Dupree named Greyhounds head basketball coach
There are times when a newly hired head coach needs a bit of an on-ramp and time to learn about their players and the culture of the school where they are taking over.
The boys basketball program at JCHS has no such problem, as it has turned to a familiar face from within the school’s gymnasium as its next head coach.
Dylan Dupree, a JCHS alumnus who has coached under various boys and girls coaches at the high school, was approved as head coach last week. He laid out his vision for the program during a Monday night meet-and-greet event at the school’s cafeteria.
“It’s been exciting, just seeing the support from long-time community members and friends, this has been a goal ever since I wore this jersey,” Dupree said. “This is not a stepping stone. This is the destination; this my dream job. To be able prove Jones County is a great place, it’s exciting.”
He replaces Willie Reese, who after last season parted ways with the Greyhounds.
Enter Dupree, a coach who has a good grasp of where things are located at the JCHS gymnasium, among other things.
“He came through here, he played here,” said Jones County athletic director Charles David.
That foundation of being a Greyhound, David says, helps greatly with a transition.
“He just took the first month out of it. He knows the lay of the land and how it works,” he said.
Dupree has seen basketball first-hand from the coach’s bench, having been on staffs led by Dennis Woolfolk and Buck Harris on the boys side and the Lady Greyhounds’ Chorhonda Gwaltney-Harris and Takeo Gray. Each coach, Dupree said, helped lay out facets of Dupree’s coaching philosophy.
“With Coach Woolfolk, the biggest thing was that If you love these kids, they’ll do anything that you ask of them,” Dupree said. “With Coach Gray, it was similar, and with Coach G and Buck from the year I spent with him, it was that we’ll play hard no matter how much talent we have.”
Now, Dupree will take charge of a program filled with players that he has either taught, coached or simply gained familiarity with.
“My foundation is set. My relationship with these kids is already there. I have taught and coached most of them, so I feel like I have got a leg up. They know that I care about their well-being, not just how they can help us win,” Dupree said. “We have everything we need. We have great athletes in the hallways. We’ll play tough and fast, and teams will understand that we’ll play hard on defense and won’t give up easy baskets.”
