Hagerstown native Mency reaches 1,000 points in just two seasons at Merrimack

By BOB PARASILITI, The Herald-Mail


Dee Mency is a man in motion.

Nowadays in college basketball, that is a product of the style of offense most teams play. The motion offense keeps every player on the move.

But in Mency’s case, it also means moving from position to position and responsibility to responsibility while playing his at Merrimack College.

Mency, a sophomore, is a shooting guard by trade but finds himself cast in either forward position because of the lack of big men at the Division II level. His flexibilty served Mency and the Warriors well.

“We run a four-guard offense and I’m one of the bigger guards on the team,” said the 6-foot-2 Mency, who averaged 17.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. “I can play outside, but there are times that I’m inside guarding 6-foot-7, 6-foot-8 guys. It works to my advantage though because they have to guard me on the other end.”

That quickness helped the Hagerstown native to score 1,000 points in two seasons. He hit the milestone with his last basket of Merrimack’s first-round NCAA Division II Tournament overtime win over Massachusetts-Lowell on March 14. He followed by scoring 29 the next day in the Warriors’ second-round overtime loss to Bentley.

It capped a complete season for the St. John’s at Prospect Hall graduate, who transferred from North Hagerstown. He was named to the All-Northeast-10 second team a year after being the league’s freshman of the year.

“I worked on my strength, knowing the expectations that were on me,” Mency said.

The quickness advantage on the inside and working with Darren Duncan, who is a candidate for the Bob Cousy Award for the nation’s best point guard, has allowed Mency to find his niche.

Yet, there is still work to do.

“I have to work on my rebounding more,” Mency said. “My coach (Bert Hammel) tells me I could be a double-double player if I work at it.”

Mency finds his role evolving even more as he enters his junior season. With some of Merrimack’s veterans graduating, he will have to add leadership to his diversity package. That, and the need to be a double-digit scorer and rebounder, could help define his college career.

Reaching 2,000 points might not be out of the question.

“I’m just focusing on the offseason,” Mency said. “If (2,000 points) comes, that would be great, but I’m just going to ride the wind. I’d love to win a national championship. I just want to win, and if 2,000 points come along the way, that would only make it better.”