Alex Kline
Special to NYCHoops.net

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For Da'Shawn Suber, friends and family come first. His mother, Donna, keeps him going in the right path and backs him up on everything.

 
S. Davis
 
Da'Shawn Suber
She is everything to him. His father, Paul, taught him everything about the game of basketball from an early age. Paul played hoops for North Carolina Central back in the day. Suber is dedicating his upcoming season to his grandfather, Bill, who he loves dearly and is very ill at the moment.

The rising junior gets his inspiration from his aunt, Teresa, who died in July of 2007. "She told me to be whatever I wanted to be and backed me up just like my mother does," said the New York native. With his skill development coming from his trainer Rob Baxter of BX Training, the Suber family sees improvement in their son's strength and speed. Now the newest member of the St. Patrick basketball team has a new inspiration. His close friend, John Crowder, who was a star basketball player himself with Baltimore Elite, was killed. The two had known each other since the fifth grade. To say the least, Suber has a lot of people in his corner.

This is a good thing though as he continues to make it big. Suber recently transferred from one storied program to another. He decided to leave Rice High School for St. Patrick High School. As he joins the national powerhouse, Suber looks to win the starting role as the point guard who will have to replace Duke bound Kyrie Irving. The 5-foot-11 point guard runs with the New York Gauchos U16 squad and is a rising star in the northeast. His speeds puts him apart from a lot of players as he can either get by you and go to the hole or pull up for the basket. He can score in multiple ways using his quickness. His defense is an issue at this point but he is determined to improve on it.

The big decision to switch schools came recently and Suber is happy with it. "I chose St. Patrick because of the academics and I wanted something new," stated Suber. He will join his close friend and fellow New Yorker Jason Boswell at the Elizabeth, New Jersey school. Through this, big things could happen next season as the rising star teams up with two big time wings in Mike Gilchrist and Austin Colbert.

This will lead to a big jump in recruiting for him. As of now, Suber says he has interest from "Arizona, South Carolina, UCLA, Seton Hall, St. John's, Pittsburgh and West Virginia." According to Suber, he recently picked up an offer from West Virginia and was very happy about it. He has an interest in all the schools including St. John's because of he has known the program for a while and has known Red Storm alums including Ron Artest since he was eleven. However, he likes his other options like UCLA and Arizona on the other coast. Seton Hall is another local school that could get him with a fresh staff on hand. The Gauchos are a hot team and have so many players to watch. College coaches will be all over Da'Shawn Suber this summer.

As life goes on, things will change for Suber. Two aspects will stay the same though. He will continue to love the game of basketball, just as he continues to love his friends, family and support team. Without them he would not be where he is now. From his aunt's inspiration to dedicating his season to his grandfather and from learning everything about hoops from his dad to being supported by his mother, Suber has some of the best supporters in his corner. It is almost certain that this young point guard will stay on the right path throughout the rest of his career.