‘What was poured into me, I pour back into our girls:’ Troy’s Chelsea Dungee impacts next generation of players

Chelsea Dungee is in her second season on the Troy teaching workers. The fifth-overall decide within the 2021 WNBA Draft was an All-American as a senior at Arkansas. She posted 22.3 factors per sport in her closing 12 months of school to steer the Razorbacks to the NCAA Match.

Dungee left Fayetteville as this system’s all-time main scorer with 2,147 profession factors. She went on to play 14 video games for the Dallas Wings in the course of the 2021 WNBA season.

When her enjoying profession got here to an in depth, the Sapulpa, Okla., native picked up the whistle and launched into a profession in teaching.

She not too long ago spoke with Mid-Main Insanity’ Ian Sacks. Beneath is their dialog:

Ian Sacks: What drew you into the teaching career?

Chelsea Dungee: I all the time needed to educate ladies’s basketball. I didn’t know the timeframe or when that might occur. However my long-term purpose after basketball, when the ball stopped bouncing, was all the time to educate ladies’s basketball.

I all the time needed to pour it again into ladies as a result of there’s so many elements, there’s a lot into basketball. You’ve gotten that off-the-court facet, and you’ve got the basketball courtroom as effectively.

I’ve been round lots of good leaders and lots of nice coaches. The Arkansas teaching workers was an incredible workers that had been nice leaders, demonstrators. They only taught me a lot, and I used to be like, ‘man, that is what I need to do in life.’

I used to be in such surroundings at Arkansas, I used to be like, ‘man, I like this. I like what they do for us off the courtroom, on the courtroom.’ I needed to provide again to ladies’s basketball.

IS: That’s superior. What drew you to Troy particularly?

CD: Within the basketball world, you don’t get to choose what faculty you need to go to essentially. You type of simply put in functions. You set in functions in locations the place jobs had been obtainable.

I used to be sitting at dwelling, and basketball had simply stopped. I got here again from abroad, and I used to be like, ‘man, I need to be a ladies’s basketball coach. The time is now.’

I’ve been enjoying basketball for 20 years. I need to flip the web page. I need to do one thing else. I need to discover this avenue, and that is the time.

So, I put in like 200 resumes, and I used to be like, wherever God leads me, is the place I’m imagined to be. I had a number of completely different calls again, 5 – 6. I did a number of completely different interviews.

The way in which that Coach [Chanda] Rigby made me really feel, her plans for me, and the way they ran their system, it was similar to the best way that we ran our system [at Arkansas]. So, the transition wouldn’t be too troublesome as a result of it’s the identical type of play. I simply love who she is as a frontrunner, as a faith-filled lady.

She supplied me the job, and I had no hesitation. And I used to be like, ‘man, that is the place for me.’ That’s how I ended up in Troy.

IS: How troublesome of a choice was that to shift gears out of your enjoying days to now, the teaching facet of the sport?

CD: It was truly a fairly easy transition I believe due to the place my thoughts was at and the way I have a look at issues.

I used to be similar to, ‘I’ve been enjoying basketball for 20 years, and mainly, I need to do one thing else. I need to problem myself in one other space. I needed to do one thing else. I need to flip the web page.’

Whenever you’ve given the whole lot, you’ve needed to basketball, and also you’ve exhausted each little bit of power, you don’t have any remorse. You don’t have a day the place you would like you would have given extra. I didn’t have a kind of days as a result of I exhausted the whole lot that I had into coaching to simply do the whole lot.

And I used to be like, ‘I can grasp my footwear up and be ok with it as a result of I left no stone unturned.’

IS: How is your perspective of the sport completely different now as a coach than it was as a participant?

CD: You continue to carry the identical work ethic and the identical issues. Your basis doesn’t actually change an excessive amount of if it’s basis and a powerful basis. Being early and giving the whole lot you’ve gotten, learning of the sport, learning completely different elements of the sport.

So, in that means, a few of these foundations, actually, I simply carried with me that you simply nonetheless use on the teaching facet. You continue to research the sport. You continue to present up early, give greater than what’s requested. So, it’s been a easy transition in that space.

IS: How would you describe what life is like as an assistant coach?

CD: It’s enjoyable. It’s lots of journey. It’s lots of power exerted. However that’s type of with something that you simply do. If you wish to be nice at it, it requires lots of you in many various methods. Emotionally, it’s important to be there for your self and for others. You need to put others earlier than your self. Bodily, mentally, spiritually, the whole lot.

That’s simply me, although. I get pleasure from these issues. It’s not exhausting to me. I like waking up and doing that.

IS: How do you’re taking your experiences from enjoying on the Energy-5 stage and enjoying professionally into your job as a coach and instill that in your gamers?

CD: I had trainers and coaches for whom consideration to element was like the largest factor. I’m so grateful for that as a result of I do lots of our guards’ coaching and exercises. I bought educated by a number of the greatest trainers on this planet that practice within the NBA and WNBA.

So, taking these methods and what I discovered in faculty, like I stated, I’m grateful to be part of such an incredible teaching workers that I discovered a lot concerning the sport of basketball. So, I pour that again in. What was poured into me, I pour again into our ladies.

The coaching and the element of issues and completely different finishes and combo strikes and learn how to learn the protection.

A giant factor about basketball is knowing what the protection is supplying you with, and I don’t suppose that that’s talked about sufficient. I believe we get in there, we do completely different strikes, however we don’t understand whether or not our high foot is excessive or low. How’s her stance, the place are they pushing you, learn how to counteract that. And I believe I specialise in that space having the ability to learn the sport.

IS: What are some life classes that you simply attempt to instill in your gamers?

CD: Simply foundational ideas. One, I don’t push faith on anybody, however I believe that was an enormous a part of what I did: having a better energy that you simply look as much as that you simply glorify and also you honor. That carries you a good distance. So, I attempt to, if individuals are keen and so they settle for and so they’re Christians, I pour in in that means.

After which, simply the essential issues of being on time, paying attention, the way you put on your garments, the way you stroll, the way you discuss, the way you current your self is large.

The diploma is simply going to get you within the door, however once more, the way you stroll, the way you discuss, the way you sit up, the way you do all of these issues. And I believe that on this technology, it’s not talked about sufficient in how we feature ourselves and the way what you publish on the Web can have an effect on you.

All of our teaching workers, all of us have particular issues that we pour into this system. And it’s an enormous one for me is that I do all of our gear as effectively, so I’m continuously speaking about your look.

IS: All actually good factors of essential factors to maintain driving dwelling for positive. What has labored so effectively for you guys on the courtroom this 12 months sitting top-two within the Solar Belt?

CD: Actually, an enormous one is we return 4 of our 5 starters. That chemistry goes an extended methods and understanding one another and our enjoying type.

We rise up and down the ground, we attempt to rating 120 factors a sport. Our quick break known as a 120 quick break. So, we’re all the time making an attempt to rise up and down in transition.

And that causes lots of issues in some ways as a result of lots of groups’ transition protection isn’t nice. We attempt to capitalize on that. We attempt to make you drained. So, we situation actually arduous within the summertime. Our conditioning performs an enormous half within the fourth quarter.

That’s one thing we did at Arkansas as effectively. If you happen to return otherwise you watched us, you’d understand that we bought lots of factors in transition and on the quick break.

And naturally, what this program stands on is rebounding. We led the nation in rebounding the final 5 – 6 years and similar to [on Feb. 1], we bought 30 offensive rebounds. Tai Porchia, one among our publish gamers, had 11 offensive rebounds and the opposite workforce’s whole for all the sport was 11.

So, we have now one participant getting 11 offensive rebounds, in comparison with ULM mixed getting 11 rebounds. You get additional factors from there.

However actually transition, returning 4 of our 5 starters and offensive rebounds are what we stand on this 12 months.

IS: These numbers of o-boards 30 for a workforce and 11 for one participant are staggering. You talked about your enjoying days at Arkansas. I nonetheless bear in mind watching you within the NCAA Match and having an amazing sport there. Whenever you suppose again to your profession, what’s the primary or second factor that you simply consider?

CD: The very first thing I might consider is after I first began at Arkansas, we had been the underside of the convention. Once I transferred in there, they received two video games within the SEC all the 12 months.

Coach [Mike] Neighbors and I had been going to flip this program round, and we’re going to begin by first being an amazing teammate.

I believe that typically groups throw that on the market that we’re a household, and that will get overused typically as a result of they need it to sound good. However are you actually a household? Are you actually related?

I need to discuss that first as a result of they actually stand on that, and household is a big factor to them. I have a look at them as household. I name them equal to my actual household. Like they’re on the identical stage. I like them.

The issues that they’ve accomplished for not solely me, however for my total workforce and the way they ready us for all times. I walked proper off the courtroom and went proper into teaching, and I wouldn’t have been in a position to try this if they didn’t put together us for all times. And for that, I perpetually thank them.

From the basketball standpoint, if you go into a faculty that’s on the backside of the convention, and you find yourself, your final 12 months a top-25 workforce, top-10 workforce within the nation in three years is staggering to me as a result of that doesn’t occur fairly often in a three-year span.

You’re beating UConn, you’re beating Baylor, you’re beating South Carolina and also you’re beating Tennessee persistently. You’ve bought to be doing one thing proper.

There’s so many issues I can sit right here and discuss my expertise at Arkansas due to how invaluable that teaching workers is.

IS: Fairly an incredible turnaround that you simply helped orchestrate there. Chelsea, anything that you can imagine?

CD: I simply actually need to get throughout that this can be a nice program. I’m grateful to be at Troy, but when it wasn’t for the place I got here from, I wouldn’t be sitting right here right now. I’m grateful on each side of it, and I’m so grateful to get again to ladies’s basketball.

It makes me smile. It makes me rise up within the morning that I get to impression ladies’s basketball. I get to impression ladies on this society on this time. To uplift ladies is such a robust motion proper now, and I’m glad that I get to be part of that.