PROFESSIONAL: The Toronto Raptors selected DeMar with the 9th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. As a rookie, he averaged 8.6 ppg and 2.9 rpg. On December 31, 2010, DeMar scored a career high 37 points against the Houston Rockets. DeMar won the inaugural All-Star “Dunk-In” at halftime of the Rookie Challenge during the 2010 NBA All-Star weekend in Dallas, TX, earning 61 percent from the fans who voted on-line and by text message. DeMar advanced to compete in the final round of the slam dunk contest, finishing second to the defending champion Nate Robinson. At the 2011 NBA All-Star Weekend in his hometown of Los Angeles, CA, DeMar was selected to play in the T-mobile Rookie Challenge, where he finished with 14 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in 22 minutes. DeMar also competed in the slam dunk competition for the second consecutive year taking 3rd place.
COLLEGE: DeMar averaged 13.9 ppg, 5.7 rpg and made 52.3% of his shots, while starting in all 35 games as a freshman at the University of Southern California. He recorded 4 double-doubles during the season and scored in double figures in 28 of 35 games during his one year as a Trojan. During the 2009 Pac-10 Tournament, DeMar averaged 21 points and 9 rebounds. In the quarterfinals vs. Cal, DeMar had 17 points, 11 rebounds, followed by scoring 21 points and a grabbing a career-high 13 rebounds in the semifinals win over UCLA. DeMar scored a career-high 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting to lead his team to a win over Arizona State in the Pac-10 Tournament Final. He was named the Pac-10 Tournament MVP and was named to the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team in his one season at USC. During USC’s run in the NCAA Tournament, DeMar scored 18 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in the win over Boston College and then scored 18 points and 5 rebounds in USC’s second-round loss to Michigan State. He averaged 19.8 points in USC’s 5 postseason games.
COLLEGIATE HIGHLIGHTS: DeMar was named Pac-10 Tournament MVP and also earned a spot on the Pac-10 All-Freshman team in his one season at USC. He had one of the top freshman seasons in school history as he finished among the Top 10 in USC freshman records in points (3rd – 485), scoring average (5th – 13.9), field goals (3rd – 192), field goals attempted (T-4th – 367), field goal percentage (8th – .523), free throws made (5th – 95), free throws attempted (4th – 147), rebounds (4th – 201) and rebounds per game (8th – 5.7). His 485 points ranks third all-time for a USC freshman and his 201 rebounds ranks fourth.
PHLANTHROPY: During his rookie year DeMar formed the DeMar DeRozan Slam Dunk Book Club which is a sports and literacy after-school program that targets boys in grades 1-6 where they are taught various basketball skills while incorporating the important life skill of reading at the same time. In 2011, the DeMar DeRozan Foundation (www. demarderozanfoundation.org) was established to work with youth in the community to increase their academics. The foundation also focuses on raising awareness and educating others about Lupus. During the NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, DeMar launched his Go Green initiative in an effort to educate inner city kids on being Eco-friendly. On All-Star Sunday, he took the Metro from Compton High School to Downtown Los Angeles with a group of students to go to NBA Jam Session. Leading by example, DeMar showed the students how easy it was to take public transportation and help save the environment.
PERSONAL: DeMar Darnell DeRozan was born on August 7, 1989 in Compton, CA to parents Frank and Diane. He first dunked a basketball in the sixth grade. DeMar’s favorite sport to watch other than basketball is football. His biggest sports thrill was making a full court shot at the buzzer. The athlete DeMar admires most is Kobe Bryant. DeMar enjoys interacting with his fans over Twitter and often conducts contests with trivia questions giving the winners tickets to Raptors games.
