Senior forward finishes legacy for Mountaineer hoops

Trey Blake | Reporter

Over the last four years, 6-foot-5 recreation management major Donovan Gregory has made his mark on the App State basketball program, being the only Mountaineer in history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists and 150 steals.

Gregory, who shared the court with Black and Gold legends like Justin Forrest and Adrian Delph, has blossomed into the all-around player the team relies on.

“His entire game has just grown so much,” head coach Dustin Kerns said. “He’s one of 35 players with 1,000 points, but he’s also got 500 rebounds along with a ton of steals and almost 300 assists. I think he’s a Swiss Army knife, so he’s really good at everything, especially winning.”

With this growth, Gregory has also become the Mountaineers’ on and offcourt leader throughout the season.

“He’s tough on you,” sophomore guard Terence Harcum said. “Coming in last year as the new guy, he just instills this culture in you.”

Coming out of Carmel Christian Academy as the 10th ranked player in the state, according to 247Sports.

Gregory received offers from his hometown university of Charlotte, but always felt like Boone was his calling.

“It was just a good fit,” Gregory said. “Coming to the basketball games and football games growing up, it just felt like home.”

His freshman season saw little involvement from the guard/forward, as he averaged just 10.4 minutes in 24 games throughout the season.

Gregory broke out and became a full-time starter during his sophomore year, reaching 10.7 points per game and a respectable 2.4 assists per game. He also took his game on the defensive side of the ball to new heights, averaging 1.9 steals per game.

During his sophomore season, the Mountaineers won the Sun Belt Championship. Gregory shined defensively, netting 14 steals over the conference tournament, including eight against Coastal Carolina in the tournament semifinal, where he became the first Division I player in over a decade to put up at least 14 rebounds, eight steals and six assists in a game. His eight steals are also tied for the second most ever in a game by a Mountaineer.

“Winning the Sun Belt was great,” Gregory said. “That was just a very tough year for me and the team with COVID, so to see all that hard work pay off was special.”

His junior year was consistent with his previous year. He averaged 10.9 points and continued hounding people on the defensive end. Gregory’s decisionmaking with the ball in his hand was improving day in and day out. He achieved a career-high 23 points against Arkansas-Little Rock and a career-high in assists against South Alabama with 10.

That 10-assist night sparked a six-game stretch in which he put up a combined 32 assists, the most of a stretch thus far in his career. Those playmaking abilities gave Kerns the faith to hand over the offense to Gregory in his senior season.

“It’s extremely important to have a playmaker at his size,” Kerns said. “He’s a tough matchup with him being one of our best ball handlers. He’s just a high IQ passer as well.”