Eric Dadika To Attend University of Rhode Island

Spotswood Standout to Join Rhody Rams as Preferred Walk-On

Spotswood’s Eric Dadika, seen here launching a three pointer in the first half against Monroe on January 9th, recently announced that he will be attending the University of Rhode Island to play hoops as a preferred walk-on.

SPOTSWOOD, NJ–A little over a month ago, GMC Hoops learned via Twitter that Spotswood senior guard, Eric Dadika decided to attend the University of Rhode Island next fall to play basketball as a preferred walk-on. Rhode Island, a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference, is coached by former St. Anthony’s and Seton Hall standout and St. Benedict’s head coach, Danny Hurley. Dadika’s older brother Jake is also a walk-on at Rutgers University.

Dadika, who finished 4th on Spotswood’s all time scoring list with 1,191 points, played in all 28 games for Spotswood, and made 144 field goals, 60 three pointers, and 142 free throws for 611 points, or an average of 21.8 points per game. He ranked second in the conference in scoring behind South Plainfield’s Lamont Williams (23.2 ppg) and was second in free throws made behind Old Bridge’s Connor Romano (146 free throws made). Dadika was also ranked fifth in three pointers made behind Williams, Mario Nigro in South River, Alex Corrigan of J.P. Stevens, and Ali Austin of Piscataway Tech.

Dadika was one of two 1,000 point scorers on Spotswood this year. He teamed up with Marlon Hart (1,182 points) to lead the Chargers to a 22-6 record this season, which tied them with St. Joseph’s with the second best overall record in the GMC. Spotswood won the GMC Blue with an 8-2 record. The division crown was Spotswood’s second in the past three years. The Chargers also reached the GMCT Elite Eight for the fourth time in the last seven years. Spotswood reached the quarterfinal round of the Central Jersey Group 2 State Playoffs for the second straight year before bowing out against eventual champion, Bordentown.

As a junior, Dadika played in 25 games, made 77 field goals, 40 threes, and 85 free throws for a total of 388 points, or an average of 15.5 points per game. For his career, Dadika played in 102 games, made 240 field goals, 138 three pointers, and 264 free throws for his 1,191 points, or an average of 11.7 points per game. Over his four year career at Spotswood, the Chargers were 80-23 overall including a 41-12 mark in the GMC Blue. Dadika is not the only former GMC player to attend URI. Former South Plainfield standout, Marquis Jones, played at URI, and graduated from there in 2011. Rhode Island is coming off a fairly successful season in 2015-16.

The Rams finished at 17-15 overall including a 9-9 mark in the Atlantic 10. Rhode Island then lost to UMass in the second round of the A-10 Tournament. URI is only losing three seniors from this year’s roster, and has already added former Patrick School power forward, Cyril Langevine, who played in the NJSIAA North-South All-Star Game at Rider University on March 23rd. Patrick School was ranked in NJ.com’s Top 5 this past season.