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Daulton Hommes, Baskonia: 'Giving up was not an option'

Daulton Hommes, Baskonia: 'Giving up was not an option'

Interviews

19 October 20224 Mins read

Daulton Hommes, Baskonia: 'Giving up was not an option'

It's a well-worn path that leads from the playing court to a coach's seat on the bench. But going from coaching back to playing? And then turning pro?

That is the unique journey that Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz forward Daulton Hommes has made.

Between the ages of 15 and 18, exactly when most prospects establish themselves – or not – Hommes didn't play in an official basketball game. Injuries to the same knee two summers in a row caused him to miss his last two seasons of high school basketball and only practice during his first year at university. But being sidelined for so long didn't diminish his attachment to basketball at all.

"For me, mentally, I think a huge part of it was just being a part of my high school team and continuing to do whatever I can in practice," Hommes recalled. "My high school coach, basically... he treated me like an assistant coach. He always asked my opinion on things, he continued to pick my brain. That is how I kept just my basketball brain completely turned on."

And whenever his health allowed, Hommes had a ball in his hands, too:

"I just stayed in the gym for those three years. If I wasn't rehabbing, I was doing shooting and stationary ballhandling drills. Just being in the gym and basically staying around the game 24/7.

"Giving up was not an option for me. It's something I wanted to do since I was a tiny kid. That was kind of my mindset: I knew that once I got healthy, I wanted to play basketball or be at least involved with the game."

When high school ended without anyone having seen Hommes play for two years, his options were non-existent. He reached out to some college coaches, but didn't get any response. Finally, he convinced a nearby Division II university coach to let him volunteer as a walk-on and spent a year playing only in practices. He had been a point guard before his injuries, but having grown 18 centimeters while sidelined, he was chosen to play center on the practice team.

Within a year, he was starting for Western Washington University, and two years later, after transferring, Hommes took Point Loma Nazarene University to the national championship game as the NCAA Division II player of the year. That success eventually led Hommes to Europe, where he discovered an affinity for the style of play.

"Being able to play all facets of the game but also play with a high IQ, I think, is really important," he says. "Also to know and pick up on defensive tactics quicker and the strategy of the game, taking good shots, knowing when to foul, when to do little things that impact the game."

All of those skills harken back to when Hommes was confined to the bench in his teens and learned the game from the point of view of an assistant coach.

"You kind of look at the game a little bit differently," Hommes says. "I really enjoyed studying the Xs and Os of the game and just kind of picking up on little things in the game that could really make a difference that I probably wouldn't have [picked up on] if I was playing.

"That's one of the reasons why I want to coach when I am done playing."

In the meantime, Hommes hopes that by hearing his story, other young players who can't play for some reason but love the game do not give up hope of being on the court again.

"My story is really unique," he says. "If hope that I can be an inspiration to people who feel like they've been counted out, or don't have the opportunity, to stay with it."