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PJ Dozier: Young basketball star loves golf!

August 9, 2009
By Paul M. Swann, www.OurTeeBox.com  (Click Here for original article)

Clark Francis of hoopscoop.com ranks 12 yr old Perry "PJ" Dozier, Jr. the #1 sixth grade basketball player in the country. I called him for this piece and his comments were, "At his age, he plays his tail off. He can play inside or outside. He's probably going to grow. And, he has great parents."

So, why is Dozier, on a golf website?

Here's why...I met Dozier, Jr. and his father Perry Dozier, Sr. playing golf at Northwoods Golf Course (a P.B. Dye layout that is a sponsor of this site) in Columbia, SC. I was playing by myself and they were playing a couple holes in front of me. They were keeping a good pace until some guy with a tank top (How did he get on the course in the first place?) and a playing partner asked them to play through, then proceeded to hit both of their balls in the woods and spend nearly ten minutes trying to find them.

Excuse me...if you ask to play through, not because my group is playing slow, but because the size of your group is simply smaller...then I have one rule. Be quick.

Fortunately for me, they weren't quick. I ended up meeting the Doziers, and then subsequently joined them and their nephew/cousin, Cameron. When Dozier, Sr. introduced himself I realized he was former University of South Carolina basketball player, and current head basketball coach at Columbia (SC) Spring Valley High School. And, since there was an article in the N.Y. Times about Dozier, Jr. this past year that I happened to have read, I looked at Dozier, Sr., pointed to his son, and said, "So that's the number one 12 year old in the country."

As a proud papa, he smiled said, "Yeah, that's him."

Dozier, Sr. is a loooonnngg 6-9 or better. His son, on his website, (perrydozierjr.com) is listed at 5-6...he's closer to 5-9. If you want to see highlights of his game, check out his site. He can play and he can shoot. He has deep range that goes to 4 feet behind the college three point line and if he tops out ,as the doctors think, at 6-6 to 6-8. Lord have mercy.

As a golfer, he is a novice...but he has a wonderful love of the game. At times he drove it well, hit some deft iron shots, and made some long putts that required deft touch. His dad mentioned, "We haven't had time all summer to get out here. We have been all over the place with basketball all summer...but we need some balance."

My face lit up. A kid with Dozier, Jr.'s ridiculously early hype needs a parent like Dozier, Sr. Dozier, Sr. loves the game, as well. They both do. The competitive side of P.J. was evident all day long. And, it was good to see him play a sport that he isn't great at and watch his demeanor. He never got down on himself when he hit a bad shot, and all day long he had a huge smile on his face. I realized watching him play golf what makes him such good basketball player. It's his attitude about sports in general.

Even if this kid does not end up being a college basketball star, he will end up being a great person. He is well spoken, polite, humble, and seems to want to take in as much information as he can to help him get better. So while I had his ear, I asked his father after the round if I could speak with him for a moment. Here is what I told him.

"You are getting an awful lot of attention right now from major media publications. If I could give you one piece of advice to take away from my meeting with you, it would be this. Do not let basketball define you as an individual. It's what you do, not who you are. People are going to try to make you be what they want you to be. But, you have to be honest with yourself and know who you are. Be humble, be a good teammate, and know that everyone who you play with is going to want to be jealous of you and the attention you receive. Don't give ‘em a reason. Make them walk away from you saying, ‘I thought he would be a jerk, but he's really a nice guy.'"

I then said, "You feel me?"

He said, "Yes, sir."

His dad commented, "Well said."

I will have an interview with P.J. next week where we talk about his love of the game of golf, the comparisons to basketball, his infatuation with the University of North Carolina basketball program (which obviously I loved), and a lot of other things I think will be very interesting. Stay tuned.

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