City of Basketball Love

By Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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Rian Dotsey found her new college home on a visit Tuesday.

She only had to travel about 10 minutes from her current Havertown residence to find the place she’ll live for the next four years.

Dotsey, a Haverford High forward, took a visit to Hawk Hill early this week and received an offer from St. Joe’s. Two days later she became the Hawks’ newest addition to the 2025 class when she announced her commitment on Thursday.

“We took our visit on Tuesday, and then I got back a little bit later, and the next day I was super excited,” Dotsey said on the phone Friday. “I just really fell in love with it, all the coaches, the team, everything the academics, it was everything I was looking for. So I just knew.”

Dotsey is a 6-foot-2 wing/forward with some positional versatility. She has the size to post up inside and block shots but also some guard skills to play out on the perimeter.

She was a second team All-Central League player during her sophomore campaign at Haverford and with older sister Caroline off to Maine, she stepped up into an even bigger role as a junior. Dotsey averaged 15.5 ppg, 8.7 rpg and 1.2 bpg as this past season to earn first team All-Central honors and help the Fords to a second straight Central League title.

Dotsey received her first Division I offer from Holy Cross back in November and that’s where her list stood heading into the first live periods with Philly Belles in April. A standout spring and summer expanded her options to Maine, Fairleigh Dickinson, Army, American, Colgate, La Salle, Radford, Lehigh, Sacred Heart and Elon before the Hawks extended the offer during her visit Tuesday.

“I think a lot of coaches saw improvement in my game, so that was a big thing,” Dotsey said. “And then, just like my versatility was valuable to a lot of people, and my ability to create my own shot was brought up a few times.”

The Hawks were in touch throughout the live periods during the spring and summer. Dotsey has made the short trip to Hawks games plenty of times. Haverford went together as a team this past winter and she and her family saw a few games themselves.

When she stepped back on campus earlier this week for her visit, there was no doubt she was ready to become a Hawk.

“I was looking for a great academic school, but along with that, just being able to refer back to AAU, I knew I needed a coach who really believed in me,” Dotsey said. “And I felt like I really found that at St. Joe's with all the amazing coaches there. Allso, I really liked being close to home, and the family atmosphere was top notch there, so that was exciting to see, too. Everything just really felt like it aligned for me”

Versatile forwards Talya Brugler and Laura Ziegler, both All-Atlantic 10 selections last season, have been the pillars the last two seasons for St. Joe’s, which is coming off a 28-6 campaign and WBIT Quarterfinals appearance.

With Brugler set to finish off her St. Joe’s career this season along with four other seniors/grad students, coach Cindy Griffin and her staff are looking at Dotsey as a future key piece in their front court. She joins Archbishop Wood 5-11 sharpshooter Emily Knouse as St. Joe’s first two 2025 recruits.

“They were really interested in my versatility,” Dotsey said. “It's a big thing, um, and then they saw me as, like a rim runner, and being able to stretch the floor and shoot the three get in a lot of pick and roll actions. That's all stuff that I love to do in my game now, so I'm excited to be able to bring it to the next level.”

Dotsey’s ambitions of playing basketball at a high level came at an early age. Having an older state with a terrific pedigree was certainly an influence growing up. When Caroline committed to play Division I hoops at Maine, that dream seemed even more attainable.

“Seeing my sister go to the University of Maine just made it feel even more real to me,” Dotsey said. “So this summer, this past summer, really, just putting my head down, continuing to work, knowing what it will all go to.”

She has one more season at Haverford before her college career begins. The Fords are chasing a third straight Central League title, while Dotsey will be looked upon to take another step forward as she prepares for the next level.

“I've seen my confidence grow a lot in the last two years,” Dotsey said. “And I’m definitely working on strength and continuing to be a versatile player, and all the dribbling and guard skills that go with that.”