Fatts Russell

Daron "Fatts" Russell (born May 6, 1998) is an American college basketball player for the Rhode Island Rams of the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Russell grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and looked up to basketball player Kobe Bryant, who was born in the same city. His mother gave him the nickname "Fatts," which he has been called his entire life, because he was chubby as a baby. Russell played for Imhotep Institute Charter High School in Philadelphia, where he was coached by Andre Noble. Russell became its all-time leader in points, assists and steals. As a senior, he led his team, which was considered one of the best in the country, to a 31–2 record and the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) 4A state championship, scoring 25 points in the title game. Russell was named Philadelphia Public League and Pennsylvania Class 4A most valuable player (MVP). He was a consensus three-star recruit and committed to play collegiately for Rhode Island over offers from Seton Hall, SMU and Western Kentucky, among others.

On December 4, 2017, Russell was named Atlantic 10 freshman of the week after scoring 20 points in wins over Brown and Providence. As a freshman, Russell averaged 7.0 points per game. In the NCAA Tournament, he scored 15 points including two clinching free throws with 11 seconds remaining and had five assists and two steals in a 83-78 overtime win against Oklahoma. Russell scored a career-high 41 points on March 5, 2019, in a 86-85 overtime win against St. Joseph's. It was the highest scoring effort by a Rhode Island player in a road game. Russell finished his sophomore season averaging 14.2 points and 3.7 assists per game.

On January 15, 2020, Russell scored 25 points against St. Joseph's and surpassed the 1,000 point threshold. He scored 30 points on January 30, in a 87-75 win over VCU. On February 13, Russell was named to the midseason watch list for the Naismith Trophy. At the close of the regular season, Russell was named to the First Team All-Atlantic 10 and the Defensive Team. He was named the U.S. Basketball Writer’s Association District I Player of the Year and was selected to the National Association of Basketball Coaches 2019-20 Division I All-District 4 First Team. Russell averaged 18.8 points and 2.9 steals per game, second in Division I. Following the season he declared for the 2020 NBA draft but intended to keep his college eligibility.

Russell's older brother, DeWayne, played college basketball for Grand Canyon before playing professionally overseas.