Landing Montour’s Dustin Sleva, who eventually became Shippensburg’s all-time scoring leader, was a turning point for men’s basketball coach Chris Fite early in his tenure.
Little did Fite know at the time he was getting two major recruits for the price of one.
Sleva’s younger brother, Dom, a 6-foot-6, 200-pound forward, is now among the top Division II defensive rebounders in the nation. The sixth-year graduate student is part of a core of upperclassmen who have the Raiders poised to compete for a PSAC championship this season.
“Dom was here when we were recruiting Dustin,” Fite said. “Dom came on a couple of the visits with him and was on campus with him as a kid. We’ve been a part of that family and they’ve been a part of our Ship family for nine years now.
“They’ve been an integral part of the program’s success and what we’ve built here. I’ll always be indebted to the Slevas, and they’ll always be family here.”
Through eight games, Dom Sleva is averaging 14.5 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. He is tied for first in the nation with five double-doubles and is eighth with 77 defensive rebounds.
“I’m just going hard every day,” Sleva said. “I’m just trying to get rebounds. Points just sort of come sometimes. I’m just going to get every rebound and make some shots, and it just starts happening.”
The fact that Dom is having success in his second year as a starter comes as no surprise to his brother.
“Dom’s kind of a monster,” said Dustin, who plays for Paris Basketball in France’s top professional league and spent time in the NBA Summer League with Golden State. “I’m a little more finesse, and he’s more of a football player. He still has that football mentality of just going to go get it. He’s more of a beast than I ever was as far as rebounds.”
And that mentality — in conjunction with an old football injury from his playing days at Montour — has paid dividends in his college basketball career.
“I broke my left humerus bone playing high school football,” Dom said. “So when I broke it, it was a long year of recovering. Every day I would shoot with my left hand all day, all day, all day, and it just kept going. I got so comfortable with my left-hand hook that it became part of my game. It’s my go-to now.”
Such versatility has become a real strength in Dom’s game.
“He got really good with his left hand,” Fite said. “I think that speaks to kind of his toughness and determination that he can overcome all that and be where he’s at now.”
Add in Dom’s leadership capabilities, and Fite has high hopes for his player and team as the season progresses.
“He’s an easy guy for the players to rally around because he’s somebody that you’re comfortable going into battle with,” the coach said. “I think that this year, even though we have four seniors who are all captains and all lead in their own way, I think Dom probably out of those four, he’s kind of the voice that most of the players would gravitate to.
“He really puts in — if not the most time, as much time as anybody on the team — individually in the gym,” he added. “He really is a gym rat in a sense that he’s always in getting up shots. He really takes care of his body. He spends a lot of time in the weight room, and he’s conscious of his diet, and it really shows.”
Shippensburg (4-4, 2-0 PSAC) has endured some early growing pains this season, but Dom is confident in his team.
“I’m just trying to show these guys what it takes to win,” he said. “We will win, but it’s going to take a little bit. We know the talent level we have. We’ve been playing together a long time. It just comes down to making plays at the end of the day. It’s time to start rolling a little bit.”
The Raiders are looking for their first PSAC championship since 2017.
“I believe our goal across the board is to kind of continue on a trajectory where at the end of the year we are on a course to contend for a championship and hopefully win it,” Fite said.
And Dustin will be sure to motivate his brother toward that end.
Dustin, a two-time National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II All-American, is proud of his Shippensburg record 2,071 points, 1,140 rebounds and 58 double-doubles, but said the PSAC title in 2017 is among his crowning achievements with the Raiders.
“I think that’s their goal,” said Dustin, who is the only Shippensburg player, and one of just four in PSAC history, to finish with at least 2,000 career points and 1,000 rebounds. “I think they’ve got a scrappy team, and they can do it.
“He can beat me, maybe, on the double-doubles for my senior year, but I’ll definitely hold that over his head if he doesn’t get that done.”
John is a copy editor and page designer at the Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at jsanta@unionprogress.com.