Congratulations to David Dupont(Grimsley HS), who walks on to UNC’s mens basketball team

David Dupont, my main man from Grimsley High School, just walked on to the men’s basketball team at the University of North Carolina….David is a junior at UNC and has been on Tar Heels’ JV team the past two years…

I used to see his dad David Dupont Sr., at many of the Grimsley basketball games and his dad would always tell how devoted his son David was, to the Greensborosports.com web site….”The first he does every day/night when he gets home from school, is go to that site(Greensborosports.com)”, his dad told me…..This was back say, in the winter of 2008 and at the time David Jr. was trying to decide what school/college to attend and was not sure if he wanted to continue playing basketball, after high school…

Well he did and they say he still attributes everything he has learned about basketball to Greensborosports.com and I do too and tonight we will see if LeBron James, ‘D Wade and Chris Bosh, with their Miami Heat, can put a little something on the Boston Celtics with Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Shaq….Don’t forget Miami also picked up Ilgauskas too and they’re taking him with them to the Boston Garden II, tonight….

I just got back in here from across the street, at General Greene School and was able to get in a few shots in the dark, before it turned pitch-black dark…That is the best kind of dark, pitch-black dark, when the car headlights give you the spark you need in the dark, to hit that last shot….

I was remembering David Dupont and those Darren Corbett-coached Grimsley teams, that would go against Robert Kent’s Page Pirates, the team that David Dupont Jr.’s dad played for and we had some Metro 4-A Conference wars going on, with Grimsley’s David Dupont, at times like a 6’6 point guard in Coach Corbett’s offense and we had Keith Manley and Christian Tonkins inside with kids like Marlon Smith, Carter Gourley, Aaron Wise and a name I will give you $500.00 for, if you could have remembered this one and I deserve a million dollars for bringing back JB Beloved….Can anyone else pull that one out????? JB Beloved baby!!!!! With Dupont, Manley, Tonkins, Smith, Wise and others, I pulled Beloved back for a blast from the past, that wouldn’t last….That is my best rebound/recovery shot of the day….Bringing back Beloved baby!!!!! That was a tough one, I am here to say….

For Page in these matchups, we would go ahead and suit up for the Metro 4-A Conference Tournament Title, on a Saturday afternoon in the Bob Sawyer Gym, with the Pirates’ Julius Brooks, Mitchell Oates, Jordan Weethe, Jon Spain, Christian McCain, Luqman Tijani and others and this one would be a rim rattler, with Brooks and McCain in the lane/lineup at the same time, how you gonna get a rebound? Those two could have owned the boards and the entire city, if they so desired………

Some great days and that is why David Dupont would always come by the site at Greensborosports.com….He knew this is where he would get the real basketball story and the real hoops talk, that everyone was looking for……

I knew these guys/kids then and I knew them when, they were just getting started…….I probably know as much about the basic basketball, you know the kind you find in an old cold gym, or out in the street, or on an outdoor court in the cold of winter, as anyone that has ever lived in this town….I was there and if I didn’t see it all, I did see most of it…Last winter was a high school basketball road trip that I will never forget….

Today from the News and Record on David Dupont joining the North Carolina Tar Heels men’s varsity basketball team:

Grimsley High graduate David Dupont has successfully walked on to the North Carolina varsity men’s basketball team.

The 6-foot-6, 193-pound junior was one of five former UNC junior varsity players to make the 15-man squad, out of 50 people who tried out.

*****You know deep down, don’t you wish we could have had David Dupont and William Graves(Dudley HS) on the Tar Heel squad together at the same time….A couple of home boys, working together, but we must take what we have, and wish David the best and here’s hoping that he will get some key minutes this season….And on another note….North Carolina had former Grimsley Whirlie Thomas Thornton on the team up from the JV’s last year, so who will be next to represent Greensboro at UNC and in the ACC?????*****

10 thoughts on “Congratulations to David Dupont(Grimsley HS), who walks on to UNC’s mens basketball team

  1. I really think you need to read this. I may win some sort of Charlie Sheen-type award for this article/blog…..

    In all seriousness and in reality, don’t you think this is pretty darn good? Be honest, we’re all in this basketball game of life together……

  2. Andy what a great story, I can remember those days just like it was yesterday. Congrads to David and his family, he is just a great all around kid. I know that his daddy is really pround of him. Way to go David!!!

  3. This biggest thing about David “Hammer” Dupont is his work ethic, having worked him and Patrick numerous times. He works hard, never cries or complain and I ran him through some extreme stuff. Both of them have the most wonderful family members you ever want to meet, and form a support group that allows them to overcome any challenges they are confronted with. They are two of the most humbling individuals and are as pleasant to be around as any body you ever met. I am so proud of them and congratulations to their parents who have never wavered in their belief and committment to their sons. Congratulation to all, now smile David sr. because Bo is next! Coach JAM

  4. Here’s a fun question… WHO WINS?

    2004-2005 Grimsley Whirlies
    Starters
    G – Rashid Cann, Sr. (Norfolk State)
    G – Christian Murphy, Sr. (Howard)
    G – Kenard Moore, Jr. (SE Missouri St)
    F – Sam Bystrzycki, Sr. (Metro All-Conference)
    F – Tarik Kitson, Sr. (SUNY Geneseo – DIII)
    Reserves
    G – Thomas Thornton, Jr. (UNC Walk-On)
    G – Travis Leonard, Soph. (D1 offers chose UNC Track)
    G – Shamarr Bowden, Fr. (UNC-Charlotte)

    2005-2006 Grimsley Whirlies
    Starters
    G – Shamarr Bowden, Jr. (UNC-Charlotte)
    G – Marlon Smith, Jr. (GTCC – NCAAJC)
    F – Christian Tonkins, Soph. (Montreat – NAIA)
    F – Keith Manley, Fr. (Gardner Webb)
    F – Kwabena Brenya, Jr. (F.I.T. – Manhattan)
    Reserves
    G – Jonathan Leonard, Soph. (UNCG, soccer)
    G – David DuPont, Soph. (UNC Walk-On)

    *J.B. Beloved transferred to Grimsley during the 06-07 school year and that was Carter Gourley’s freshman year as well.

  5. GRIMSLEY has been quietly making a consistently strong program. Coach darren corbett has turned them from a laughing stock into metro champions and playoff sucess for the last 4 years. The 07-08 grimsley team was one of the most fun high school teams i have ever watched as they tore through the metro 10-0, and probably would have been in the state championship if not for a heartbreaking sectional finals loss to mt tabor. congratulations to david dupont on a tremendous accomplishment.

    *andy, do you know what has happened to jb beloved and carter gourley? jb was a great high school player who definetly had a futre, and carter was a 4 year varsity player that turned himself into two time all metro player

  6. 07-08 whirlies:

    Keith Manley jr
    JB Beloved sr
    David Dupont sr
    Carter Gourley soph
    Jonathan Leonard sr
    Christian tonkins sr

    Great team..have heard corbett say that this was his favorite group of guys he has ever coached, and they were all great kids. We miss these guys in the sawyer gymnasium

  7. How did the Leonards go? Was it Jonathan at Grimsley and Travis at Greensboro Day School and they had a sister that was a very good athlete too. Their dad was a good ball player back in his day, I heard, and their dad and grandad would be at every game that Grimsley played and very supportive of the team…

    I think JB Beloved was over at GDS before he came to Grimsley….

    Many good players in there for Coach Corbett and Coach Walton before him….I remember the days of Evan Fancourt, Cameron Bennerman, Walker Holt, Joey Cooper, Adam Cooper, Big Genaro Lawhorne, Tim Leung, Jay whose last name escapes me, but he and Tim hung out a lot together….

    That would make a nice reunion to bring all of the the kids from the Coach Walton days and Coach Corbett’s days back together again one day and you could do the same thing over at Page and Dudley and probably Smith too, but especially with Grimsley, Page and Dudley…

  8. The Leonards were great kids and probably the hardest working youth athletes that I have ever seen. I had the pleasure of running the YMCA sports programs in the late 90’s and early 00’s and I loved how incredibly hard they played in games and practices. Most of these kids mentioned in this thread went to the Y and they are all great kids. Bowden, Manley, Dupont, Rashid, Thomas Thornton and Kitson all were outstanding athletes and kids.

  9. fun memories! 5 division I players on the 04-05 squad, very impressive. one of the best games i went to was when they beat north mecklenburg in the sectional final after being down 20+. also, in 05-06, watching page come in with marsharee neely, shelton carter, and a young julius brooks (all d1 college players) and that game went to the wire and was very entertaining. and someone mentioned it already, but the tabor game in 07-08 when grimsley almost upset a tabor team that featured cj harris (wake forest), mike grace (yale), and josh hicks (old dominion).

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