By Andrew Middleman ‘09
Dennis Santiago
Santiago is somewhat quiet and reserved in social settings. He is a “lead-by-example” type of player on the court. And he is soft-spoken in the classroom, shyly absorbing the professor’s lectures and notes. But, on the basketball court, Santiago’s external demeanor starkly contrasts that image. On the court, he is internally aggressive and his “go-getter” attitude and personal determination have made him a winner
“Dennis is a true competitor and has great determination to succeed,” said 28-year veteran Head Coach Steve Bankson, the winningest men’s basketball coach in school history with 420 wins and a total of 701 in his 44-year total head coaching career. “I think Dennis’ approach, both academically and athletically, began at home. His parents are his driving force.”
A 1,000-point plus scorer during his four years at Midpark, Santiago entered the Yellow Jacket program as Steve Bankson’s top recruit. He was a hard worker during his time at Midpark and one of his goals was to become a 1,000-point scorer as a Yellow Jacket.
“It was definitely a great honor at Midpark, and I was just happy that I could achieve that goal,” said Santiago, who carries a 3.3 grade average in criminal justice. “Having the opportunity to play quite a bit during my first three years at B-W has been a blessing too.”
Basketball has always been at the forefront of his mind, but Santiago has even loftier goals in mind for after graduation. Dennis comes from a family that has always stressed the importance of education and valued the fruits of labor. Although he is only a junior, there is a distinct possibility that Santiago will graduate a semester early with a Bachelor’s of Arts degree and not play basketball as a senior.
“They [his parents] have always stressed hard work and that you don’t get anything in life easy,” said Santiago. “You have to work for everything you want and you have to set goals and do all the right things to help you achieve those goals.
“I have a lot of thinking to do between now and next fall,” said Santiago, who has a career goal of working as a lawyer but would like to progress up the ladder as a police officer and possibily work in the area of investigation. “If I decide to graduate early and apply for law school, it will put me ahead of the curve. But I have to sit down with my family and make the best decision for all of us.”
Before making the final decision to enroll at B-W three years ago and to play basketball for Bankson, Santiago was considering a number of other OAC schools, including Capital University, Ohio Northern University and Heidelberg College as well as a few Division II schools like Indiana University of Pennsylvania and NAIA foe Notre Dame College (Ohio).
Santiago chose B-W because of its prominence in the prestigious OAC.
“B-W has an excellent academic reputation in the programs that I was considering, and its basketball team had a solid, winning tradition. I came from a winning program at Midpark, and I really wanted to continue that tradition,” said Santiago.
“When I came to B-W, I wanted to expand, become a better player,” continued Santiago, who will enter his senior season of 2008-2009 with 616 career points, 198 rebounds, 86 three-pointers, 75 assists and 43 steals. “I expected to get better playing the OAC and feel like I have achieved that goal while at the same time helping my team.”
During his first three years in Berea, Santiago has helped B-W to win 56 games and compile a 56-27 record with one OAC regular season title, an OAC Tournament crown and an appearance in the 2005-2006 NCAA Division III National Tournament.
As a freshman, Santiago played in 26 of 30 games, missing four with an ankle injury. He helped B-W to win a school-record 25 games and compile a 25-5 slate en route to both OAC titles and the NCAA appearance. He scored 4.3 points per game as a key guard off the bench.
“Dennis made a huge impact coming off the bench,” said Bankson. “He was a sparkplug on offense and his feet never stopped on defense.”
Then, last season, Santiago started 22 of 27 games and averaged a career-best 10.8 points per game with career-highs of 43 three-pointers, 42 assists and 20 steals as the Yellow Jackets compiled a 19-7 record before losing in the semifinals of the OAC Tournament. In addition, Santiago continued to excell in the classroom and earned the first of his two straight Academic All-OAC accolades.
“Dennis showed the coaching staff that he had the ability to wither start or come off the bench and contribute,” said Bankson. “That versatility makes him even more valuable. Plus, Dennis continued to make strides and is a team leader in the classroom.”
This winter, Santiago came off the bench for Bankson as his “sixth man”. He scored 7.9 ppg. and grabbed 3.1 rpg. and had 26 triples, 27 assists and 12 steals. Santiago fells that part of the reason for some of his scoring dropoff was the graduation of two-time Division III All-American forward Tori Davis.
“Tori was a big presence on the inside and that opened things up for me on the outside,” said Santiago. “Late this season, Andrew [junior forward Andrew Bene out of Medina Highland High School] began to become dominant on the inside and it again opened up the outside game. It is definitely an encouraging feeling heading into next season.”
He has also moved into his role as sixth man with relatively little transition. While many players might be discouraged, Santiago has embraced the challenge and done so without much trouble.
“I just want to come off the bench and give us a spark both on offense and defense,” said Santiago. If [Bankson] Coach sends me in, I just want to give us some life and contribute.”
Bankson has been satisfied with Santiago’s performance this season, and has called him the “John Havlicek of the OAC.” That is in reference to the 13-time National Basketball Association All-Star and Hall of Famer from the Boston Celtics who is regarded as the best sixth man in NBA history.
Bankson has coached a number of great shooting guards in the school’s rich basketball history. As Bankson put it succinctly, “Dennis is as good as anybody when he’s on his game.”
Santiago has already accomplished a great deal in his first three seasons at B-W, but he and Bankson are still striving for more. On Santiago’s “To Do” list include earning All-OAC honors in addition to Academic All-OAC, winning another pair of OAC titles and returning to the NCAA Tournament.
“I definitely want to be picked first-team All-OAC,” said Santiago. “I definitely want to win another OAC championship. I’d like to have another ring on my finger.”
But, for that to happen, he would have to come back to the Yellow Jacket program for the entire 2008-2009 season. Stay tuned.
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