STARKVILLE — Darrione Rogers’ life is rooted in Chicago.
She grew up in Roselle, Illinois, a suburb 45 minutes west of the Windy City with her family, which includes her father Darwin Rogers, mother Cyntia, and two brothers, Darwin Jr. and Tyshawn.
If she wasn’t going to the movies or bowling with her family, Rogers spent time with her nephew “JoJo,” going to trampoline parks and Dave & Busters.
She idolized Derrick Rose, just like every Chicago basketball player.
This is where her life has always been.
Rogers attended Lake Park West High School, where she set 20-plus school records in three seasons after tearing her ACL in her first ever high school game as a freshman.
Rogers stayed home for college, too, at DePaul, where she once was a Big East All-Freshman player and one of the Blue Devils’ best players for three seasons.
Home is all Rogers has ever known. As of last week, when she officially signed with Mississippi State women’s basketball team, home is now Starkville.
“I’ve never even been out of town, let alone that far,” Rogers told The Dispatch on a recent phone call. “This is going to be my first time really on my own. But I feel like just because of the coaching staff and the girls on the team, they make me feel comfortable down there.”
Behind Rogers’ decision to play her final two years of eligibility for MSU are years-worth of connections with its coaching staff and roster.
Assistant coach Corry Irvin is like extended family.
Lauren Park-Lane was like a sister.
And Sam Purcell was the coach she wanted to play for.
“If I am going down there I have to feel comfortable,” Rogers said. “To feel safe and feel welcomed.”
The first school to call
It didn’t take long after Rogers had entered the transfer portal for her to get a call from Irvin expressing MSU’s interest in her.
Rogers received dozens of calls from coaches across the country, looking for her to join their basketball programs. Irvin was the first call and immediately jumped to the top of her list.
“Just from a respect standpoint, I knew she was a coach that I would give some attention to,” Rogers said. “Just because of the relationship I had with her.”
During high school, Rogers played a summer with Mac Irvin Fire, a Nike EYBL team that’s run by Corry Irvin’s husband, Mac Irvin Jr. Corry was often at games and established a relationship with Rogers that carried throughout her DePaul career.
“I just really admire how Corry is when it comes to a coaching standpoint,” Rogers said. “She would be at the tournaments with us, coaching, saying her inputs. If we were having a bad game she would let us hear about it. She was straightforward, honest but knew how to push you as well and try to make you the best version of yourself. With me having that experience, I have trust in her.”
Irvin got word that Darrione had entered the portal from her dad, Darwin, who immediately texted Irvin Jr. to get Corry on Darrione’s list.
Darwin Rogers and Irvin Jr. have been friends for more than 20 years. They text everyday, Darwin said. It only made sense to him to send his daughter somewhere with people he trusted.
“We took the visit to MSU because of the relationships we got,” Darwin said. “They were the first to reach out to us because of those relationships.”
Darrione’s relationship with head coach Sam Purcell goes a long way, too. Back when she was a teenager, she attended a Louisville youth basketball camp. Purcell has stayed friendly since.
“Every time he sees us he always speaks (to us),” Darwin said. “We have had an open relationship, especially with Corry Irvin.”
‘They aren’t gonna let anything happen to me’
Darrione’s relationship with Lauren Park-Lane began at Mohegan Sun Arena.
They had met there two years ago during the Big East Tournament. Darrione played with the Blue Devils, Park-Lane with Seton Hall.
The duo were competitors first but quickly became friends.
“We just had a connection,” Darrione recalls. “She was very cool. There was a level of respect we both had for each other, just being in the Big East and seeing how we played. She respected my game, I respected hers and we just had a genuine connection from there.”
Park-Lane, who officially signed with MSU a week before Rogers (but had been committed since late April), was as instrumental in the duo teaming up in Starkville as anyone. They constantly stayed in contact with Darrione’s transfer portal process through texts and Twitter DMs.
They even share the same NIL representation in Perpetual Sports Agency.
“Lauren made it clear that she wanted to play with Darrione from day one,” Darwin said. “And Darrione wanted to play with her.”
When it came down to making her final decision between MSU and Louisville, everything about Starkville just made sense for Darrione.
It wasn’t home, but it sure felt like it.
“Me going down to Mississippi State, I knew for a fact that her (Corry Irvin’s) family, the coaching staff and the girls are going to look out for me,” Darrione said. “They aren’t gonna let anything happen to me.”
Justin Frommer is the Mississippi State sports reporter for The Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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