Freshman Aims To Fortify Run MDC’s Fast-Paced Attack With Team-First Mentality
A team-first mentality is a crucial building block for the Miami Dade College basketball team.
That’s why the Sharks will be counting on a 6-foot-6-inch wing player from Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School in Ives Estates—Dashaun Joseph—to set the tempo, as they seek to capture their first Southern Conference Title since 2008.
Joseph is one of 10 new players joining the team this season. The newcomers hail from Georgia, Illinois, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and other cities across Florida.
“He’s really unselfish, he cares about the team before himself,” said Kevin Ledoux, the men’s basketball coach at MDC. “He’s the type of guy that doesn’t care if he scores as long as the team is scoring. He’s really hard-working.”
Joseph was born on August 10, 2001. Growing up, he didn’t initially consider playing basketball because most of his friends played Pee Wee football.
When he was eight, he joined the Pepper Park Seminoles—the youth football team at Claude Pepper Park in North Miami—as a wide receiver for six years before switching to basketball in 2015.
“I was always the tallest on the football team but I wasn’t really good at [the sport],” Joseph said. “People acknowledged my height and told me to consider basketball. The rest is history. I started playing since then.”
Following the advice of a friend’s basketball coach, Joseph joined Miami Select Basketball in 2015—an AAU travel team in North Miami—where he learned the basics of the sport like shooting and passing. What he learned there helped him secure a spot on the basketball team at Andover Middle School in Miami Gardens.
At Michael Krop, Joseph was a forward on the varsity team for four years before graduating in 2020. In 14 games in his senior year, he averaged 14.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game and led the team to a 16-5 record and the Class 7A regional quarterfinals.
After graduating high school, Joseph planned to attend a prep school in Miami but realized that it was not the best move for his career. Then he got in contact with Sharks’ Assistant Coach Brandon Crosby and committed to MDC in May.
Teammates say they value his mid-range shot, team-first attitude and passing ability.
“He plays good defense, has good hands, and stays active. He’s a good player all-around,” said Joseph’s teammate Joshua Reid. “He brings energy and he makes the extra pass when needed.”
Joseph said he is prepared to do whatever it takes to help the Sharks improve on their 18-11 mark last season.
“I’ll just play my role,” said Joseph, who is majoring in physical therapy.“ I don’t really look at it as me being the best player on the team, it’s really just playing my role and everyone else playing their role and doing what I have to do on the court to help the team win.”
The Sharks’ first game of the season is on Jan. 16 at 2 p.m. versus Triple Threat Prep at the Theodore R. Gibson Health Center, 11011 S.W. 104 St.
