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New England Patriots rookie receiver Aaron Dobson believes his background in basketball is still paying dividends
(AP)
By Nick Underhill, MassLive.com masslive.com
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on May 04, 2013 at 11:07 AM, updated May 04, 2013 at 11:10 AM
FOXBOROUGH – The first time Aaron Dobson shipped up to Boston, he was in town to visit with Northeastern basketball coach Bill Coen, who wanted him to star in his backcourt.
Dobson already figured out during his senior year of high school, based on his size (6-foot-3, 210 pounds) and athleticism, that he was better suited for football. But it was hard to let go of one of the games he loved, so he visited Northeastern, Hofstra and some other schools that offered him abasketball scholarships.
"I still miss it," he said. "I do."
Dobson averaged 21.6 points and more than eight rebounds, four assists and four steals during his senior season at South Charleston high school in West Virginia, but he ultimately decided to play football at Marshall. After being selected in the second round of last week's draft by the New England Patriots, the wide receiver knows that he made the right choice.
Bill Belichick doesn't know if Dobson's background in basketball has made him a better football player, but he does believe that the sport helps players develop better hands.
"They have to handle the ball a lot. The ball is on them quick, tight passes and handling the ball in traffic and that kind of thing," Belichick said. "Usually when you get a good basketball player, a good basketball player, those guys usually have pretty good ball skills in terms of handling the ball."
Dobson believed the game helped him in another way.
"I feel like they help me out a lot. Body control in the air, attacking the ball how basketball players get rebounds," Dobson said. "I think it carries over."
http://blog.masslive.com/patriots/2013/05/new_england_patriots_rookie_re_1.html
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