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People SearchFind an individual who either played a sport or was a member of a support group. Search by last name by clicking on the first letter of the person's last name.
Mr. David Dees
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Home Phone: 937-603-4512 Youngest Dees off UL’s team Future of David Dees appears in question Joshua Parrott One of the youngest teams in NCAA Division I basketball this season got even younger on Wednesday. Robert Lee announced that sophomore guard Stephen Dees was no longer on the team. Lee also said senior guard David Dees would not dress out Thursday and that his status would be addressed today. Lee did not make any further comments. Both Stephen and David Dees were unavailable for comment. David Dees, a second-team preseason All-Sun Belt Conference pick, entered this week second on the team this season in points per game (9.4) and tied for second in rebounds per game (3.9). He was averaging 20.5 minutes in 20 games – including 11 starts. He had started his last four games. Dees started in Sunday’s 87-66 win over Troy and finished with two points on 0-of-6 shooting in 16 minutes. He did not play for most of the second half. Last season, Dees was a third-team all-conference pick after leading the Cajuns in five categories – including points per game (17.4) and minutes per game (35.6). Dees spent two seasons at Liberty (Va.) University before transferring to UL and sitting out the 2005-06 season per NCAA rules. This season, Stephen Dees was averaging 0.6 rebounds and 3.1 minutes in eight games – including one start. He had not scored in a game this season. He played one minute in the win over Troy. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Official statement from Robert Lee submitted by Chris Yandle, Sports Information HEAD COACH ROBERT LEE ISSUES STATEMENT REGARDING STATUS OF SENIOR GUARD DAVID DEES LAFAYETTE – Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns head men’s basketball coach Robert Lee issued an official statement Friday afternoon regarding the status of senior guard David Dees (Dayton, Ohio). “After David has considered both his family and his own personal situations, David has decided that it is in his best interest to remain as a part of the Ragin’ Cajuns basketball team,” Lee said. “We are very excited that David is working through his family problems and we look forward to him coming back to this basketball team and providing the leadership we know that he can provide.” In preparation for Tuesday’s game at FIU, Louisiana will practice Sunday at 1 p.m. and again on Monday at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. -www.RaginCajuns.com- Chris Yandle Posted Feb. 1, 2008 * * * * * * * * * * * * * Men’s Basketball: Ragin’ Cajuns’ senior guard returns to form Ragin’ Cajuns’ senior guard returns to form Three weeks ago, UL guard David Dees saw his senior season take a turn for the worst. With the Ragin’ Cajuns trailing at halftime of their Sun Belt Conference opener at UL-Monroe, Dees was benched for the second half in favor of freshmen Chris Gradnigo and Travis Bureau. The player who led the Cajuns last season in five different categories – including points per game (17.4) – and graced the cover of the team’s media guide after earning third-team all-conference honors as a junior was now fighting for court time on one of the youngest NCAA Division I teams. With his season slipping away from him, Dees thought about a lot of things. He had graduated in December, so he could have gone home to Dayton, Ohio, to start the next phase of his life. “Sometimes when you’re frustrated you feel a lot of different emotions,” said Dees, who played his first two years at Liberty. “You think about what’s the best option at this point. I couldn’t think of quitting and going home to watch the box scores of a team I had grown so close with. It’s really like a fraternity. We’re like brothers in so many ways.” Instead of sulking, Dees channeled everything he had into basketball. He got to practice early. He stayed late. He took extra shots whenever he could and did his best to be prepared when and if an opportunity presented itself. That moment came on Jan. 3 when Arkansas State came to play UL at the Cajundome. The Cajuns entered the game red-hot, having won four of their last five. When UL slumped in the second half and needed a savior, Dees delivered. He scored 15 of his team-high 17 points in the final 20 minutes as the Cajuns rallied for a 73-63 win. “This was a true test of his character,” UL coach Robert Lee said after the Arkansas State game. “David could have packed his bags and gone back to Ohio. For him to stick through the things he’s been through says a lot about him.” Dees had scored 15 total points in the previous five games. In a win over Florida Atlantic five days earlier, he scored zero points in five minutes. Two nights later, Dees followed with a game-high 14 points in a 67-57 win over New Orleans. After scoring only 13 points in conference losses last week at Arkansas-Little Rock and North Texas, Dee came back and poured in a game-high 20 points in Tuesday’s 67-59 win over Utah Valley University. “He’s been sticking with it, and we all appreciate that,” UL sophomore Elijah Millsap said. “He’s motivated me because I’ve been through some tough times, too. “I knew all it was going to take was a good, solid game and then off he goes.” Dees and Millsap shared time defensively on UVU guard Ryan Toolson, who finished with his worst shooting night of the season. Toolson, who entered the game 11th in the nation in points per game (23.1), made only 1-of-12 shots and tied a season-low with nine points. UVU coach Dick Hunsaker said after the game that Dees was the difference. On one end, he hit shots. On the other end, he bodied up and bothered Toolson with his 6-foot-5, 209-pound frame. Now Dees enters Saturday’s conference home game against Western Kentucky riding a hot streak. He’s averaging 17 points in his last three games at the Cajundome. The Cajuns (8-9 overall, 4-2 SBC) remain a half-game ahead of North Texas in the West Division. Dees, who is second on the team in points per game (9.8), still dreams of continuing his basketball career after this season. He worked out last summer with former Ohio State standout Daequan Cook, a Dayton native who was drafted in the first round of last year’s draft by the Philadelphia 76ers and is now with the Miami Heat. He played summer-league basketball with former Ohio State gunner Michael Redd, now one of the NBA’s top scorers with the Milwaukee Bucks. “I think I’ll have an opportunity to play after college,” said Dees, a first-team all-Big South pick as a sophomore at Liberty. “The overseas opportunity is something that I know will be there. That’s very realistic. But no one ever grows up and says I want to go overseas. “I would just like an opportunity.” Dees has proven he can take care of the rest. Daily Advertiser, January 17, 2008 * * * * * * * * * * * * Men’s Basketball: Senior Dees sparks UL off the bench in 73-63 victory Joshua Parrott Facing a second-half crisis, UL coach Robert Lee turned to a somewhat forgotten man in David Dees. Dees came off the bench and lifted the Ragin’ Cajuns to a 73-63 win at the Cajundome, scoring 15 of his team-high 17 points in the second half. He had seen his playing time cut recently, scoring only 15 points in the last five games. “Every shot he took was an open shot, and coach Lee is not mad about that,” UL’s Randell Daigle said of Dees, who went scoreless in Saturday’s win over Florida Atlantic. “He took all open shots, and he hit them all, so it helped us.” Lee gave a lot of the credit for Thursday’s win to Dees, a preseason third-team all-conference pick. Last season he led the Cajuns in five categories – including points per game (17.4), assists (86) and minutes per game (35.6) – but had lost minutes recently because of the improved play of freshmen Chris Gradnigo and Travis Bureau. Dees made the most of his opportunity Thursday, hitting 6-of-7 shots from the floor, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range. He added four rebounds and four assists in 17 minutes. “Without a doubt David Dees stepped up for us tonight and performed really well,” Lee said. “David went through a lot of adversity as far as not playing as much. But each day he would leave practice at the Cajundome and continue to work on his jump shot. “It really paid off for him and our basketball team tonight.” Sophomore Elijah Millsap scored 16 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds for the Cajuns. Daigle added 14 points and five assists as UL knocked off reigning SBC West Division champ Arkansas State (6-7, 1-2). The Indians got plenty from senior guard Adrian Banks. The preseason first-team all-conference pick scored a game-high 20 points in his first game back since being suspended in December for firing a handgun within Jonesboro’s city limits. Ryan Wedel (15) and Yima Chia-Kur (13) both finished in double figures, but it wasn’t enough to hold off UL’s late charge. “On the road you’ve got to do everything perfect,” said ASU coach Dickey Nutt, whose Indians are 0-6 on the road this season. “Give them a lot of credit. They (UL) played well. They’re a streaky team. When they get going they really get going. “We felt like we had control of the game. There were a few possessions that really hurt us down the stretch, and they were able to capitalize on that.” ASU capitalized early, taking a double-digit lead as UL missed shots and committed silly turnovers. The Cajuns, though, closed the final seven-plus minutes of the first half with a 21-8 run to take a 36-32 halftime lead. Daigle scored eight points during that stretch, hitting two deep 3s and a pull-up jumper. Millsap provided the first-half highlight in the spurt, dishing the ball in the post to Abray Milson, who threw down a monster dunk. ASU fought back in the second half to retake a 48-46 lead with 14 minutes left. That’s when Dees delivered. First, he hit a jumper and a pull-up 3 to start the streak. Later, he hammered down an alley-oop dunk. He finished by hitting two 3s and a pair of free throws. His 15 second-half points sparked a rally that gave the Cajuns control of the game. He scored UL’s last eight points. “When that (pull-up jumper) went down it just felt like I wouldn’t miss too many shots,” Dees said. “The one 3 I did miss I should have made that.” The red-hot Cajuns, though, will survive. They close out their three-game homestand Saturday against New Orleans (11-3, 1-1). The Privateers are led by guard Bo McCalebb, the preseason conference player of the year. Coming into Thursday, the senior led the Sun Belt in points per game (21.5) and steals per game (2.5). Dees will do his best to carry Thursday’s success into Saturday’s game. “Hopefully, tonight was just the tip of the iceberg for myself and my team,” Dees said. “We’re 3-0, but I think there are 16 conference games. We could sit here next month and be 3-7 or something. “We just have to make sure we’re focused because it’s big game after big game.” After addressing the media, Dees walked away from the podium. His smile lit up the room. No longer was he the forgotten man. Originally published Jan. 4, 2008 * * * * * * * * * Men’s Basketball: Dees comes up big in new Cajun role Bob Heist There are going to be more important decisions made that will effect the life of David Dees. But as far as basketball is concerned, Robert Lee tied a bow around the career of his senior guard on Dec. 16, said thanks for the memories, and pointed toward a spot on UL’s bench. The Cajuns were off to a 1-6 start this season and trailing by nine points at halftime of their Sun Belt Conference opener at UL-Monroe. So the decision was made – out with the old and in with the new. Dees – the cover boy on the team’s media guide, and a preseason all-conference pick – was benched in favor of freshmen Chris Gradnigo and Travis Bureau. His minutes melted from an average of more than 26 the first eight games to a total of 41 the next four combined. Remember, this is a coach coming off a 9-21 season. A coach that until that point had won just 23 of his previous 66 games. Dees had been a lot of things to the Cajuns since transferring from Liberty University in 2005. But on that day in Monroe, job security wasn’t one of them. That was until one magical Thursday night in the Cajundome. Managing just 11 points in four games since being benched, Dees re-emerged against Arkansas State. Five Cajuns played more minutes, but none scored more than Dees’ 17 points. And no one hit two bigger shots than his consecutive 3-pointers with under three minutes to play that broke UL free of the Indians for good and all but sealed the 73-63 victory. “A lot of people don’t like what they see sometimes,” said UL’s freshman point guard Randell Daigle. “But he dealt with it and he stepped up big for us tonight.” But it sure wasn’t headed that way for Dees in the first half. Since Lee’s desperation move toward youth, those three minutes the Dayton, Ohio, native got in the opening half were about the norm. So were his two points. “The one thing you never can do is you can’t discount production,” Dees said. “We had guys get their shot (at playing time) and were producing. We were winning, so why change? “I could give up and feel sorry for myself, or I could put the work in and know my number will be called. I put the work in.” With Gradnigo and Bureau – who finished with a combined 10 points on 4-of-18 shooting – struggling against the Indians, Dees got his chance. The kid who scored 22 points for Liberty in an NCAA tournament game against St. Joseph’s as a freshman, started simple enough with an 8-foot pull-up with 13:20 to play in the second half. Then came a 3-pointer 30 seconds later and a monster alley-oop slam dunk with under nine minutes to go. But the consecutive 3-pointers – the last with 2:26 on the game clock – were the clinchers. They also salvaged a measure of respect for a player that had led UL in five major categories the season before, including scoring average (17.4). Entering the Arkansas State game, Dees was the Cajuns’ leader in humility. And because he rejected the temptation to quit when a decision was made to go another direction with his minutes, the Cajuns have now won five of their last six games – the watershed for the program since the end of the 2005-06 season – and own the best record in the Sun Belt West at 3-0. “This was a true test of his character,” Lee said. “David could have packed his bags and gone back to Ohio. For him to stick through the things he’s been through says a lot about him.” “It’s been difficult – extremely difficult,” Dees said. “I’m not accustomed to it. But as a basketball player, you know it’s not always going to go your way. You have to be mentally tough enough to know it’s a process – it’s a long season. “Hopefully tonight is the tip of the iceberg for myself and my team.” Bob Heist is sports editor for the Daily Advertiser. Reach him at (337) 289-6402 or bheist@theadvertiser.com Originally published January 4, 2008. * * * * * * * * * * * Men’s Basketball: David Dees Sun Belt Player of the Week Matt Hebert, Sports Information – LAFAYETTE � Louisiana�s Ragin� Cajuns men�s basketball guard David Dees was named this week�s Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week the league office announced on Tuesday. Dees averaged 24.5 points and 6.5 rebounds and led the Ragin’ Cajuns in scoring twice. It was the second straight week which he averaged 20-plus points per game. Dees led all players in scoring with 26 points against #24 Nevada and closed out the week with 23 in a 65-60 win over Louisiana Tech last Saturday. In the Louisiana Tech game, Dees scored 15 points in the final 6:34, including three straight baskets in a period of less than two minutes, helping guide the Cajuns to a victory which halted a five-game losing streak. In two games, Dees shot 16-of-33 (48.5 percent) from the field and was successful on 16-of-19 (84.2 percent) free throw attempts. He made 10 free throws against #24 Nevada, his third game this season with at least 10 free throws made. Dees is the Ragin� Cajuns leading scorer this season through seven games averaging 22.6 points per game. He has scored at least 18 points in each contest and is averaging nearly eight free throws made per game. Dees and the Ragin� Cajuns will return to action on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2006, taking on Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches, Texas. The game is set to begin at 6:00 p.m., in SFA�s William R. Johnson Coliseum. David Dees for the week of Nov. 28-Dec. 4 11-29-06 vs. #24 Nevada � 26 points, 8/16 FG, 10/11 FT, 6 rebounds, 2 assists 12-2-06 vs. Louisiana Tech � 23 points, 8/17 FG, 6/8 FT, 7 rebounds, 4 assists Originally published Dec.5, 2006 * * * * * * * * * * CajunBlog by Dan McDonald: Hoops fans expecting big things from Dees October 14, 2006 – UL men’s basketball followers have been waiting a year to see David Dees in action. They’ve watched him shooting around before and after Cajun practice sessions, way outside the three-point arc. Now, they’re expecting him to bring that scoring magic to a UL squad in dire need of consistent offensive weapons. Even Cajun coach Robert Lee, not known for hyperbole on players who have not proven themselves in his program, passes out high compliments to the Dayton, Ohio, native. He likens his presence to that of Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat … he’s the Cajuns’ �do everything” guy. But that’s a lot of pressure to put on a player who hasn’t seen game action in 19 months. The 6-foot-3 Dees last played in a college game at the end of his sophomore season at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., where he led the Flames with a 16.2 average and made the All-Big South Conference team as a sophomore. One year earlier, he was the Big South’s Freshman of the Year and made a major splash at the end of that season when he scored 22 points, hitting 7-of-9 shots and making three treys, against No. 1-ranked Saint Joseph’s in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. But in college basketball time, that’s almost a lifetime ago. So many things can determine individual success � working with new teammates, getting accustomed to game action again, and playing in a completely different philosophy � that it’s probably not fair to expect immediate greatness. Lee, for one, will be satisfied with consistency and hustle, not to mention tenacious defense. Anything else is a bonus, and with Dees’ offensive talents that bonus will probably pay dividends more and more as the season wears on. Originally published October 14, 2006
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