DAKOTA FLEMING IS LOOKING FORWARD TOWARDS HOOPS AT THE NEXT LEVEL

Dakota Fleming was born Mar. 24, 1997 in Arizona. Fleming has one brother. He grew up in Tempe, Ariz. and Chanhassen, Minn. Fleming will graduate from Minneapolis Southwest High School in 2015.  

I was able to set up an email interview with Fleming and also an audio interview with him.

He said that, “Basketball is and has been my life and passion since I was 5 years old, playing basketball professionally and in college has been my dream since I knew what basketball was.  I live, drink, and sleep basketball. As a little kid I watched the Phoenix Suns on TV and have always wanted to become like Steve Nash”

In his free time he goes to local colleges’ open gyms to work on his game. He wants to play in college somewhere.

Fleming said that, “I am a hard-working man who strives to achieve his goals, I love life and the game of basketball, during my senior year I have been improving my academic skills as well as my basketball skills, I am working everyday to get better to get the chance to go to a good college with good academics and athletics. I get in the gym and work on my game, also I do my homework and hang with my girlfriend, family and friends”

One of the things that Fleming likes about basketball is, “I love playing being competitive with my teammates during practice and out of practice to try and work to get them better.”

I asked him about his strengths and he said that, “I am a great passer, shooter, and I have great basketball IQ, also I strive to be the leader on the floor and a great teammate.” His weaknesses are his height and his speed.  

He described his goals for the rest of this season and the future, “Up to this point I have achieved the goals I have set for myself. I am the starting point guard and captain of the Southwest varsity team.

My AAU team qualified for nationals 2 years in a row, finishing 3rd in the national tournament in 2014. We also we named USSSA national champs based on our overall performance throughout the year.”

His goals for this season are,” To get better, get more college looks, and to improve the team and myself on and off the court. He also said that, “I want to play basketball at the college level and to keep myself, girlfriend, and family happy and proud throughout my career and future.”

I was able to talk to Fleming on January 4, 2015 he would like to go to college. He is thinking of Whitewater, Concordia College St. Paul, UMD, St. Thomas and the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minn. are some schools that Fleming is interested.

I personally know Fleming. He is a good person on and off the court. He is a good leader on the floor. Fleming knows the game and would be a huge assist to any program at the next level.