Basketball

Colorado State's David Roddy firmly in God's plan as Rams eye deep postseason run

By Joshua Doering Mar 11, 2022
Colorado State's David Roddy goes up against Utah State, March 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Colorado State was widely regarded as one of the best mid-major teams in the country at the start of the season, and has delivered on expectations, entering this week’s Mountain West Conference Tournament with a 24-4 record and ranked No. 23 in the nation.

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At the center of the Rams’ success is conference player of the year David Roddy, who is averaging 19.3 points and 7.6 rebounds while shooting 57.7 percent from the field and 45.7 percent from 3-point range.

Roddy scored 13 points and pulled down six rebounds in Colorado State’s 53-51 win over Utah State in the conference tournament quarterfinals Thursday night. Chandler Jacobs scored the decisive basket with 1.8 seconds left for the second-seeded Rams to set up a meeting with third-seeded San Diego State in the semifinals Friday night.

The Rams enter that matchup a virtual lock to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013. Two more wins would give them their first conference tournament title since 2003, and tie a program record for victories in a single season.

They wouldn’t be in this position if it weren’t for Roddy. His impact has grown in each of his three seasons with the Rams, increasing his minutes per game, shots per game and scoring average every year.

The Minneapolis, Minnesota, native and son of a pastor is part of a discipleship group he recently talked about on the “SchuZ” podcast, saying it involves “over half” of CSU’s team. He also said he relied heavily on God during the recruiting process and felt led to Fort Collins.

“[God]’s helped me so much, in almost unexplainable ways,” Roddy said on the podcast. “I’d first say, just coming to CSU in the first place. I had a lot of time and prayer on that decision, and immediately as I said, ‘God, I need help with this,’ He immediately gave me the gut feeling of Colorado State.”

The words “GOD FIRST” are listed at the beginning of his Twitter and Instagram bios. Also included in his Twitter bio is Romans 5:5, which says, “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

While Roddy’s been around Christianity his whole life, he said on the podcast he didn’t really take ownership of his faith until he was in high school. And it wasn’t until last year that he began to fully appreciate the importance of having a personal relationship with God.

“Understanding that it’s not really just like a wallpaper relationship for me and it’s more of [an] authentic, real relationship that I have with God was sophomore year [at Colorado State]. So spending time in prayer and meditation with Him, and listening and putting my problems up to Him, and lifting all my issues up to Him definitely just helped me be more free in playing,” he said.

With his third season at Colorado State winding down, Roddy sees the ways God has worked in his life to put him where he is supposed to be.

“Just getting to know the right people at the right school was just God’s plan, 100 percent,” Roddy said on the podcast. “It’s shown itself over and over again each year.”

Should the Rams knock off the Aztecs and advance to the Mountain West title game, they will face either Wyoming or Boise State. CSU plays in the second semifinal game, which is scheduled to tip off at 11:59 p.m. ET Friday.

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