Candice Dupree will lean on lessons from WNBA and NBA as Tennessee State’s coach

When seven-time WNBA All-Star Candice Dupree became the San Antonio Spurs’ player development coach in September 2022, she was fresh off completing the NBA’s Assistant Coaches Program.

Working with the Spurs gave Dupree the opportunity to learn from legendary coach Gregg Popovich, who had recently become the league’s all-time winningest coach. Although Dupree played in the frontcourt for her entire career, Popovich assigned her mainly to develop Spurs players such as forward Keldon Johnson and guard Devin Vassell.

“It forced me to expand my knowledge of meshing their [Spurs guards] skills with video and analytics,” Dupree said. “As players grow in knowledge of the game, you earn buy-in from them that leads to relationships. You can’t scream at everyone. Some you have to pull to the side and break things down, even at the NBA level.”

Dupree was the second woman hired as a Spurs assistant coach after Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon. Besides on-court development, Dupree also fostered personal relationships with players away from drills and conditioning, instilling accountability and trust.

However, despite joining a small group of former WNBA players working in NBA coaching, she desired to be a head coach who could generate a “greater impact” for athletes beyond their physical talents, she said.

“I don’t like the idea of athletes being viewed as assets, and with NIL you’re seeing that,” Dupree said. “I want to help players win games and leverage opportunities after their playing days because everybody isn’t LeBron James and will play 20-plus years of basketball.”

On May 9, after two seasons under Popovich, when Tennessee State University hired her as its next women’s basketball coach.

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Tigers athletic director Mikki Allen spent 11 years in athletics at the University of Tennessee prior to coming to Tennessee State. He understood the changes in women’s basketball, player development and the power of relationship-building from his days of working with legendary University of Tennessee women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt.

Allen desired a coach who embodied Tennessee State’s culture and embraced player development as a tool to build a program.

“We weren’t looking to just sign a big name,” Allen said. “With women’s basketball growing by the second and minute, we needed someone who lived and breathed the student-athlete perspective, who played the game at the highest level and knew how to win.”

Dupree possessed exceptional experience: 2014 WNBA champion, NBA coaching experience, sixth on the all-time WNBA scoring list, fifth all time in games played and seventh all-time in rebounding. Although she lacked college coaching experience, Dupree sent her résumé to Allen.

After a couple weeks, things became quiet on TSU’s front. 

“Radio silent to the point where I thought I missed out on the job,” she said. 

However, after Allen — helped by TSU’s private search firm — examined 33 applicants, Dupree was named as one of three finalists. She spent two days in Nashville, Tennessee, where she toured the university’s facilities and experienced the Music City’s sports, entertainment and professional value.

After Allen consulted with several others, including University of South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, who coached Dupree at Temple University, and his brother, Chaisson, the coach for the NBA G League’s Wisconsin Herd, Dupree was hired.

Staley gave Allen confidence Dupree could lead Tennessee State’s program. Staley told Allen that Dupree’s coaching experience, player development skills and eagerness to learn were major assets.

“She [Staley] always felt Dupree was headed for a coaching career but didn’t know when the opportunity would present itself,” Allen recalled. “But she said Dupree was resilient and could handle ebbs and flows of the job.”

Throughout Dupree’s multifaceted career, she kept in contact with Staley. From the moment Dupree applied for the TSU job, she began picking Staley’s brain about recruiting, generating revenue and building a coaching staff.

“Seeing where she is now, I’d be crazy not to ask her questions,” Dupree said.

Dupree loves Staley’s ability to relate to players and her knack for building genuine relationships with the people in her program. But part of signing elite players and cultivating relationships stems from a coach’s approach, something that has required Dupree to leave her comfort zone.

As Dupree begins the recruiting process, she has been in contact with Ervin Monier, another longstanding mentor who recruited her to play at Temple. When Dupree was deciding where to play college basketball, Monier didn’t bombard her with messages.

That won’t be the case for Dupree.

“He [Monier] told me today’s players like to be chased, whether through calls, texts or on social media,” she said. “I didn’t want that. But if that’s what it takes on the recruiting trail, I’ll do it.”

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Not only did Dupree play at the highest level, she knows the degree of discipline it takes to remain among basketball royalty. Dupree, whom the Chicago Sky selected at No. 6 in the 2006 WNBA draft, played for four other franchises during her WNBA career: the Phoenix Mercury, the Indiana Fever, the Seattle Storm and the Atlanta Dream. 

She experienced the highs and lows of competing in the postseason and the additional hard work required to become a WNBA champion with the Mercury. It wasn’t easy, especially on a Phoenix squad that featured such personalities as future Hall of Famer Diana Taurasi, nine-time All-Star Brittney Griner and three-time champion Penny Taylor.

“Diana would cuss you out in a heartbeat and playing with a player like Penny, we were so unique but we played like a well-oiled machine in our title season,” Dupree said.

Although Dupree wasn’t the most outspoken teammate, her veteran leadership emerged throughout her seven seasons in Phoenix. And for a young Griner, Dupree’s guidance was key to how Griner navigated the WNBA. Dupree also gave Griner tough love about what it takes to be excellent in the league.

“There were times she would pull me to the side and tell me to ‘get myself together’ and that I needed to lock in … but she wasn’t the big vet who looked down on rookies. … She taught me things in a way that I could respond to them,” Griner said.

Early in Griner’s career, after WNBA seasons ended, she would make basketball secondary, getting out of shape and pick back up with the game when the next season began.

“I’m young, and you only live once,” a laughing Griner said. “But she got me together, not in a demeaning way but one that resonated with me.”

Dupree’s calmness, patience and sense of humor are all reasons Griner believes her former teammate will make an excellent coach.

“She has what I call ‘Pree humor,’ ” Griner said. “When I think of a coach, I want someone levelheaded and who can run a tight ship. She’s not going to baby those girls [at Tennessee State]. She’s going to give them tough love as well as prepare them for the pros and for life.”

As the summer passes into the fall, Dupree will be busy finalizing her coaching staff and recruiting players to bolster Tennessee State’s program, emphasizing high school recruiting and the transfer portal.

“She’s not bypassing the traditional model of taking high school players,” Allen said. “But she wants a team rooted in her culture, not the culture of three or four other institutions.”

In the 2023 season, Tennessee State finished eighth overall in the Ohio Valley Conference (11-19 overall, 7-11 OVC). The Tigers haven’t had a winning season since the 2014-2015 season, and was the last time TSU won the OVC tournament title and competed in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.

Dupree said she envisions Tennessee State running an uptempo style of “beating other teams up the court,” dominating in rebounds and scoring efficiently. But first she must establish a unit of solid guards.

Several TSU starters from a year ago are returning, including forward Lyric Cole and guards Sanaa’ St. Andre, Saniah Parker, Nia Hicks and Aaniya Webb. Dupree is working on player development, watching film from last year’s team. In her earliest assessment, she noticed TSU had small guards, lacked interior size, needed pure shooters and lost several close conference games. As a result, teams simply “packed the paint and sat in a zone defense,” she said.

“When we get the right pieces to close the gap, I am going to do everything I can to help my players be successful … in the WNBA, internationally or in the workforce,” Dupree said. “All I needed was an opportunity, and now it’s time to work.”