2008 Woodie Awards
It's all mental for Rivera on court
Kelly McKinley '08
Issue date: 11/10/06 Section: Sports
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"Just play the game, be competitive; you have to have a no lose attitude. That's how you are successful," said D.J. Rivera.
This seems to sum up his overall attitude towards basketball: be a team player and just play the game.
Standing 6' 2", freshman guard Rivera is from Philadelphia and comes to St. Joseph's University from Neumann-Goretti High School.
With an impressive high school basketball resume, Rivera is looking forward to being an active member of the St. Joe's basketball team.
In high school, Rivera was honored by the Associated Press (along with Darrin Govens and Garrett Williamson) for the 2006 All-State First Team and won the All-Catholic League Southern Division two years in a row.
He averaged a team-high 17.7 points per game along with 5.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists. From the field he shot 49.1 percent and averaged 2.3 steals in a game.
Rivera scored 1,122 overall points during high school, making him Neumann-Goretti's all-time leading scorer. At the second All-Catholic League championship, won by Neumann-Goretti in 2006, Rivera scored the game winning three pointer at the buzzer.
He was selected as the All-Catholic Player of the Year in 2006 and made the Southeastern PA Second Team, chosen by the Philadelphia Inquirer. During his junior year of high school, he was named MVP of the Dell Curry Tournament.
This season, he will no longer be a great high school basketball player, but Rivera will be #10 for the Saint Joseph's University Hawks and hopefully an asset to the team.
Rivera is excited for the season to start and looks forward to a successful year full of hard work and winning basketball games.
After the first few weeks of practice, Rivera said, "It's a learning process. Physically, you have to be prepared, a lot of the people we will play will be bigger and stronger so you also have to be mentally prepared. With new coaches and players, I have to stay competitive at all times."
This seems to sum up his overall attitude towards basketball: be a team player and just play the game.
Standing 6' 2", freshman guard Rivera is from Philadelphia and comes to St. Joseph's University from Neumann-Goretti High School.
With an impressive high school basketball resume, Rivera is looking forward to being an active member of the St. Joe's basketball team.
In high school, Rivera was honored by the Associated Press (along with Darrin Govens and Garrett Williamson) for the 2006 All-State First Team and won the All-Catholic League Southern Division two years in a row.
He averaged a team-high 17.7 points per game along with 5.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists. From the field he shot 49.1 percent and averaged 2.3 steals in a game.
Rivera scored 1,122 overall points during high school, making him Neumann-Goretti's all-time leading scorer. At the second All-Catholic League championship, won by Neumann-Goretti in 2006, Rivera scored the game winning three pointer at the buzzer.
He was selected as the All-Catholic Player of the Year in 2006 and made the Southeastern PA Second Team, chosen by the Philadelphia Inquirer. During his junior year of high school, he was named MVP of the Dell Curry Tournament.
This season, he will no longer be a great high school basketball player, but Rivera will be #10 for the Saint Joseph's University Hawks and hopefully an asset to the team.
Rivera is excited for the season to start and looks forward to a successful year full of hard work and winning basketball games.
After the first few weeks of practice, Rivera said, "It's a learning process. Physically, you have to be prepared, a lot of the people we will play will be bigger and stronger so you also have to be mentally prepared. With new coaches and players, I have to stay competitive at all times."
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