Dingba out for Season
Salisbury School’s Samuel Dingba will not play this year as he tends to a pair of nagging injuries.
After leading the Knights to appearances in two consecutive NEPSAC Class A finals, including a championship in 2012, and earning all-New England first team honors in 2013, the six-foot-five Quinnipiac-bound power forward will have surgery to repair torn cartilage in his right knee this week. In early February, Dingba will undergo another surgery to repair his shoulder, which was dislocated two years ago.
Dingba graduated Salisbury School last June and decided to return for a post-graduate year to further his ability to read and speak English. The decision had nothing to do with basketball after picking up over 25 division I scholarship offers as a member of the 2013 class. He came to Salisbury speaking no English and has become an honor student. Last year, he was selected as the most improved student in the senior class by the faculty.
This is the second year in a row that Salisbury has lost an impact player. Last season, sharp shooter Evan Hole, now at Assumption, was averaging a team leading 17 points per game when he went down in the fourth game with a broken ankle and was out for the balance of the year.
“Obviously, this is a major loss for our team, but the kids have been playing without Samuel through our first four games and we told them Friday that he would not play rest of the season," Salisbury head coach Jeff Ruskin said. "I told them that, as always, we worry about who is with us, not who isn’t."
"The decision to move forward with these operations was made on Thursday afternoon after Samuel, my wife and I met with the orthopedic surgeon. While Samuel could have played now, the risk of worsening the injuries and the delaying the operations just didn’t make sense," Ruskin explained. "The rehab time would interfere with Samuel’s preparation for his freshman season at Quinnipiac. By having the surgeries now, we feel Samuel will be ready to go by the end of the summer and he will be able to start preseason workouts with his college teammates. That was the priority.”
Dingba should be one of the top incoming freshmen in the MAAC next season. He's a dominant defender, well known for his shot-blocking and rebounding abilities but equally capable of defending multiple positions and also a one of the hardest workers in all of New England. His offense has improved dramatically over the years and now includes both an assertive post game as well as shooting range that extends out to the three-point line.
Evan Hole
Samuel Dingba