Texans add guard

STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton head coach Lonn Reisman has announced the signing of Donald Dallas to a national letter-of-intent.

Dallas, a 6-2, 180-pound guard from Austin's Lyndon B. Johnson High School, will join the roster for the 2010-11 school year.

“I'm really excited with our newest addition, Donald Dallas,” said associate head coach Chris Reisman. “Donald was receiving heavy Division 1 interest throughout the season. When he came on his visit to Tarleton I think he immediately fell in love with the campus and our program. Donald is an excellent student and will be a great ambassador of our academic programs at this university. He has tremendous potential on the court. For the first time in his career, he will be focusing all his time towards basketball as he was a two-sport star in high-school.”

Dallas was a three-year starter on the LBJ football team as a free safety where he was selected all-district as both a junior and senior.
As a four-year starter for the varsity basketball team, Dallas was selected as a first team all-district honoree as a sophomore, junior and senior.

“Donald is a big guard that can score from the wing or bring it up the floor and break down the defense,” the associate head coach said. “He has good size and excels getting into paint and finishing with contact. He is a capable shooter from the three-point line, and with continued work in our strength and conditioning program, I feel he will be an excellent four-year player for us.”

In his senior season, Dallas was a McDonald's All-American nominee and was one of only 20 players selected in Class 4A on the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches All-State Team. He was a TABC all-region selection and was ranked No. 72 in the state by TexasHoops.com in the preseason. He finished the 2009-10 campaign as the No. 67-ranked player in Texas according to hoopscooponline.com. Dallas was given a grade of 80 according to ESPN.com College Basketball Recruiting Service. He was named the Offensive Most Valuable Player of District 26-4A. Dallas was also named First Team All-District 26-4A, Third Team All-Centex, All-Tournament Team for the Dallas Coca-Cola Tournament and MVP of the Elgin Tournament. He led his team to a 25-7 record that advanced to the regional quarterfinals before losing to Lake Travis in overtime where he led the team with 22 points. Dallas averaged 18 points and four assists per game in 2009-10 and had a career high of 38 points against Houston Forest Brook followed by a 26-point outing against Austin Bowie.

As a junior, Dallas was a first team all-district selection and was named to the all-tournament teams at the Fort Worth Whataburger Classic, the Elgin Tournament and the Lone Star Tournament. He helped the team to a 29-7 record, and the team advanced to the state semi-finals before losing to Dallas Kimball. Dallas averaged 14 points and five assists as a junior.

Dallas is the son of Tonya and Donald Dallas. He plans to major in engineering physics after graduating seventh in his class of 193 students with a 3.6 grade point average.

The newest Texan was being recruited by Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston State, Texas State, Texas-Arlington, Citadel and Northestern (Mass.) before choosing Tarleton.

“I chose Tarleton because the coaches and the players really made me feel at home as if I was family, and that really made me feel comfortable,” Dallas said. “From that point on I knew that this was the place I wanted to receive my education and be able to play the game that I love.”

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