A loss can linger for coaches and players. It can hang around for a day, two days, a week maybe. Eventually, they deal with it and move on. The schedule demands it.
This loss isn’t so easy to leave behind. It will stay in hearts and minds beyond the next game or season. The unexpected death Sunday of D’Mitri Dunson-Riggs, three days before his 35th birthday, leaves a void in the game he loved.
Dunson-Riggs played basketball better than most. He was a Bloomington Junior High phenom who went on to star at Bloomington High School, play collegiately at Division I Eastern Kentucky and on semi-pro teams. While that is part of his legacy, it is not what triggered an outpouring of love on social media.
The passion with which Dunson-Riggs taught the game, the confidence he instilled in young players, is why so many have expressed sorrow, support and gratitude.
He was in his third year as an assistant coach at Normal West, and yes, head coach Ed Hafermann called his passing “a huge loss for the Normal West basketball program.”
He didn’t stop there.
With his D1 Skills Academy, which offered instruction and training from elementary school age through high school, Dunson-Riggs impacted players throughout the Twin Cities.
“It’s a huge loss for the entire basketball community,” Hafermann said. “It’s a huge loss for Bloomington’s program. There are kids who are hurting at Normal Community, who are hurting at U-High, who are hurting at Central Catholic. He left a mark on them. He worked with all of them.”
Dunson-Riggs died of natural causes at the home he shared with Nina Chiodo, his partner of seven years, and their 2-year-old daughter, Gianna.
He and Chiodo worked as a team to make D1 Skills Academy a reality. Dunson-Riggs sought to pass on the knowledge and lessons learned during his basketball journey to the next generation.
“He found joy and peace in being able to give back to individuals and see them succeed,” Chiodo said. “It lit up his world to say the least.
“We started that pretty much from the ground up. It was anywhere we could find a gym, anywhere we could train outside. Whatever he needed, I was sending emails, making the logos. Whatever we had to do, we did it together."
The emphasis was on fundamentals and skill development, with Dunson-Riggs encouraging players to work hard, compete and have faith in their abilities.
He didn’t harp on them, didn’t scream. That wasn’t his style.
As in his playing days, Dunson-Riggs was more about quiet confidence than flash and bravado. He grew up mentored by his uncle, Dodie Dunson Sr., and played frequently with cousins Dodie Dunson II and Brandon Dunson.
Providing hope
“He came from a basketball family and gained all that knowledge from being able to play,” said Darrelynn Dunn, a teammate of Dunson-Riggs and fellow 2009 BHS grad. “I think he gave a lot of kids hope as far as how good they could be. He was that beacon for kids who were missing that component.
“A lot of kids can’t afford individual training and a lot of kids can’t afford to go to sessions every other day. He was like, ‘OK, kids in this community need some sort of outlet to get better at their craft.’ He got pretty heavily invested in working with the younger kids and seeing their growth and seeing them get better. That’s where his passion came from.”
Dunn, who also is a coach, joined Dunson-Riggs to conduct a basketball clinic two years ago. They remained good friends since high school. Their bond allowed Dunn to know a side of Dunson-Riggs others did not.
Even while averaging 20.8 points a game as a BHS senior, including a 42-point game against Normal Community, Dunson-Riggs often was quiet, kept to himself. That led some to believe he was aloof.
“I think he was probably one of the most misunderstood, big-hearted people you would ever meet,” Dunn said. “ He didn’t say a lot. If you’re reading body language or the silence in general, you may misread people.
“D’Mitri was kind, he was funny. His growth over the years was in being more personable and more approachable. When he started working with kids more, he grew and matured and was better in that area.”
It warmed Chiodo’s heart every time Dunson-Riggs connected with players and their parents. Preconceived notions regarding his personality would melt away.
“The passion he showed made a lot of people realize who he was on the inside,” Chiodo said. “D’Mitri wasn’t very talkative, so that came off to people that he was arrogant or something along those lines. Really, he was probably the most down to earth, funniest person I’ve ever met.
“You had to get to know him, right? When people got to know him through basketball through their children they were like, ‘Oh, he’s a great guy.’”
Health hurdles
Dunson-Riggs overcame some health issues to become a two-time All-Area player at BHS, then play at Highland Community College, Wabash Valley College and Eastern Kentucky. A hole in his heart required surgery as an infant and he had a second open-heart surgery in eighth grade after leading his team to the state championship.
“Nothing kept him down,” Chiodo said. “They talk about how after that [state title] game he had to lay flat on the ground. The next day, he went into surgery. That’s just who he was.
“A couple of years ago, he was training a kid, fell and broke his wrist. We went to the ER and he went back that night and finished the training. He definitely was dedicated to all the kids that he trained.”
Dunson-Riggs was the father of six children. Two of them, Camron [a junior] and D’Mitri Jr. [a sophomore], played for Micheal Mosley this season at BHS.
Mosley was an assistant coach for the Purple Raiders when Dunson-Riggs was a senior. He saw the smooth, 6-foot-3 guard evolve as a player.
“He was starting to understand that if you play the game hard and play the game right, it kind of handles itself,” Mosley said. “He grew up with the game and just got to a point where he figured it out. I think that’s why he provided so much value to a lot of these players in this area who have been successful.
“His legacy is that he wasn’t going to turn anybody away. If he’s working with his two kids at a gym and he sees two other kids down there and they want to jump in, he’s going to bring them in, whether it was at the Y or at Normal West or wherever.”
Chiodo said the mission is to keep his legacy alive through his children – “We’re calling them Six Strong,” she said – and through the players he trained.
Those at Normal West listened to Dunson-Riggs, trusted him. So did their head coach.
“One saying he always said to me was, ‘For sure,’” Hafermann said. “As coaches we would talk about a lot of things. If I shared a thought, I knew I had something going when he would say, ‘For sure.’ Then he would expand on that.
“As a coach, that instilled confidence in me. I knew I was on the right track when Miche [D'Mitri] would say, ‘For sure.’”
His goal was to teach the game he loved, share what he knew and inspire others to love it, too.
Was he successful?
For sure.
