There are not many freshmen who have already played varsity basketball, competed at the state tournament, run their own business, and carry the legacy of a beloved Twin Cities figure. Justus Dayee is one of them.
The 15-year-old Inver Grove Heights resident joined hosts Charles Hallman and Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald on Blacklight on Sports alongside his mother, Ana Dobs, for a conversation about his rise as a young basketball player, his life off the court, and the enduring influence of his late grandfather, Clyde Turner.
From JV in Seventh Grade to the State Tournament
Dayee started playing organized basketball at age seven and was playing JV as a seventh grader. By eighth grade he had earned a starting spot on varsity, a significant jump for a player still in middle school.
“It was a really big mental jump,” he said. “In eighth grade the preparation for games really picked up. I started developing more of a routine, moving differently, listening to more music before the game, just mentally preparing myself. Every day I had a tough task. There were some games I played the whole game as a 13, 14-year-old.”
He credited former coach Isaiah Watford for believing in him early and giving him the opportunity to develop.
This past season Dayee made his first state tournament appearance, competing at both Target Center and Williams Arena. Williams Arena left a particular impression.
“It was really spiritual,” he said. “I got to walk and see my grandpa’s name and picture on the wall before the game. I got to sit on the court before the game. I got to sit in Clyde’s corner for a while. I actually like Williams Arena more. I feel like I like how the lights shine down on you.”
He did miss significant time earlier in the season after fracturing his ankle, returning around Dec. 30, but still made his mark when it counted.
A 6-Foot-6 Freshman Still Growing
At 6-foot-6 and 15 years old, Dayee describes himself as a player who has spent most of his life playing back to the basket but has been expanding his game in recent years.
“I’ve developed more of a perimeter game, getting downhill more,” he said. “I’ve been developing my shot a lot, shooting more threes. My varsity coach, Coach K, has trusted me to shoot a lot more.”
Ana Dobs added that her son is also known as a shot blocker and a tenacious defender, the kind of detail players do not always volunteer themselves.
“Justice definitely gets up there and gets after that ball,” she said. “He’s known for pinning stuff against the backboard.”
Dayee said he still has more growth ahead, noting that his body proportions suggest he has not yet reached his full size.
Strong in the Classroom Too
Dayee finished his freshman year with a 3.68 GPA and recorded a 4.0 in his first trimester of high school. He has been enrolled in accelerated math since seventh grade. His favorite subject is history.
An Entrepreneur at 15
When asked about his plans for college, Dayee did not hesitate.
“I’m big on being an entrepreneur,” he said.
He already has experience to back it up. Last summer he ran a trash bin cleaning business in his neighborhood, complete with business cards, a power washer, and clients in both Inver Grove Heights and South St. Paul.
“I had my business cards and I used to hand them out and I cleaned trash bins a lot around the neighborhood,” he said.
On the AAU Circuit
This summer Dayee is competing on the Made Circuit, a national AAU program that has already taken him to Baltimore, Rockford, Ill., and Kansas City, with more tournaments ahead through the end of July. Between the high school season and AAU, downtime is hard to come by. The family did manage to get away on a Royal Caribbean cruise to the Bahamas after the high school season ended.
The Legacy of Clyde Turner
The episode carried a deeper thread throughout. Clyde Turner, Dayee’s grandfather and Hallman’s close friend of more than 30 years, was a University of Minnesota Gopher and a deeply respected figure in the Twin Cities community whose impact extended well beyond his playing days.
Ana Dobs spoke about what defined her father beyond what most people saw publicly.
“My dad really cared about Black people, and that’s not to exclude white people in any way,” she said. “He was rooted in the Black community and trying to uplift others, with a ‘we all can have a piece of the pie’ type of mentality. I think that’s unfortunately harder to come across these days. It’s something I pass on to my children as well, that we need to look out for our brothers and sisters.”
Hallman, who wore a Clyde Turner tribute shirt throughout the episode, said Turner had two lives: one as a Gopher and one as someone who developed at least three generations of young people in the community.
“I think that made him more important than maybe anything he did as a Gopher,” Hallman said.
Dayee is already following in that spirit. Hallman closed by inviting him back to sign his letter of intent on the show when the time comes.