for the Eagles, but this season he’ll most likely back up FGCU’s top two ball-handlers — junior Zach Johnson and senior Brandon Goodwin, who last season was a unanimous choice as the Atlantic Sun Conference Newcomer of the Year. At 6-foot-2, both tower over Rogers.

“One of Darnell’s biggest adjustments is the strength of college players he’ll be guarding,” Dooley says. “Going up against those two guys in practice will be a big help, and they’re both helping him adjust and will help in his development. Darnell has been making noticeable improvement as we’ve gone through practice.”

Last season FGCU matched a school record for victories with its 26-8 record. The Eagles return three starters, plenty of depth and will be chasing the school’s fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last six seasons in the Atlantic Sun. Dunk City set a program record for scoring last season, and Rogers should help keep the line moving.

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Heights in college basketball are routinely fudged. The elder Rogers was variously listed at 5-foot-5 and 5-foot-4. Some big men believe being listed as 7-footers is a detriment and prefer a reduction to 6-11. Other players naturally want to add an inch or two; their subterfuge isn’t exposed unless and until they reach the NBA combine, where the tape measure doesn’t lie.

Rogers grew up with a living example that heart isn’t measured in height. “I got to see my dad play in Europe. I could see how he didn’t let his height become an issue,” says Darnell, whose older brother, Terrell (5-foot-8), played at Delaware. “Everybody in my family is short, so I never expected I’d get very tall.”

Darnell recalls bouncing a basketball at age three, but his first love was football. Through middle school, he played running back and slot receiver. But his eighth grade team lost more than it won. He decided he could better have a hand in his team’s success on the court. That sort of competitive drive continues to serve him well. Darnell gets angry if the man he’s assigned to guard scores more than 10 points. “People think because I’m small I can’t guard people,” he says. “I pride myself on my defense.”

There’s a definite yin and yang at work. Amateur strategists would suggest that a taller point guard can simply take Rogers down low and post him up. That ignores the fact that most point guards don’t practice playing in the post. Plus, taking a ball handler away from his main responsibility forces another player to run the offense. Basically, the opponent is choosing to play left-handed.

“When guys try to post me up, I think most of the time they might score one out of five shots,” Rogers says. “I can also use my quickness and steal the entry pass.”

And although Rogers might at times have a disadvantage on defense, his height and skill set put his defender at a similar disadvantage. While to Rogers the rim might look like Mt. Everest, he’s confident and comfortable operating around his base camp — the floor. His ball handling and quickness are assets. Rogers is hard to chase, and defenders also have to get low. The admonition of every basketball coach — keep your dribble low — comes naturally to Rogers.

In August 2014, the Washington Post ran a story headlined: “Son of former GW star Shawnta Rogers is a 5-foot-nothing high school star.” In six words — 5-foot-nothing high school star — the headline writer managed to include an insult and a complement. Five-foot nothing?

Rogers is used to such slights. He intends to make something out of them. “The fans, the other teams, they see me come on the court and they underestimate me,” he says. “Usually after the game’s over, people respect my game. I can score, I can pass, I can defend, I can play the game. I just keep proving people wrong.”

(Top photo: Courtesy of Florida Gulf Coast University)

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