by By Dan Ninham
Darius Goggleye is a graduating senior basketball player at North Woods HS in Orr, MN. The 6-4 forward is leaving his mark in a solid storied career.
Darius is an enrolled member of the Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe. The two-time team captain led the Grizzlies to back-to-back section championships and to the Minnesota Class A State Tournament. The COVID-19 pandemic ended the opportunity for a three-peat the season before this last season.
“The person who influenced me the most was my grandpa Gerald Goggleye Sr.,” said Darius. “He taught me how to do everything from basketball to how to drive a car.”
“Darius came a long way since he was a little boy,” said grandpa Gerald, Sr. “He was the only one of my grandsons that played with cars. He was kind of a loner when he was younger, but he developed in to a leader when he grew older. I’m very proud of him in the leadership skills that he has developed and for graduating from high school. I think the love of basketball has helped him in achieving these things. He has worked very hard to accomplish what he has done in high school. It just shows that if you set your goal to accomplish something, that you can do it.”
“Darius is the youngest of a group of Goggleye brothers and cousins that drove him to improve his game and get it ready for the varsity level,” said Will Kleppe, head boys basketball of the North Woods HS Grizzlies. “Darius is the cousin of Darnell and Cade Goggleye and Bryce Chosa. Being the youngest of this group put him in a spot where he took some lumps early on but with determination, some might call it stubbornness, Darius learned to hold his own and develop the skills that led him to compete.”
“Darius carried some of the traits of each of these mentors onto the court. He can handle the ball, rebound, pass and score. As a 6’3 post, Darius worked to refine his back to the basket moves. I like to point out that he scored his 1000+ points the hard way,” added Will.
“I think he had two or three career three pointers not that he can’t shoot them, it just wasn’t the role his team needed,” said Will. “The rest of his points came from down in the trenches where life isn’t easy for a man his height. He had to get quick and creative and boy, did he ever do it. 1000 pts like they had to do back in the ‘old days,’ two at a time.”
“As our only senior, we expected a lot out of Darius as a leader and he delivered,” said Will. “Darius is someone his teammates respect and follow. Darius is fierce with opponents on the floor but with his teammates he has a very humble and caring attitude. He handles the younger, more immature players with a nurturing attitude, never with anger or disgust. He has a way of getting the most out of his teammates without yelling or demeaning them.”
“His senior year, Darius really demonstrated his team first leadership,” said Will. “During this crazy, pandemic guided season, Darius led by example and while many were frustrated with the rules and guidelines, Darius took it in stride and quietly reminded his team what needed to be done to keep us on the floor and he did an excellent job of that.”
“This year we came up a little short in our bid for a sixth section championship game, losing to Deer River in the semis. Darius left it all on the floor right to the last foul with less than two minutes to go. His legacy he left for the younger players was that you never give up,” added Will.
“You can be kind to your teammates and still be a leader and anything you are going to achieve in school, on the court, or in life is going to take hard work and some stubbornness,” said Will.
Photo Credit: Angela Byram
