Senior forward Quincy Diggs can relate to the adversity that the last year’s men’s basketball team had to face, even though he was not on the team.

Diggs was suspended the entire season before it began. The reasons for the suspension are sketchy, and some argue that the punishment was far too harsh. Regardless, Diggs, who was named the Mid-American Conference Sixth Man of the Year in 2012, was not even allowed to sit on the bench in 2013. 

During his suspension, Diggs traveled the east coast working for a company named elumatec, the same company that installed the new light fixtures in the James A.
Rhodes Arena.

“It was a rough job for me, doing the 360. I was trying to hustle money to help me pay for school. It was tough,” Diggs said.

The Zips star went from being on full scholarship to having virtually no money. He wanted to get back on the court for the Zips, but that meant last year he was going to have to pay his own way through school. He took online classes, became a blue collar worker and made it through one of the toughest challenges of his life.

And now he is back on the basketball floor.

“It feels great. It’s a blessing to be back. Hitting adversity and being back means a lot to me,” Diggs said.

Not only is he on the floor, media and coaches believe that he will play a significant role in the Zips’ success. On Tuesday, it was announced that Diggs has been named on the All-MAC preseason team.

Diggs said that his role model growing up was his father. His father, Ivan, was a family man and a hard worker. He provided for his family, but did not let his work get in the way of being a part of Diggs’ life.

When Diggs was playing recreational basketball, his father was his coach. Quincy said that his father was always sure to separate the roles of father and coach when his son took the floor.

“My dad was coaching me in little league, and I messed up a play pretty bad. He started yelling at me, and I told him that he was my dad and should relax. He got even more angry and told me that he was my coach, not my dad,” Diggs said.

Diggs played many sports as a child. He is 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 209 pounds. He could play any sport that he wanted to play, and he would play it well. He admits that basketball is his second favorite sport, but he always enjoyed baseball more. But he is better at basketball and feels more comfortable on the court than on the diamond.

The senior also said that he wants to help his team achieve heights that the program has yet to reach. He said that to do that he needs to get his team involved like his favorite current player, Ricky Rubio.

“It’s all mental. I have to get mentally tough to be able to grind out the entire season. I need to help put my teammates in position where they can do their thing.” Diggs said.

After having to rely on himself last year, he will now turn his attention to helping his teammates.