Biography
By Jim Hague
Deshawn Singleton was certain that his next step was to be a college football player.
After earning All-Group and All-Passaic County honors as an outside linebacker/defensive end at Passaic High School, the tall and powerful Singleton was destined to become a fine college football player.
“I thought I was all set to be a football player,” Singleton said. “I thought I was a pretty good football player. I was better than average.”
Obviously, if NCAA Division I schools like Utica and Sacred Heart are offering scholarships.
However, there was another side to Singleton’s athletic life, namely his basketball playing abilities.
“I just never thought that I was good enough as a basketball player,” said Singleton, who played for two Passaic County champions during his high school days and earned All-Passaic County as a senior. “I thought the other guys on my high school team were better. I never knew that I would be in college playing basketball.”
But there were two people who believed Singleton could help their program, namely Rutgers-Newark head coach Joe Loughran and his former assistant coach Paul Palek.
“Coach Palek would talk to me every day,” Singleton said. “Coach Loughran was very good to me. I knew I didn’t want to go to the schools that were recruiting me for football. Coach Loughran told me he would help me out and help me get a degree. That got the ball rolling.”
“We kind of knew he could be a big-time player for us,” Loughran said. “We thought other schools were just missing the boat. He was under the radar a little. But we knew he was a physical specimen who was beyond his years and that he could help us.”
But still, Singleton was not totally sold. He needed more advice. So he reached out to former Passaic High standout Clayton Barker, who went on to have a brilliant career at New Jersey Institute of Technology.
“It was getting doubtful that I was coming to Rutgers-Newark, but I knew Clayton Barker knew Coach Loughran,” Singleton said. “I asked Clayton about Rutgers-Newark and he said that he would have come here, but he had the offer to go to NJIT. He said he liked the school and liked Coach Loughran, but he wanted to play at the higher level.”
Barker’s seal of approval was all Singleton needed. He was joining Loughran and Palek (who has since moved on to become the head boys’ coach at Montville High School) at R-N.
It’s a move that has been a blessing for both ever since.
Because the 6-foot-4 sophomore has become one of the most beloved members of the Scarlet Raider athletic program.
Singleton is the one who’s always smiling and spotted giving everyone in the building either a handshake or a “High Five.” If it didn’t look bad, he’d even give a glad hand to the referees during games.
“He’s well liked and his personality is contagious,” Loughran said. “Everyone likes him. He puts a smile on his face and it becomes contagious. No question, that makes life easier for everyone.”
“Coach Loughran always says that my personality can get me anywhere,” Singleton said. “I just try to be nice to everyone and want them to be nice to me in return. I just like people. It’s hard for me to get mad at anyone. I’m always smiling. Coach even tells me that I smile too much, that I should get mad more often.”
When he’s determined and healthy, Singleton is one of the better post performers in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. He’s battled through a slew of injuries during his first two seasons with the Scarlet Raiders, so that has limited his playing time on a regular basis.
But this season, after missing six games due to injury, Singleton is averaging nearly eight points and five rebounds per game.
Loughran knows he can contribute much more.
“He’s been hurt a little bit by injuries,” Loughran said. “He came in and played right away for us last year as a freshman, but then he would play so hard and that would get him into trouble staying healthy. He just needs to stay focused. He has all the tools.
Added Loughran, “He has shown some ability. He has good footwork and is a very good passer. I really think once he gets healthy and stays healthy, he could be an All-League player and I tell him that all the time.”
Singleton believes that his football background got him ready to play in the physical world of New Jersey Athletic Conference men’s basketball, where games aren’t games, they’re wars.
“I’m stronger than a lot of players and that helps me, because I’m just too strong for them to handle,” Singleton said. “Without football, I wouldn’t be able to do that.”
Singleton averaged seven points and nearly five rebounds a year ago as a freshman and got a lot of playing time when starting center Afolabi Ajumobi went down with a knee injury. He was named the NJAC Rookie of the Week three times and had a 25-point, seven-rebound game against Kean toward the end of the season.
“He got his feet wet last year and played some valuable minutes,” Loughran said. “I thought that would help him get ready for this year.”
“There were some things I needed to work on,” Singleton said. “I noticed that I can pass the ball more. Last year, Phil Slater (a former teammate and current assistant coach) called me ‘the Black Hole,’ because if the ball went in to me, it wasn’t coming back out. Now I’m working on being one of the best passers from the post.”
Singleton was all set to be more of a force this season, when the preseason injury kept him on the sidelines.
“For me, I felt like I had to catch up,” Singleton said. “I felt I was hurting the team being hurt all the time. I knew the team needed me because Afo (Ajumobi) was also hurt. Now, we’re both back and if we can both play at the same time together, that would be scary. I can’t take any days off. I have to get rebounds now that DA (senior Derryck Alexander) is out (with an ankle injury). I have to pick up the slack that DA is out.”
Singleton knows that the best is ahead of him.
“Coach Loughran always tells me that I can be one of the best in the league and I believe him,” Singleton said. “I always have a chance to get better.”
“Whether it’s on the court or in school, he’s going to have success if he stays focused,” Loughran said. “He’s that kind of kid.”
While Singleton isn’t sure of what field of study he’d like to pursue at R-N, he hasn’t ruled out one possibility.
“I could go back to football when it’s all over,” Singleton said. “There’s always a chance. But I’m loving playing basketball here now. I made the right choice.”
