MICHAEL
DOLES SPOTLIGHT12-19-02
Sophomore forward Michael Doles (Richmond, Va./Meadowbrook) grew up about 15 minutes away from the Siegel Center, but it took him almost two years for him to make his debut in the black and gold, which he will do tonight against Hampton. Doles, who has practiced with the team since last spring and will have two more years of eligibility remaining after this season, is expected to add size and athleticism to the Rams' front line. But it wasn't a smooth recruiting pitch or a promise of playing time that convinced the 6-6 forward to transfer from Wright State in Ohio to play at VCU. Rather, it was something most college students experience at least once: He was homesick.
Doles, who wasn't pursued by VCU after starring at nearby Meadowbrook High, was surprised by how difficult being away from home was for him. "When I went to Wright State, I thought, 'Hey, I'm away from my parents, I can do my own thing,'" he said. "But all it took was that one lonely night, when all I wanted was to be with my family and friends, and that was it."
Doles played one year at Wright State, mostly in a reserve role. Although he wasn't happy there, he decided to return for his sophomore season, only to have those same feelings of loneliness prompt several phone calls to his parents. "My dad tried to keep me there and convince me to stay," Doles said, "but when he came up for a preseason scrimmage and saw the look on my face, he knew I had to come home."
Along with his parents' advice, Doles received help and support from his high school coach from Meadowbrook as well as two former teammates and current Rams Derrick Reid and Mark Adams. "My high school coach told me he was convinced that I had options if I left Wright State," he said. "I also called Mark and Derrick and asked them about VCU and the team. They ended up asking the coaches if there was room for me. But when I left school in Ohio, no [school] had picked me up, I was on my own."
Eventually, Doles was offered a scholarship to VCU, and he enrolled in classes for the spring semester. Unable to compete for one year, Doles practiced with the team and immediately felt comfortable playing with Adams and Reid again, just like old times. "It's the best feeling in the world," he said of reuniting with his high school teammates. "In practice now, I know that if they can do it, I can do it. We did the same things growing up, had the same coaches and everything, and knowing that right there gets me through a tough practice. That's what I missed.
"The first day I put on a VCU uniform the team made me feel like I had been there forever," he said. "Everyone welcomed me right from the start, and now we're the best of friends. At Wright State, I was the only guy from the South and I stood out a bit. [At VCU] we're all alike, with similar backgrounds."
Doles also made an immediate connection with head coach Jeff Capel, who worked out with Doles last season while he was an assistant coach. "Coach Capel is one of the best coaches I've ever had, both as a person and as a teacher," Doles said. "I'm a big Duke fan myself, so I remember him as a player. You know what he says is right, because he's been through it before, and he learned from Coach [Mike] Kryzewski. And he's a great teacher. I feel I'm a better basketball player now than when I left Wright State a year ago."
As for his debut in tonight's game against a strong Hampton team, Doles is excited but cautious. "I don't want to go out there and try to do too much," he said. "I haven't played in a game in a year-and-a-half, and game shape is different than practice shape. At first I'm sure I'll be running on adrenaline, but after that first timeout, when the adrenaline is gone, that's when I'll feel it."
Regardless of how he performs tonight, Doles knows he made the right decision to return to Richmond because he is undeniably happy. Although most people tend to agree with American author Thomas Wolfe's claim that You Can't Go Home Again, Doles feels otherwise. To any future college student-athletes, Doles advises, "If you have an opportunity to play at home, don't pass it up. I figure, if it's not broken, don't fix it, and it wasn't broken when I was here in the first place."