Johnston native and La Salle grad Dimetri Iafrate is having a big season on the court for the Wheaton College men’s basketball team in hopes of guiding the Lyons to the NCAA Tournament.
The Lyons fell in the opening round of the conference playoffs last season but returned all but one player on the roster. Iafrate has been a staple in the starting lineup this season in the back court and is averaging 14.3 points, 4.1 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game, to go along with over 2 steals per game on the defensive side. He made 12 starts in 25 appearances last season to earn a full-time starting role this time around.
“It’s the confidence that my coaches and teammates had in me to create opportunities for me and create opportunities for them. Last year we got bounced in the first round of the playoffs, so hopefully this year we can make it to the championship and win and go on to the NCAA Tournament,” said Iafrate, who is confident that the roster has enough talent and experience to go on a deep run. “We lost one senior but got everyone back with another year of experience. We’re more than ready for the opportunity this year.”
Wheaton entered the week with an 8-7 record while going 3-3 in the conference. The team was riding a three-game win streak, two of which were against conference opponents.
Although Iafrate has been one of the team’s most consistent producers on the stat sheet, he emphasized the importance of being well-rounded while also inspiring his teammates.
“When I go on the court I try to do anything to help us win, it doesn’t matter if I score zero or 20, as long as we win, that’s all that matters. That’s the mentality that we try to bring to the team. Know your role and do whatever you need to do to help the team win,” said Iafrate, who has also enjoyed playing alongside Tristan Herry, who was a former teammate of his on the AAU circuit and currently leads the team in scoring. “I’ve been playing with him since AAU. The chemistry we have is good, that chemistry just kept building and now we’re in college doing our thing.”
Iafrate was also busy this offseason, knowing that he was in line to see significant minutes. He has averaged over 33 minutes per contest to this point.
“Getting better at reading ball screens, finding open guys, switching, my pull-up midrange, finishing at the rim, I worked on those things and they’ve been better this year,” said Iafrate.
Iafrate attended La Salle Academy in his high school days and was an all-state player for the Rams. Playing for an elite club for four years helped prepare him for the college level, and he’s hoping to show the younger players the importance of being able to perform on the big stage.
“La Salle definitely helped with that big game experience. The La Salle-Hendricken rivalry was always a big game and that’s how it is in college, every game is a big game. For the younger guys, they just need to get used to that big game atmosphere. If you can play in big atmospheres, you can make a big impact,” said Iafrate.
Iafrate is also proud to be another Johnstonian to make a splash on the basketball scene.
“I think we’re showing a lot of people that Rhode Island can play basketball. It shows that Rhode Island has got some ballers,” Iafrate said.
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