Student-Athlete Feature: Logan Dye - Samford University Athletics

By: Joey Mullins
Assistant AD for Sports Information

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- When student-athletes come to college, it is sometimes an eye-opening experience, because most of those athletes were among the top players on their high school teams, but in college, it rarely starts out that way. How they react to that new reality often goes a long way to determining how their college career goes, and Samford forward Logan Dye was no different.

Dye came to Samford in the fall of 2018, and he immediately knew things were going to be different.

"I wasn't developed as a player yet," Dye said. "I had the skill, but I didn't have the athletic ability to keep up and I wasn't in shape, and it really was going to take a year to get where I could play at that pace. I just remember everything was so much faster than high school. I dominated in high school and when I got into college I was like, 'can I even play here?' Because I couldn't guard anybody, they were faster and stronger, and I considered myself pretty strong, but it was just different."

The realization that he was playing at a completely different level just made Dye more determined to prove himself. He decided to hit the weight room and develop himself into a player who could compete at the NCAA Division I level.

"I really was just like, 'alright you're going to have to suck it up and figure this out,'" Dye said. "I just got into the weight room with Coach (Jonathan) Farris and I said, 'I want to get in incredible shape. I would love to get stronger, but I want to get into incredible shape so that I can stay on the floor.'"

In his freshman season in 2018-19, Dye saw action in 24 games, averaging 2.7 points and 1.6 rebounds per game. He averaged about nine minutes of playing time that season, which, he says, was a good thing, since he spent most of his time in the weight room.

"I was working out on game days, like 40 minutes before tipoff I was in a full sweat on the bike, just killing myself and then I was only playing nine or 10 minutes a game, so I thought I could handle that and it was just going to make me in better shape," Dye said. "It was funny, towards the end of the season, I started playing more minutes and our big guy, Ruben Guerrero, got hurt or got in foul trouble and I had to play 22 or 23 minutes and I had just worked out really hard before the game, so I was pretty gassed. But I would say I was probably close to the best shape of my life then because I was doing so much."

In his sophomore season in 2019-20, Dye continued to improve. That season, he played in 29 games as a reserve, averaging 6.1 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. He also led the team, making 54.8 percent of his shots from the floor, and he scored in double figures six times.

At the conclusion of that season, Samford decided to make a change in the leadership of the men's basketball program. Bucky McMillan was brought in to revive the program. Dye said he knew of McMillan from his days coaching at Mountain Brook High School, and when he found out McMillan had been hired, he knew things were going to change in the program.

"When he got it, I knew this was going to be a completely different style of play," Dye said. "I kind of in my head was thinking, I don't know if I can play this style because I had seen them play. But I was just like I was going to have to give it a try and I had talked to him once he got the job and he said he'd like for me to stay and help build the program at least for a year or two."

McMillan was hired not long after the COVID-19 pandemic hit. With several games having to be canceled due to COVID, the team only played 19 games in 2020-21, but Dye played in all 19 games. He averaged 9.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

Due to the pandemic, however, all players were awarded an extra year of eligibility. That meant that Dye could play another two seasons instead of the 2021-22 season being his final year of eligibility.

During the 2021-22 season, Dye and the team as a whole, saw major improvements. The Bulldogs finished with a record of 21-11 overall and 10-8 in Southern Conference play, and the Bulldogs reached the semifinals of the SoCon Tournament. Individually, Dye was third on the team in scoring at 12.7 points per game, and second in rebounding, grabbing 5.3 boards per contest.

Dye has steadily improved throughout his five years at Samford. He talked about what he felt was his biggest improvement.

"I would say it is my body," Dye said. "Just being able to play at this pace and be strong. I would say most of the people I play against, I feel like I'm stronger than, maybe not weight-room wise, but I feel like I have a way of using my body. But also, my mindset truly changed. After my sophomore year, the announcers of our games would always talk about how much I had improved, but in my mind, I felt like I was finally getting to what I could do. I knew I could do it the whole time."

In the 2022-23 season, Dye's final year in a Samford uniform, Samford posted a second-straight 21-win season, finishing 21-11 again. The Bulldogs went 15-3 in SoCon play, winning a share of the league regular-season title, tying with Furman for the league championship. Dye said, while he would have preferred to win the title outright, he is still proud of being a part of the program's first SoCon championship.

"I know how important that is to the program," Dye said of winning the championship. "It's still a championship, we're still headed in the right direction. It's awesome to walk out of here with something. But I would have loved to have made it to the NCAA Tournament, because it's all I've ever dreamed of."

Dye finished second on the team in scoring this season, averaging a career-high 13.3 points per game. He was also second on the team again in rebounding, pulling down 5.1 rebounds per contest.

Now that his college playing career is over, Dye has had time to look back on his time at the school. He said the highlight of his time here was playing in front of incredible crowds at the Pete Hanna Center the last two seasons.

"That is huge and that's part of the reason my experience here has been so good," Dye said. "That's all I've ever dreamed of is playing in front of an electric college crowd that's cheering for you and there are people that are genuinely fans of you and the name on your jersey. And I know that makes the alumni and the university feel really good to have people that really support their alma mater and their school. To me that's the biggest thing that I would reference to someone to come here would be because of the basketball program because it's so much fun."

Dye will graduate from Samford in May with a degree in public administration. He said eventually he would like to go into construction in either management or sales. But, before he starts his career outside of sports, he wants to try to keep his basketball playing career going a little longer.

"I just think since it took me this long to get to where I wanted to be, body and experience wise to play basketball for two good years, it's not worth it to throw it away," Dye said. "I would love to play in America, but I think my path is overseas. I'm not really concerned about the money, because I can come back to America and work and make money. I just want to enjoy the experience and become the best basketball player I know I can be."

Whatever the future holds for Dye, he and his teammates have given everyone associated with Samford a lot to be proud of over the last few years. Everyone at Samford wishes him the best of luck with whatever he winds up doing in the future.

Gallery: (3-30-2023) Student-Athlete Feature: Logan Dye

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