Dante Maddox, Jr., entered the transfer portal on March 22, 2022.
As he walked across the Cal State Fullerton campus pondering the career-altering decision, his phone lit up with a familiar number: Toledo assistant coach Justin Ingram.
“I’ll never forget it. I was walking to class,” Maddox said. “Once I was actually in the portal, coach Justin Ingram called me. I’m talking within 30 seconds. I’m not being sarcastic.”
That’s how important Maddox was to the Rockets’ plans. It’s evident why in the past two seasons, never more than on Saturday afternoon when Maddox had a career-high 26 points in an 88-72 win against archrival Bowling Green State University in front of the third-largest crowd since Savage Arena’s 2008-09 renovation.
“Dante was huge,” Toledo coach Tod Kowalczyk said.
Maddox had 16 points in the second half, all in the final 10 minutes. He had a run of three consecutive 3s that started Toledo’s decisive 16-2 run. One came during a 4-on-1 fast-break, with Maddox pulling up from beyond the arc and swishing the shot.