DuPree helps out youngsters
SEATTLE – One of the reasons that NBA commissioner David Stern wants to impose an age limit on players entering the league is that, at 18 and 19 years old, kids simply are not ready to digest the rigors of NBA life.
But since anybody, regardless of age, can play in the league, the NBA has instituted a player development program that is meant to serve all the players, although it primarily caters to the youngsters.
To that end, the Seattle SuperSonics this season hired Rick DuPree, a former Washington Huskies football player, as their director of player resources.
The Portland Trail Blazers were one of the first organizations to create the position when Jerome Kersey was ushered in a few years ago to help Portland’s players, who had become known as the Jail Blazers, sort out their lives. Now the league has made it a mandatory position with every franchise.
“From the league’s standpoint, they want a person who can really help with personal development off the court with non-basketball-related issues,” DuPree said. “It is like a mentor, an advocate, a guy who can help in that development.”
DuPree said his new vocation is not pigeonholed and is evolving, in part because it caters to the needs of individual players. For instance, he said, he helps younger players like Robert Swift and Damien Wilkins find a place to stay, get set up with bank accounts and find a car or a church. He also helps them with investing their money, obtaining personal services, finding their way around the city and, in general, offers them his personal support.
“This is a blast,” said DuPree, 42. “I love working with young people. To have the opportunity to possibly help shape in a positive way these guys’ lives, it is a big responsibility, but one that I am excited to do.”
Many organizations have hired former NBA players to fill the position, thinking that it is easier for current players to relate to them. For instance, the Blazers hired Darnell Valentine this season to replace Kersey.
But DuPree said it is not an issue with him. He played on UW teams that went to the 1982 Rose Bowl, after the 1981 season, and the 1982 Aloha Bowl. He played a season for the Washington Commandos of the Arena Football League. He had a tryout with the New York Giants of the NFL.
After his athletic career ended, he worked in the early 1990s for a sports marketing firm that did work with the Sonics, including Nate McMillan. After that he worked for non-profit entities throughout the city until this opportunity presented itself.
“I am 42 years old and I wanted to be in a position where I was excited to come to the job every day,” DuPree said. “This is, for me, a dream job. One of my friends saw the job description and said, ‘Rick, man, did they write this up just for you?’ “
DuPree is going through the process of developing relationships to earn the trust of the players he works with. But he already has bonded with Wilkins, Luke Ridnour and Danny Fortson, the most strongly religious players on the team.
“He has helped me grow spiritually,” Wilkins said. “That is the most important thing he has done for me. We talk about different things aside from basketball: life issues.”