STARKVILLE — During their time at University of Louisville, Tony Dukes and Sam Purcell developed a pre-game tradition.
Purcell, then an assistant coach for the school’s women’s basketball team, would throw alley-oop attempts to Dukes, then a graduate assistant, before games
Eight years later, the duo have reunited at Mississippi State with Dukes, hired this offseason as an assistant coach and senior director of scouting and analytics, joining Purcell, the second-year head coach for MSU’s women’s basketball, in Starkville. Dukes is one of Purcell’s two offseason hires, joining new assistant athletic director for women’s basketball Michelle Clark-Heard
Will the pre-game ritual be returning at Humphrey Coliseum, too?
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“I said I am going to have to make sure I warm up before this time,” Dukes said in a recent interview with The Dispatch at a Hail State Happy Hours event at Starkville’s Georgia Blue restaurant. “That was seven years ago.”
Since their time at Louisville, Dukes’ coaching career has taken him to just about every American basketball league there is.
He’s spent time in the NBA G-League with the Orlando Magic’s affiliate, Lakeland Magic, in a developmental role.
He then spent time with the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers organizations as a video assistant, coaching associate and advanced scout before joining the Overtime Elite start-up in Atlanta, working with NBA prospects like top-five picks, Amen and Ausar Thompson.
“I was living in Atlanta, back at home, at the time and saw this job opportunity working with Kevin Ollie and a lot of coaches that had had a name that worked in the NBA and college,” Dukes said. “It was a chance for me to stay home and build my experience.”
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At the same time, Dukes remained in contact with Purcell. They often met during Purcell’s recruiting trips to Florida and California. And when he had opportunities to jump to the NBA again, or other men’s college basketball opportunities, a text from his old friend swayed him back to the women’s game.
“Sam Purcell called me when he got the head coaching job here in Mississippi State,” Dukes said. “He is a top-notch recruiter, knows how to get it done and called me. I said. ‘Let’s go. Let’s do it.’”
A focus on player development
Dukes, who played college basketball at Clayton State in Morrow, Georgia, will continue in a developmental role in Starkville with the women’s basketball team.
Since entering coaching, Dukes’ focus has been on helping college and pro prospects improve and refine their skills.
His first stop was working with his godfather, Dorian Lee, the CEO of B’BALL 101, a well-renowned player development company in Atlanta.
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Lee trained Dukes during his playing career, and Dukes joined the company as a trainer once his playing career ended. Once Dukes figured out he had a talent for player development, he continued to study and learn to climb the ranks.
“I never realized my passion until I actually got into it,” Dukes said. “I love to see the output of things. I love to see the process build from where players are to where they could be. Any way I can give back to the game and make a living off of it, I love to give back to it. The players I have worked with, even at OTE (Overtime Elite), to see where those players come from to where they are at now, that is what fulfills me.”
Back with his old friend Purcell, Dukes now hopes to get that same fulfillment in Starkville.
“Even being out of women’s basketball for years now, the talent level we have (at MSU) is pretty high,” Dukes said. “We have a very high ceiling and (the players) love to work, which I am hoping it stays that way. They ask questions, they want to be in the gym, learn and are sponges to the information they are given. If they continue that process, we could really do something special here in Starkville.”
Justin Frommer is the Mississippi State sports reporter for The Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 28 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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