ORONO – Unlike most other Division I college point guards, Eric Dobson did not grow up dribbling a basketball.

In fact, other than the occasional game with friends in the park, the University of Maine senior never played hoops until eighth grade.

“I played football. I was a big football fan,” the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Dobson recalled. “I played running back when I was a kid and then moved to wide receiver when I started getting taller. I played safety on defense.”

It was his growth spurt that led him to give basketball a try when many of his other friends had already been playing the sport for almost a decade.

“It was just something to do at first. I wasn’t that good,” he said. “I could always shoot as far as set shots and stuff, but that was about it. In football, I was good.”

So good that the Florida Division 4A All-Southeastern Conference player was recruited by football powerhouses Florida State, Alabama, and Clemson.

“I had more offers from schools to play football,” said Dobson, who averaged 20.7 points, 8.0 assists, and 8.0 rebounds per game at Immokalee High School.

The Seminoles never officially offered a scholarship. The Crimson Tide did, but only if he played safety. The Tigers offered him a full boat as a wideout. Still, Dobson opted to turn them all down to concentrate on hoops and refine his game at St. Petersburg Community College.

“I was like 6-3, 170 pounds and I didn’t really think I had the kind of body that I could take a pounding in football,” he said, when asked why he’d make such a puzzling choice.

It was at St. Petersburg that Dobson caught the attention of Maine coach John Giannini, who attended a St. Petersburg playoff game to scout another player and Black Bear recruit.

“I saw [Dobson] play a great game. I thought he was the most important factor in his team winning,” Giannini said. “He was playing with a severe flu and, after the game, they literally had to wheel him out with an IV. I was really impressed with his toughness.”

Dobson averaged 12 points, four assists, three rebounds, and two steals per game while helping lead his team to a 27-7 record, the Florida Region championship, and a berth in the National Junior College Athletic Association National Tournament.

It seems Dobson’s gamble paid off as several schools became interested in him – for his basketball skills. Then came another head-scratching decision. At least, it was in the minds of the lifelong Floridian’s friends, who couldn’t understand why he’d want to go to Maine, of all places.

“Well, I had my doubts, you know?” Dobson said with a smile. “I’d never been up here and the weather wasn’t that great when I visited in April or May, but I liked Coach G, and the guys I met were really great.”

So Dobson relied on his instincts, just like he did when he opted to pursue basketball over football. They’re the same instincts which resulted from the upbringing he received and the lessons he learned from mother Dorthea Dobson, who raised Eric and his four sisters by herself.

“Eric comes from a rough place, but his sisters are all wonderfully successful – either in college or college graduates,” Giannini said. “I visited his home and it’s one of the most impressive homes I’ve ever been in because of how his mom is and how she’s taught her children.”

Dobson’s mother impressed Giannini with her personality as much as her son impressed him with his on-court abilities … Maybe more.

“She worked for a hospice care program and I asked her what it was like,” Giannini recalled. “When you’re working in the Deep South and working with elderly males, you’re dealing with a lot of pro-segregationists. When she first walks through the door, many times they’ll tell her they don’t want her to care for them. But then she politely tells them there aren’t any white folks who want to care for them … And she laughs about that.

“I think it’s amazing she’s able to meet people who initially hate her and within weeks, come to love her. She’s really changed people’s lives in that position.”

Dorthea Dobson’s story told Giannini a lot.

“It tells me that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” he said. “I think Eric is a smart person who wants to do the right thing and has a big heart.”

And big talent. As a junior JC transfer last season, Dobson led Maine and America East with 4.9 assists per game and was second in AE with 52 steals in 30 games. He started 16 games and was one of only two Bears to play all 30.

This season, the 21-year-old Dobson is again leading Maine and AE with 154 assists. He’s also ninth in assist/turnover ratio and, after working in the offseason to become a better foul shooter, he’s now Maine’s No. 1 foul shooter and No. 12 in the league (percentage-wise) with 101 made in 145 attempts. Last season, he hit just 59 percent of his foul shots. He is also second on the team in scoring with 12.8 ppg.

Even without his statistics, Dobson has paid dividends to Maine’s basketball program.

“When we make a phone call to someone in Florida now, they all know Eric and what he’s doing,” Giannini said. “It’s made people very aware of our team.”

His statistics and solid defensive ability aren’t the only things making Dobson a great guard.

“It’s very hard to guard him one on one because he can get into the paint and still find the open man, but his scoring ability isn’t what makes him a special player,” Giannini said. “His ability to create plays and shots for others is. Frankly, we have guys who can shoot the ball better, but we don’t have anyone who can create plays like he can.

“We really play well when he’s pushing the ball, penetrating, and creating for others.”

That’s just fine with Dobson. He’s not really into stats anyway.

“I just like to win games,” said Dobson. “It doesn’t really matter what I do as long as we win.”