Shawn Daniels stood near midcourt in the final seconds of a recent college basketball game in the nation’s capital, and the freshman guard clapped his hands excitedly as a referee’s call went in favor of a teammate.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Shawn Daniels stood near midcourt in the final seconds of a recent college basketball game in the nation’s capital, and the freshman guard clapped his hands excitedly as a referee’s call went in favor of a teammate.
But most of the several hundred fans in attendance at the NCAA Division III contest couldn’t hear those hands being clapped by the Lakeland High graduate.
That is because Daniels plays for Gallaudet University, the only college in the world specifically for the deaf and hard of hearing. While Division III Gallaudet doesn’t attract the attention or attendance numbers of nearby Division I Maryland and Georgetown, that doesn’t dismay the energetic Daniels.
“I just want to play my best,” Daniels said in an interview a few days later. “I just want to prove to my coaches that I want to work hard. Of course I want to help my team win the game and do my job — rebounding, passing, all of that stuff.”
Daniels has seen his playing time increase throughout his freshman season at Gallaudet, tucked away in a diverse northeast D.C. neighborhood a few miles from the National Mall.
“They may see something we need. They want me to keep working on my skills so I am ready for my opportunity,” Daniels said of his appeal to the coaching staff.
Daniels said he was born deaf in southern Germany when his father was in the U.S. military; his family doesn’t know what caused his deafness.
He was about 3 when the family moved to Georgia and he was in elementary school when he moved to Florida.
Daniels played four years of basketball at Lakeland and also took part in cross country and track and field. Gallaudet was the main college he considered.
“I wanted to go to a school that I knew how to community with others and that I felt comfortable with,” he said, adding that sign language makes communication easier.
He played just 10 minutes in the first four games of the season but then played a career-high 27 minutes at home against Wilson on January 17.
The 6-foot-2 Daniels played in six straight games through Saturday, Jan. 27, and he logged 73 minutes in those contests.
Daniels hit both of his shots from the field and was 2-for-two from the foul line and scored six points in 14 minutes off the bench Jan. 27 in a win at home over St. Elizabeth’s.
In his first 10 games this season he averaged 1.8 points and 9.5 minutes per game for Gallaudet head coach Kevin Kovacs, a third-year head coach.
“We heard about him when there was a story about him and his other teammate who was also deaf and we got Shawn to come here on a visit and the here he is with the Bison,” Kovacs wrote in an e-mail. “Shawn has brought consistent energy and work to the team. He never has a letdown and is always ready to play no matter what happens.”
Daniels arrived at Gallaudet last summer to begin a “JumpStart” immersion program that helped him learn American Sign Language much better.
He can communicate easier than in high school but admits college basketball is different than high school.
“It is more serious. I have to be competitive and of course have to work hard every day in practice with defense, rebounding, whatever I need to work on,” he said. “You have to work on your skills. It is more serious (and) academics comes first and then sports.”
Daniels is studying Physical Education and Recreation and hopes to one day be a teacher and basketball coach.
Last season Gallaudet came within one win of a conference title and its first berth in the national tournament in several decades for men’s basketball while winning a program-record 20 games.
This season the Bison were 5-13 overall after the win over St. Elizabeth.
“We have a problem with being consistent. We have to stay positive,” Daniels said. “We have been reducing the turnovers this year. We are getting better with that.”
Daniels was teammates at Lakeland High with Demetric McNair, who is also deaf. Both graduated in 2017 and McNair is also trying to enroll at Gallaudet, according to Daniels.
Gallaudet was slated to play Jan. 30 at Penn State-Abington and then plays Feb. 3 at Morrisville State. The regular-season finale and Senior Day is at home Feb. 17, but Daniels is looking forward to the future at Gallaudet.
“Shawn will get better as long as he works on his craft and gains more experience,” Kovacs wrote. “Like most of our guys, most of them would benefit from more strength training and explosiveness. We trust Shawn will work on it throughout his career and look forward to seeing his growth in his academic, athletic and personal growth the next 3-4 years.”