Former Gator point guard Teddy Dupay has spent the last few months coaching grassroots basketball in Tampa.
But the 5-foot-11 Dupay hasn’t lost the itch to play just yet. Dupay announced on his Facebook page and over Twitter that he plans to try out for the Miami Heat’s Developmental League Team on Oct. 19. The Heat’s D-League team is in Sioux Falls, S.D., but the tryout will take place in Miami.
“I’ve been playing basketball everyday for about 9 months,” Dupay wrote on his Facebook page. “Never felt better! I’m at my high school weight only much more explosive and have a completely different perspective, love and appreciation for the game. My kids and I have been talking about the correct way to “Try-Out” for 8 weeks. I’m going to make them proud by giving my 100% best effort! WISH ME LUCK!!!!!”
Dupay helped lead Florida to its first of four Final Four appearances under Billy Donovan in 2000 before a series of missteps. He was dismissed from the Gators a year later amid allegations of sports gambling, played a few years overseas and minor league basketball and had a string of failed business ventures and personal issues, including serving jail time in 2009 after
pleading guilty to a third-degree felony domestic assault charge. But Dupay has been
in a better place in recent years, and has tried to mentor others about the mistakes he’s made.
At 35, Dupay is facing long odds to make the team. But the former McDonald’s All-American from Cape Coral hasn’t given up in trying to join former teammates Mike Miller (Cleveland Cavaliers), Udonis Haslem (Miami Heat) and Matt Bonner (San Antonio Spurs) in the NBA.
