Best That Never Was
Year: 2010
Grade: B+
Country: USA
Director: Hock
Reviewthis should be mandatory viewing for every prospective division I ncaa athlete, particularly those in basketball and football. it’s about marcus dupree, a mississippi running back who went to the university of oklahoma and could have been one of the great running backs of all-time. he had reggie bush type talent, but matt leinert type work ethic and may as well have gotten advice from his pet dog. it shows everything that can and does go wrong at the college level and exposes (without being an expose, per se) the weaknesses of a system that cares only about money.
he’s poorly advised at every stage.
he has no father.
his mother is well meaning, but ignorant of the business and laws and expectations of being a top level recruit.
his “agent”/advisor – some shithead pastor takes total advantage of him at every turn and is nothing more than a svengali manipulating a young kid after earning his trust.
the coaching staff at oklahoma failed him by trying to play the tough love card on a guy for which it wouldn’t ever work. a big part of being a great mentor/coach is either changing your approach to fit whomever you are working with, or only recruiting the guys who will fit in your system. barry switzer picked up dupree not because he was going to fit his system, but because he wanted the biggest fish he could catch that year.
he failed himself with a poor attitude and work ethic.
his community failed him by constantly holding him on a pedestal.
the ncaa failed him by not having adequate rules and systems in place to make sure he was being advised of his options along the way.
if a top level athlete watches this perhaps they will realize they’re really only a knee tendon away from being forgotten trash along side the college athletics highway. it’s really a sad story, but it’s one i’ve heard too many times to be shocked by. it’s one that the ncaa should do something about, but they really only do the minimum required to look like they care.