Desi Rodriguez

Desi Rodriguez

Rodriguez with Seton Hall in November 2015
No. 23 – Nanterre 92
Position	Small forward
League	LNB Pro A
Personal information
Born	(1996-03-23) March 23, 1996 (age 28) Bronx, New York
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight	240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High school	Frederick Douglass (Manhattan, New York) Abraham Lincoln (Brooklyn, New York)
College	Seton Hall (2014–2018)
NBA draft	2018: undrafted
Playing career	2018–present
Career history
2018–2019	Agua Caliente Clippers
2019	Hapoel Tel Aviv
2019–2020	Agua Caliente Clippers
2020–2021	Riesen Ludwigsburg
2021–2022	s.Oliver Würzburg
2022–2023	Limoges CSP
2023–present	Nanterre 92
Career highlights and awards
Second-team All-Big East (2018)
Stats at Basketball Reference

Desi Rodriguez (born March 23, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Nanterre 92 of the LNB Pro A. He played college basketball for Seton Hall before playing professionally in the G League and Israel.

High school career

Rodriguez attended the Frederick Douglass Academy for two years. He transferred to Abraham Lincoln High School and befriended his teammate Isaiah Whitehead. He credits this transfer to changing his life as he played against higher levels of competition. Rodriguez helped the team to a PSAL city championship and earned a title-game MVP award.^[1] He mainly played center in high school and rarely took jump shots.^[2]

College career

Rodriguez committed to Seton Hall, where he averaged 5.6 points per game in his freshman season. He recorded 12.4 points per game as a sophomore. Rodriguez increased his scoring average to 15.7 points per game as a junior.^[1] He had 22 points in the February 15, 2017 win against Creighton and joined the 1,000 point club.^[2]

Rodriguez was named Big East player of the Week on December 7, after contributing 29 points, eight rebounds and four assists against Louisville.^[3] He scored a career-high 33 points in the Pirates' 82–77 win against DePaul on February 18, 2018.^[4] Rodriguez injured his ankle in a game against Providence on February 21 and missed the next three games. Despite feeling like it was the end of his collegiate career, he returned in the Big East Tournament quarterfinal against Butler and scored eight points. Rodriguez averaged 17.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game as a senior, shooting 37.9 percent from 3-point territory.^[5] He was named to the Second Team All-Big East.^[6] He participated in the 2018 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.^[7]

Professional career

2018–19 season

After going undrafted in the 2018 NBA draft, Rodriguez signed with the Los Angeles Clippers for the NBA Summer League, joining Seton Hall teammate Angel Delgado.^[8] He had 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting in an 82–69 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on July 12.^[9] Rodriguez signed a training camp contract with the Clippers on September 24.^[10] On October 9, 2018, Rodriguez was waived by the Clippers.^[11] He was then added to the roster of the Clippers’ NBA G League affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers. In 49 G League games played for the Clippers, he averaged 10.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.

2019–20 season

On August 1, 2019, Rodriguez signed a one-year deal with Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League.^[12] On November 8, 2019, he parted ways with Hapoel after appearing in four Israeli League games.^[13] He then re-joined the Agua Caliente Clippers on November 19.^[14] On January 25, 2020, Rodriguez posted 18 points, nine rebounds, two assists and one steal in a win over the Northern Arizona Suns.^[15] Rodriguez averaged 8.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.^[16]

2020–21 season

On August 2, 2020, Rodriquez signed with Riesen Ludwigsburg of the Basketball Bundesliga.^[17]

2021–22 season

On July 16, 2021, Rodriquez signed a one-year deal with s.Oliver Würzburg of the Basketball Bundesliga.^[18]

2022–2023

On June 28, 2022, Rodriguez signed with Limoges CSP of the French LNB Pro A.^[19]

2023–present

On June 26, 2023, he signed with Nanterre 92 of the LNB Pro A.^[20]

References

1. Brennan, Sean (November 29, 2018). "Rodriguez Emerges As An 'Elite' Pirate". Big East Conference. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
2. Newman, Josh (February 22, 2017). "Without Whitehead, Seton Hall's junior class flourishing". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
3. Carino, Jerry (December 7, 2017). "Seton Hall basketball: Desi Rodriguez is on fire, and here's why". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
4. "Rodriguez scores career-high 33 in Seton Hall's 82-77 win". ESPN. Associated Press. February 18, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
5. Braziller, Zach (March 12, 2018). "Seton Hall senior goes from utter despair to chance at redemption". New York Post. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
6. "Xavier's Bluiett, Villanova's Brunson, Butler's Martin Unanimously Named All-BIG EAST" (Press release). Big East Conference. March 4, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
7. Carino, Jerry (April 6, 2018). "Seton Hall basketball: Angel Delgado wins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar award as nation's top center". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
8. Newman, Josh (June 25, 2018). "NBA Draft: Seton Hall's Angel Delgado signs with Clippers, more local free-agent news". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
9. "Clippers' Desi Rodriguez: Leads team with 17 points Thursday". CBS Sports. July 13, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
10. "Press Release: L.A. Clippers Announce Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. September 24, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
11. "Press Release: L.A. Clippers Waive Desi Rodriguez". NBA.com. October 9, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
12. "רודריגז משלים את מצבת הזרים באדום". basket.co.il. August 1, 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
13. "השלישי שעוזב: דסי רודריגז שוחרר מהפועל ת"א". ONE.co.il. November 8, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
14. "Desi Rodriguez: Picked up by Agua Caliente". CBS Sports. November 19, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
15. "Desi Rodriguez: Starts and scores 18 again". CBS Sports. January 26, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
16. "Desi Rodriguez: Puts up 12 in G League loss". CBS Sports. March 2, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
17. Skerletic, Dario (August 2, 2020). "MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg inks Desi Rodriguez". Sportando. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
18. "Von Ludwigsburg nach Würzburg: Desi Rodriguez". soliver-wuerzburg.de (in German). July 16, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
19. "Le Limoges CSP tient son futur poste 4/5: Desi Rodriguez". www.limogescsp.com. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
20. "Welcome Desi". nanterre92.com (in French). June 26, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.

External links

• Seton Hall Pirates bio
• RealGM profile