Feature Photo by Oglethorpe University

Malachi Dooley was a highlight reel for the Habersham Central Raiders who graduated in 2022, but has since taken his electrifying style of play to Oglethorpe University. Now in his sophomore season, the full-fledged starter is flourishing. He got his chance to start a good bit as a freshman too, but he’s put in the time to get his chance.

“What I credit the most is the work I put in over the summer,” says Dooley. “My struggle last year was shooting the ball, so I would try to shoot 1,000 shots a day. I would come in the morning and shoot 500 shots on the gun and come later that afternoon and shoot 500 more.”

The work has paid dividends for Dooley, who is averaging 9.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.3 steals per game in the first dozen contests for the Stormy Petrels. He is also shooting 39% from deep and 51% from the floor overall. After shooting just 21% from 3-point land and 45% overall last year, he has seen that marked improvement. Part of it was adjusting from the high school game to college.

“The biggest difference between high school ball and college is the pace at which everyone plays at and how much stronger everyone is,” adds Dooley. “The main adjustment I had to make was being able to play at my own pace and be more careful with the basketball. I also needed to gain weight so I gained 10 pounds of muscle and I’m at 180 right now.”

Dooley has 4 games this season with 10 or more points, including a career-best 24 points on December 2 against Berry College in which he had 10 buckets.

“Being able to shoot the ball will open up my game much more, so getting tons of shots up outside of practice and when we have off days,” adds Dooley on the amount of work he puts in. “My main thing is getting catch-and-shoot shots on the gun and repping game-like situations.”

Still early in his collegiate career, Dooley still has ample opportunity to improve his game even further. The sky is the limit, but he’s got some tangible goals he wants to see come to fruition.

“Goals I have for myself is to score 1,000-plus points and try and break the assist record here,” states Dooley. “After Oglethorpe I plan to get my Masters in Business and soon after pursue my Doctorate in Business and hopefully climb up the ranks in the business world and become a CEO or own a business of my own.”

To date, he’s already at 231 career points at OU and he has 88 assists, with the school record standing at 488. His major is listed as a Business & Dual Degree with Mercer University.