Thank You Darius

Thank you Darius.

Thank you for spending your entire college career at Liberty. Thank you for oohing and awing us so many countless times throughout the years. Thank you for having us on the edge of our seats every game. Thank you for having us dreaming what this team could do. Thank you for doing it the way you did it.

Little did we know that the little 5’9″ guard from Roxboro, North Carolina would have the impact that you had. You came to Lynchburg with little fanfare. Your only other offers were from Campbell and High Point. We didn’t have any idea what we would witness the next five years.

I got a chance to watch you play for a state championship your junior year in high school. At that moment I never realized you would be such a dynamic player for the Flames. Thank you for taking a chance on us.

There are so many memories from your career that I will never forget.

I’ll never forget you scoring 18 points on 6 of 8 threes in your freshman year at FGCU. It was our first ever game as an ASUN team and with your help we were able to see the beginning of a dynasty that would dominate that conference for five seasons.

I’ll never forget when you led the team as a freshman that was dominated by upperclassmen with 15 points in the second round NCAA Tournament game against Virginia Tech.

Coming off the bench as a freshman, you have to be the most dynamic 6th man in the history of the ASUN and Liberty basketball.

As a sophomore, Stetson chose to go to a box-and-1 defense on you. This was when the team consisted of seniors Caleb Homesley and Scottie James, two of the greatest players in school history. But Donnie Jones knew it was you that stirred the drink. Our defense was grounded to a halt that game as we lost one of only four games during that incredible season.

After the big four of Homesley, James, Myo Baxter-Bell, and Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz graduated, we questioned whether the run of success would continue. But you proved immediately that it would. In just the second game of the 2020-21 season, you scored 23 points in leading us to a win over Mississippi State.

Then, you dazzled with 34 points in the regular season finale at Bellarmine, helping to secure a third straight regular season title. You finished the regular season that year with four straight 20+ point games before leading us to a third straight NCAA Tournament. It was then I knew that you would end up one of the best to ever wear a Liberty jersey.

Who knew what you would do next.

Over Christmas break the next season, I watched in amazement as you scored 41 against Stanford in Hawaii. Just a couple weeks later you followed that up with 48 at FGCU. Then another 40-point game in the regular season finale against Kennesaw State when you had 47.

I’ll never forget that you opted to come back for one more run for your COVID season. Thank you. Thank you for letting us enjoy this last ride with you. You didn’t have to. You could have made a lot of money playing professionally. Or you could have transferred to any school in the country to finish your collegiate career while making six figures of NIL money. Thank you for staying at Liberty.

I’ll always remember gathering around in Boca at the Boca Raton Bowl with friends to watch you on a phone as you drained a school-record 9 made threes against Grambling.

The single greatest individual offensive performance I believe I have ever witnessed in person was just a few weeks ago when you scored 43 at Kennesaw State. You were unstoppable. It was special to watch, even in defeat.

You had a similar performance just a few games later as you exploded for nine threes against Bellarmine in the ASUN Quarterfinals. There was a stretch of a few minutes during the first half where you were just insane. Thank you.

More than all of those memories on the court, I’ll also remember how you impacted everyone you came into contact with off the court. That’s what will last a lifetime.

You impacted kids and fans of all ages. I watched you stay after every home game and give the ever growing list of fans waiting to see you, special one-on-one attention. You would sign autographs and take pictures with every single person that waited for you. No matter how long it took.

Thank you.

Put #2 in the rafters. No one should ever wear that number again.

We can debate if you are the greatest of all time at Liberty. I think you are but others may disagree. One thing is for certain, you are on the very, very short list of the GOATs at Liberty. We will never forget the impact you had on our school, our basketball program, and our fans. Thank you.