Maryland men’s basketball center Damonte Dodd sat at a table in Washington Thursday afternoon and admitted a fear for the upcoming season.
“We’re going to be known as a dog team,” Dodd said to a crowd of reporters in the Marriott Wardman Park ballroom. “We’re not even a basketball team.”
After all, guards Andrew Terrell, Melo Trimble and Dion Wiley all have had dogs in their apartments, and Dodd expects more to move in soon.
Terrell started the trend last semester when he brought Kobe to College Park. Dodd isn’t sure of Kobe’s breed — “I don’t know, some furry dog” — but the Terps saw how many likes Terrell got on his puppy Instagram posts, so Trimble decided to capitalize on his 60,000+ followers.
About a month ago, the junior and his mom walked into the apartment with a German shepherd named Jefe.
“I’m like, ‘What in the world is going on?'” Dodd remembered. “And then next thing you know, I see Dion walks in with a small puppy.”
Dodd said Kobe initially “thought he was so big and bad,” but, unlike Trimble and Terrell, Kobe and Jefe didn’t get along. Jefe grew bigger and started “beating up” on Kobe, Dodd said, so Terrell sent the dog home with his mom.
Dodd likes the dogs but admitted they add responsibilities to the players’ already-packed schedules. The pet-owning Terps wake up at about 5:30 a.m. to take the dogs outside before their 7 a.m. practices. They haven’t yet made plans for their pets when the team travels for games this season.
“That’s something [they’re] going to have to worry about” Dodd said. “I’ll be focused on the game.”
He suggested the animals might stay with a neighbor, but the Terps list of animals could grow before the season tips off Nov. 11 against American in Xfinity Center.
Forward Michal Cekovsky has a cat, Max, and a goldfish.
Plus, Dodd revealed guard Jared Nickens is planning to bring home two dogs this weekend.
“I might set the bar and bring home a python, just bring home a snake,” Dodd said. “This is getting ridiculous.”
???? A photo posted by Michal Čekovsky (@ceko._) on
