Dallas "Fort" Lauderdale is an American basketball player

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 who started at center for the Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State Buckeyes

The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of The Ohio State University, named after the state tree, the Buckeye. The Buckeyes participate in the NCAA's Division I in all sports and the Big Ten Conference in most sports...

 of the Big Ten Conference

Big Ten Conference

The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...

. Lauderdale attended Solon High School

Solon High School

Solon High School, founded in 1898, is a public high school located in Solon, Ohio, a southeastern suburb of Cleveland in the Northeast Ohio Region, the 14th largest Combined Statistical Area in the United States....

 in Solon, Ohio

Solon, Ohio

Solon is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and is an affluent suburb of Cleveland in the Northeast Ohio Region, the 14th largest Combined Statistical Area in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 23,348...

 and led them to the Western Reserve Conference championship and an undefeated regular season as a sophomore. He also played AAU basketball for the Cleveland Titans. He was ranked as the 11th best center in the 2007 class according to Rivals.com. During his stay at The Ohio State University, Dallas got a chance to play alongside high school rival Kosta Koufos

Kosta Koufos

Konstantine Demetrios "Kosta" Koufos is a Greek-American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets. He was selected by the Utah Jazz with the 23rd overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft...

, who is currently a member of the Denver Nuggets

Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets are a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the National Basketball Association . They were founded as the Denver Rockets in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association, and became one of that league's more successful teams...

. Lauderdale's uncle, Jim Chones

Jim Chones

James Bernett Chones is an American former professional basketball player.A 6'11" forward/center, Chones starred at Marquette University, where he earned All-America honors as a junior in 1972 after averaging 20.5 points and 11.9 rebounds per game...

, was a former NBA player for the Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team...

 and the Los Angeles Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...

. Lauderdale is known for his superb shot blocking and unorthodox free-throw motion. In July 2011 he signed a one-year contract with PGE Turow in Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

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