Getty Spencer Dinwiddie #25 of the Colorado Buffaloes looks on against the Arizona Wildcats during the quarterfinals of the Pac 12 Basketball Tournament.
Spencer Dinwiddie is probably the unsung hero of the Brooklyn Nets burgeoning frontcourt. The 6-foot-6 210-pounder doesn’t have All-Star appearance of a D’Angelo Russell nor the 1st round appeal of Caris LeVert.
However, he stepped up to the plate when LeVert went out in November with a dislocated ankle injury. Dinwiddie averaged 16.8 points a game on 44.2 percent shooting from the field, helping lift the Nets to their first playoff berth since 2015.
Before his recent stint in Brooklyn, the Detroit Pistons drafted him in the 2nd round of the 2014 NBA Draft, where he split time on their G-League affiliate in Grand Rapids. After never eclipsing 5 points per game in his 2 seasons in MoTown, he was traded to Brooklyn for Cameron Bairstow.
Since then, he’s seen his production increase and his profile rise. Where did he come from before hitting the NBA, though? Let’s take a look at his college days.
Spencer Dinwiddie College Stats
After starring at Taft High School in Woodland Hills (Calif.), Dinwiddie chose to play at Colorado over offers from Harvard and Oregon. He was a 3-star prospect per 247 Sports, as well as the No. 128 overall prospect and No. 11 in the Golden State.
His high school career saw him overshadowed by fellow Taft teammate DeAndre Daniels, a 5-star that went to UConn, as well as Mr. California Ryan Anderson, who attended UCLA.
Despite this, Dinwiddie averaged double-digits in each of 3 seasons in Boulder. After 10 points per game as a freshman on a Buffaloes team that reached the NCAA Tournament Round of 32, he posted 15.1 points, 3.1 assists and 1.4 steals a game over his next 2 seasons.
His draft stock took a hit in his junior season in 2014, as he suffered a torn ACL in his left knee. Before then, he was incredibly efficient, recording a 129.4 offensive rating (points per 100 possessions) off 51.5 percent shooting from 2 and 41.3 percent shooting from behind the arc.
One of his more memorable performances came in his final season, where he tallied 15 points and 7 assists in an upset over Kansas. He also put up 21 points and 7 assists in a 2013 upset over Arizona.
Each year Dinwiddie played at Colorado, the Buffaloes made the NCAA Tournament. Before he arrived, the program had missed the tournament every year since 2003.
While his injury depreciated his value entering the NBA, he has recovered enough for the Nets faithful to appreciate him now. He hopes to help push Brooklyn past the Sixers in this 1st Round series for the franchise’s deepest run in the postseason since a conference semifinals appearance in 2014.