From the second he stepped on the floor, Dior Conners knew sports were for him.
“What ultimately led me to basketball was my love for it,” said Conners, a junior guard. “I picked up a basketball when I was about four years old. I was playing a lot of different sports as I was younger, but I naturally gravitated towards basketball.”
Conners played high school basketball at Pickerington North High School in Pickerington, Ohio. During his time there, he guided the Panthers to 73 wins before committing to start his college career at Mineral Area College, a junior college in Park Hills, Missouri.
In his one season at Mineral Area College, Conners averaged 10.8 points per game and was a 45% three-point shooter. He then entered the transfer portal and found a destination at Triton College in River Grove, Illinois, in 2023.
There, Conners averaged 13.9 points and 3 assists per game, while shooting 44% from deep. He did enough to feel ready for Division I basketball and caught the eyes of schools around the country.
“App State was actually the last visit that I took. When I came here, everything just felt natural, everything felt organic,” Conners said. “I kinda fell in love with the campus just at first sight, and the coaching staff made it easy for me to make my decision.”
Redshirt senior guard Myles Tate said the team trusts Conners to be a star offensively and looks up to him as a team player.
“He is a team player and the way we trust each other on the court really makes him click,” Tate said. “He is a dynamic offensive player who is very tough to stop and he does what it takes to win. He is always ready for the big shot as well.”
Conners said the team’s strong relationship benefits them in many ways.
“I think that we do a pretty good job of making sure that we have our connection both on and off the court,” Conners said. “I feel like that’s a big key to success even to just winning basketball games.”
Tate explained he is a confident person at all times.
“Dior is the smoothest guy on and off the court you’ll ever meet,” Tate said. “His confidence is through the roof for good reason and he always brings a good vibe in the locker room.”
Conners has taken this confidence into his junior season at App State, where he has become one of the team’s best three-point shooters, and was quick to join the starting lineup after starting the season on the bench.
Conners’ most efficient game of the season came on Jan. 18 at James Madison University. He had 18 points and a season-high 6 three-pointers made.
“I really just think it’s muscle memory,” Conners said. “I really need to just see one go in. Once I see one go in, I feel like I can make them all night.”
For a shooter like Conners, he has to be ready to make the next shot in a game where he is struggling from behind the arc. In the game against Southern Miss on Feb. 5, Conners was 1 for 9 from downtown before hitting one to tie the game with under a minute left to play. The Mountaineers ended up winning the game 60-58.
“It’s really my teammates who keep confidence within me, they know I can shoot the ball as well as I know I can shoot the ball,” Conners said.
Conners said he has to have a short memory as a shooter and trust himself so he will make the next one.
“I can’t remember my last miss,” Conners said. “I can’t get discouraged by one miss, or two or three. I gotta know the next one is going in. It just comes with me thinking that every time I shoot, I think it’s going in.”
Conners has also run his own clothing brand, Urgent Society, for about two years. He said it’s a great way for him to express himself off the court and means a lot to him.
“It means the world to me,” Conners said. “I feel that everyone’s dreams are out there for you to take it, you just got to be urgent with your life.”
As the season comes to a close, Conners isn’t losing his focus, and he could be a driving factor that helps the Black and Gold find success as their conference slate comes to an end.
“We just gotta stay consistent,” Conners said.
