Caleb Dorsey, seeking overseas playing opportunity, eager to parlay success into 2022-23 season

The opportunity started with a phone call. Hearing from Penn State men’s basketball head coach Micah Shrewsberry, redshirt sophomore forward Caleb Dorsey was approached about a chance to play overseas.

Gathering with a collection of other college basketball players under the direction of Mercer University assistant D.J. Byrd, a former player of Shrewsberry’s at Purdue, Dorsey could spend 10 days traveling, facing some new competition, and growing his game. 

Dorsey jumped at the chance.

“We play games in Belgium, Amsterdam, and Germany as well. And so it should be a pretty fun experience,” he said. “It’d be my first time out of the country and give me a chance to travel the world and get some sightseeing as well as playing some of the local competition.”

Caleb Dorsey starts GoFundMe

Needing to fundraise for his travel, Dorsey has started a GoFundMe to fulfill his costs and those incurred by the team. And now, with the advent of relaxed name, image, and likeness rules, Dorsey’s goal of $5,000 can be reached through Penn State fan donations.

Organizing the fundraiser late last month, Dorsey is nearly halfway to his goal as of this writing.

“Yeah, I’m really excited honestly. It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do,” Dorsey said. “I actually just got my passport a couple of weeks ago. So this is all new to me, but as nervous as I may be, I’m also really excited about the opportunity because you don’t really get a chance like this. The money donated will be very beneficial in supporting the entire team.”

Expecting to face local European teams in his travels, Dorsey is hoping the experience pays dividends back home.

The oddity of his true freshman season in 2020-21, in which COVID-19 restrictions severely inhibited practice time and playing experience, Dorsey saw action in just five games. His 11 combined minutes led to six points, hitting 2 of 4 3-pointers.

Hoping to take bigger strides last year, Dorsey was admittedly disappointed by what transpired. His action in 12 games allowed for just 70 combined minutes, grabbing seven rebounds with 11 points scored. 

Next steps

Sensing an opportunity for playing time this season, particularly given the departures of big men John Harrar and Greg Lee, Dorsey is hoping to parlay the August trip into on-court momentum ahead of the 2022-23 season.

“I think from my development, it should be a chance to boost my confidence a little bit. Coming back into the college season after playing against the local teams overseas, I think it should give me some more confidence as far as my game is concerned because I’ve been putting work in in the offseason,” Dorsey said. “To be able to come back with that experience should be helpful as well.

“I’m in a really good headspace at the moment because I’ve been able to work on the things that had gotten me recruited to Penn State in the first place. I just feel more confident in my offense at the moment, but then I’ve been working on the stuff that the coaches want me to do, like the pick and pops, and the go-screens to threes, and then finishing.”

Similarly determined to improve his defensive abilities, paying particular attention to reaction time, close-outs, and being able to switch, one through five, to guard quicker guys on the perimeter and bang down low when necessary, Dorsey believes the opportunity is his to seize.

“Given the circumstances of this year and how everything shaping out, I think this could be a really good year for me,” he said. “I think that if I don’t play this year, it’s on me, to be honest. 

“Going in with that mindset kind of makes me want to work even harder because there’s so much opportunity out there this year.”

(Editor’s note: Penn State fans who wish to contribute to Dorsey’s GoFundMe can do so HERE.)