Dieudonné François
| No. 13 – Tallahassee Typhoons | |
|---|---|
| Position | Guard |
| Species | Black Panther ( Felidae ) |
| Gender | Male |
| Nickname(s) | |
| The Boy Who Could | |
| Personal information | |
| Phonetic | Dew-Doe-nay, Bapt-East, Fruh-Swah |
| Born |
May 22, 2004 Cité Soleil, Port-au-Prince, Haiti |
| Listed height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Shoots | Right-handed |
| Career information | |
| School | Chicago Bay |
| FBA draft | 2023 / Round: 1 / Pick: 9th overall |
| Selected by the Tallahassee Typhoons | |
| Pro playing career | 2023–present |
| Career history | |
| 2023 - present | Tallahassee Typhoons |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Contract information | |
| Contract year | 2025 |
| 2026 Salary | $8 million |
| 2027 Salary | $9 million |
| 2028 Salary | $10 million |
| Player Contacts | |
| (IC) Agent | TheOneAndOnly |
| (OOC) Creator | TheOneAndOnly |
| (OOC) Actor | Unknown |
| (OOC) Usage | Ask me before any use |
Biography
Born 22 May 2004, Dieudonné Baptiste François was born into a family of 12 in a small home in Fonds-Verrettes, a seemingly peaceful area that would soon face an unforeseen catastrophe. On 23 May 2004 a torrential storm swept through the area, destroying homes and leaving approximately 5,000 displaced families and 1,800 casualties. Among the 1,800 was one Louis Julien François, Dieudonné’s older brother. Now homeless, the family soon relocated to Port-au-Prince where Dieudonné would spend most of his early childhood. When interviewed, Dieudonné’s mother Marlene Alexis François said: “Dieudonné was always active. He gets that from his father. I remember when he was five and we couldn’t get him to sit still!” When Dieudonné was also asked about his childhood in Cité Soleil he responded: “Oh, I was all over the place. I’d always get in trouble and make messes, and all of the moms on my street would hate me.” Although Dieudonné was known as a troublemaker, he was a hard worker with an “unshakeable attitude,” according to his father. “Even though he was a handful, he was always prepared to help anyone, whether it was family or some stranger on the street,” Dieudonné’s father Dominique Similien François responded in an interview. This streak of good fortune would eventually run out when, in 2010, a Magnitude 7 earthquake struck just outside of Port-au-Prince. While their home was left relatively untouched, a nearby prison was damaged, releasing several dangerous criminals into the slums. This would end up being the final straw for the family. After two years of pooling their money together they were finally able to afford two plane tickets to the United States. Dieudonné's mother decided to stay behind with the rest of the family and had Dieudonné's father take Dieudonné to America in her place. After many teary-eyed goodbyes, Dieudonné and his father set off for the United States. Six and a half grueling hours later they land in the uncharted territory of Chicago, Illinois. With only a few hundred dollars in their pocket and little knowledge of English, they were surely in for a challenge. While walking downtown they passed by a park and for the first time in his life Dieudonné was exposed to basketball. “I remember being speechless watching all of the street ball games. I at the time had no idea what they were doing but they way that everyone moved and acted.It just blew my 8 year old mind. The way that they moved just spoke to me” Dieudonné responded when asked to recall the event. “I remember him running up to me and tugging on my shirt asking me what they were doing. And I myself was pretty confused too, since, growing up, I wasn't really exposed to many sports. So I went onto the court, waved one of the players down, and asked him what he was playing, and that's when we heard that magic word: ‘Basketball!’"" Dieudonné’s father added. At that moment a whole new world opened for the two of them and they both were hooked.
It started with two-on-two games for Dieudonné. After learning the ropes he decided the defensive strategy that he noticed everyone else using didn’t interest him. Although being shorter and more stout than most other kids he was remarkably agile. While normally being dominated in the paint due to his height, he was known to be dangerous at the three point line, able to drain shots even when covered by a taller player. This proficiency at long-distance shooting eventually got him on his middle school team as a shooting guard, and this is where he truly excelled at shooting. Known for his unorthodox passing and shooting, he was difficult to guard, as he could shoot from almost anywhere. Using these skills, he was able to win his school their first championship and secure a scholarship to the prestigious Haverling Academy, a private school with a goal of helping inner-city kids find their passion.
Academically, Dieudonné was an average student, but his talents really flourished on the court. Dawning the unlucky number 13 wouldn’t affect his performance as he averaged around 19.4 points per game in his junior year of highschool which would later bump up to 26.8 in his senior year. According to a 2021 scouting report “Dieudonné’s defense is mediocre at best. He has trouble blocking shots due to his height and wingspan and he has some trouble rebounding; he has the vertical jump for it, but as soon as you add two or three taller players to the mix, things start to get messy. Although his defense leaves much to be desired, he really excels on offense. Being highly agile and very accurate with a high game IQ, being able to make three point shots, even while being smothered, while also being able to make brilliant strategies and assist a teammate on a dime. Whether he’s misleading his opponents by using fake stumbles or fake shots to pass the ball to his teammate or when he’s using his unorthodox shooting form to throw opponents off, I myself can’t even wrap my head around how he makes his shots. The way he shoots makes his ball look like it was off or it released too late but it would always land perfectly in the net. I honestly at first thought it was plain luck that he was able to score twenty-plus points-per-game for several games in a row, but when I really analyzed what looked like an unrefined ‘streetball’ style I found the genius in it. Dieudonné is a textbook case of why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. I feel that if Dieudonné keeps this up and can truly hone his craft he will have a fruitful career ahead of him.” His high school performances would continue to catch the eyes of scouts, netting him a scholarship for Chicago Bay and putting him on the FBA’s radar.