I have been a huge Piston's fan since I was a little kid. Some of my best memories were of going to the Pontiac Silverdome to watch the "Bad Boys" in the 1980's. Joe Dumars was my favorite player. I loved to watch him play. He was always guarding the other team's best player and more often then not shut them down. Micheal Jordon once said that his toughest match up was playing against Joe Dumars.
He was never a flashy player, he was all business, he was a winner. I got the chance to meet Dumars after a conversation-style event at Macomb Community College on Oct 29. The moderator was writer/journalist Jack Lessenberry. It was an interesting evening. The two of them touched on a lot of different aspects of Dumars' career. The main point that I got from the session was that Dumars based his success on the lessons that his parents taught him. Humility was the quality that he stressed. Dumars said that it was because of the way his parents raised him that he was able to avoid the traps that come with fame and fortune, especially at such a young age.
After the session was over there was a brief q&a, but I never was called upon. I was disappointed. But after the q&a, Dumars stayed to take pictures and sign autographs. I got a picture with him and an autograph. I was about to leave when the journalist in me took over. I turned around and just as he was walking out the door I stopped and explained that I am a student journalist and I never got to ask my question. He smiled and said "what do you want to ask?" I took out my recorder and fired away.
"You were considered a nice guy with real good sportsmanship, playing on the 'Bad Boys' one of the nastiest, most physical teams of all time, how did those two situations coincide with each other and did you ever get frustrated with the perception of you being on a team of that nature?"
Dumars responded, "Oh I didn't get frustrated, I loved playing with the 'Bad Boys.' Here's my thing about playing with them and being a nice guy, I always told people 'don't get confused with nice guy and tough guy,' I always felt you could be a nice guy, but also be a tough guy on the court at the same time. It's what I tried to do. I just felt like, if I knocked you down real hard, I didn't mind picking you back up, but I'd do it again, then I'd pick you back up again."
At that, we both laughed, he shook my hand and I walked out the door, feeling like an excited little kid.
For Joe Dumars' bio click here.
To view a Joe Dumars Highlight clip, click here
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