Snider seniors Dillon Duff and Isaac Farnsworth will stay college basketball teammates when they head to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology next fall.
The Panther pair held a signing ceremony May 13 at Cityscape Flats to celebrate their commitments to the NCAA Division III school in Terre Haute, Indiana.
“I always knew I wanted to play basketball in college,” Duff tells ParkviewSportsMedicine.com. “I alwaysk new I wanted to play something academically that was going to be challenging. Really, I never saw what Rose offers in any other school.”
“I was going to go to Rose-Hulman, basketball or not,” Farnsworth adds. “I went on a visit there, I talked to (head coach Rusty Lloyd) and he was a really nice, stand-up guy. He told me what he wanted, told me how it was, and I respect that.”
Off the court, Rose-Hulman lives up to its nickname of the Fighting Engineers. For 21 years straight, the school has been named the top undergraduate engineering program in the nation by U.S. World News & Report. On the court, Rose plays in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference with the likes of Manchester, Anderson, Hanover and Franklin College.
Duff and Farnsworth will be roommates, as will Snider teammate Jon Barnes Jr., who signed to play football at Rose-Hulman.
“College is going to be a good experience for me; because, no matter what, I’m going to have Isaac and Jon there,” Duff adds.
Duff averaged 17.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.9 steals and 0.9 blocks per game as a senior. He is a 3-time All-Summit Athletic Conference 1st team selection, and All-State and Academic All-State as senior.
Farnsworth chipped in 10.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 steals per game. He was named honorable mention All-SAC and Academic All-State. Farnsworth is also nominated for the Dr. James E. Albright Parkview Sports Medicine Excellence Scholarship, which will be awarded in July.
The Panthers (19-6 and 7-2 in conference play) won the 4A Carroll Sectional championship, and were to play the Logansport Regional when the remainder of the tournament was halted in March.
“They say some things are left better unfinished, but I’d give anything to go back and see what we could have done how far we could have gone,” Farnsworth reflects. “Being cut short, it makes you more hungry. The more hungry you work, the harder you work. The harder you work, the better you’re going to be.”
Snider is one of 26 high schools that partners with Parkview Sports Medicine for athletic training, sports performance, nutrition, athletic rehabilitation and other sports medicine for Panther student-athletes. Learn more at www.parkviewsportsmedicine.com.