The beginning of Carlin Dupree’s 2016 was tumultuous, to say the least. Last year, as a junior, he was tabbed as the starting point guard coming into the season, taking over for 2015 Summit League Player of the Year Lawrence Alexander. Khy Kabellis took over the starting point position at the turn of the calendar year and Dupree left the team for two weeks. He settled his misunderstanding with the team and returned to basketball.In a heroic twist, something that Dupree isn’t a stranger to, he came up huge for the Bison in the Summit League Tournament when sophomore guard Paul Miller was suspended for the semifinal game. Just like he showed his freshman season against Oklahoma in the NCAA Tournament when he dropped four points in a minute of overtime, Dupree put the Bison on his shoulders again. He scored 22 and 19 points in the final two games of the tournament and stormed into his final offseason as a Bison with a tremendous amount of momentum.
In His Own Words
Dupree’s emotions coming into his senior season.
“Last ride, I mean, at the same time I’m very excited, but at the end of the day, just not seeing them (teammates), every day is going to be a little different. I feel like it’s all for the best. My time is up, but I’m just going to enjoy this moment and enjoy every day.”
Where to expect improvement from Dupree.
“I feel like most importantly, turnovers. Last year was bad for me with those. My sophomore year, I was pretty good at it. But, last year, it was bad. That’s just a personal goal for me, taking care of the ball, assists to turnover ratio, I want that to go up. That’s going to be my goal, but more so, being a leader, too. We have a young team so helping them out is very important and letting them know that when we lose, you can’t let that compile into another loss. Get better every day and stuff like that.”
Addressing turnovers
“My decision-making has to get better. I felt my sophomore year it was getting a little better. It was good at times and then I got to a point where I felt like I was at my best. Last year, I got away from it and I think I was rushing too much, not patient enough.”
His feelings after opening up to the public about leaving the team for two weeks last season.
“Honestly, I just always understood that people wouldn’t understand (what he was going through). That was okay with me as long as my family actually understood. What anyone else thought, I really didn’t care. For the most part, getting something off your chest and letting people understand from your side is always a good thing.”
Teammate accepting him back on the team.
“No pressure. Right away, I mean, I felt no different from when I left, they had open arms and everybody communicated with me and I was glad to be back. They said they were glad to have me back so I was getting a good vibe from everybody and that helped me progress throughout the rest of the season.”
Being named to the Summit League All-Tournament Team in 2016.
“What’s given me more of a boost is the loss (in the championship game) to be honest with you. We obviously didn’t want it to end. We have a new arena now and we want to show the fans that we appreciate them coming out and playing in front of them has been awesome for the past three years, but having a new feel (in the new arena) is different. We just want to win at the end of the day.”
