We turn to the decade of the 80’s and Maryville College Head Basketball Coach Randy Lambert is, once again, looking for some answers. The Fighting Scots were competing in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and struggling to put together a winning season.  The ODAC was a physical league and the Scots needed to get physical.  Enter Deangelo McDaniel.  The Scots had a veteran backcourt with Paul Mills, Tom Robinson, and Raymond Burnett, but they needed a low post presence.  DeAngelo McDaniel was the answer.

Deangelo transferred to MC in the fall of 1983 after a successful basketball career at Northwest Alabama Junior College.  He averaged 21 points and 7 rebounds a game during his sophomore campaign at Northwest.  It did not take him long to establish himself in the starting rotation for the MC cagers.  He was the go-to-guy.  When the Scots needed points, they would post up Deangelo.  Despite a serious ankle injury, which forced him to miss two games, and slowed him down for several others, Deangelo made a name for himself as one of the most dominant players in the league.  For his junior season, he was 7th in the ODAC in scoring with a 16 point average and 5th in field goal percentage at 53%.   The 83 - 84 team began to get some attention with their competitive play.

They shocked the Roanoke Maroons, who were ranked 2nd in the country at the time, in a 64 - 58 win at home.  After the Roanoke upset, they ended their year with wins over Washington and Lee and Bridgewater.  The Scots were ready to compete for a championship and Deangelo could not wait for his senior year to begin.

The 84 - 85 team had great expectations.  The five returning starters were now playing with confidence and Deangelo McDaniel was playing his best basketball.  Along with Dan Kirkpatrick, a 6’6” muscleman from Miami, the dynamic duo played the physical brand of basketball in the paint that was needed to survive the grueling conference schedule.  Six games into the season, Maryville-Alcoa Daily Times Sports Editor, Gary Turner, had this to say about the big center.  “Deangelo McDaniel is on a mission.  McDaniel’s task is to “put this athletic program back on the map.” Saturday night, McDaniel had his second straight 30 points or more performance to lead MC to a 108-79 thrashing of Lynchburg College.  If you get the idea, the 6 foot 4 inch senior is a gunner, you’re wrong.  He scored those 30 points with just 14 shots.  Oh yeah, he was four of five from the free throw line and he pulled down 10 rebounds.

McDaniel fit perfectly into Lambert’s motion offense.  He used an arsenal of short jumpers and quick moves to score.  He was virtually impossible to stop one on one.

He played the low post game with finesse, but his trademark was his power game.  With Deangelo leading the way, the MC roundballers swept through the Old Dominion.  With an 11 - 3 record in the conference, the Fighting Scots received the first ever ODAC regular season championship.    Here you see the corner, a group of rowdy students who loved their team.  Finishing the season at 17- 6, the Scots fell one game short of the national tournament and the Cinderella story had ended.

Deangelo was named First Team All-ODAC for his consistent play.  He averaged 19 points a game and 7 rebounds during his senior season. Scoring over 800 points in two seasons, shooting 54% from the field, and 78% from the free throw line for his career, Deangelo established himself as one of the greatest to wear the orange and garnet.

Upon graduation in 1985, Deangelo returned home to Moulton, Alabama and a career in journalism.  He also finds time to write.  He has had three books published and is working on another book.   Since 1987 he has won 27 first place-writing awards for article printed in the local newspaper. 

In 2001, he was inducted into the Lawrence County Sports Hall of Fame.   He and his wife Rhonda currently reside in Moulton.  One of the greatest players in MC Basketball history – Deangelo McDaniel.