By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications
The college basketball season is long. With regular season games in early November running through March, every student-athlete, and team, invariably goes through ups and downs.
The Lehigh men’s basketball program features someone who is a resource – not only during the low moments, but also the high moments. That someone is character coach Billy Dunn, who is entering his second season on staff in 2018-19. He has made his presence felt by doing the little things that are often overlooked.
“I hope to be a multidimensional resource,” said Dunn. “I’ve carried water bottles and I’ve picked up towels. I’ve spent time with our players one-on-one and I’ve contributed to staff meetings.
“I hope when the coaching staff looks at my work, they say I bring two big things,” Dunn continued. “All of our guys are going to move into some type of profession and wherever they go, leadership and character are always going to matter. As a dad, as a husband and as a contributor to the community, those things are always going to matter and that’s what I get to speak into.”
The second part of Dunn’s role deals with faith.
“I never make the faith aspect a mandatory thing or something that guys have to be a part of. A lot of what I do isn’t faith based at all; it’s just character development,” he said. “The organization I’m with is called Nations of Coaches, which partners with college basketball programs to take performance to a higher level by building complete champions in mind, body and soul.”
Dunn is invested in the people within the Lehigh men’s basketball program. For him, it’s all about the program.
Early Passion for People
Dunn’s passion for helping people began at a young age and has only grown stronger over the years.
“I grew up in a single-parent family and I remember when I was 12 years old, my mom was dating a guy who looked at me square in the eyes and asked what I wanted to do with the rest of my life,” said Dunn. “At that point, I had started to sense I wanted to be involved in people’s lives to help make their lives better. He asked why I’d want to do that, saying it’s such a waste of time and there’s no money in it.
“Well, he was right with one of the two,” Dunn continued. “It’s definitely not a lot of money, but it’s not a waste of time.
“That was the catalyst for really wanting, to the best of my ability, invest in the lives of other people.”
Dunn went on to play soccer at Cairn University, even playing overseas for a couple years. He earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees along the way, leading to new endeavors post-graduation.
“A friend and I started Push The Rock (pushtherock.org), a sports ministry that strives to impact people’s lives across the world,” said Dunn. “I’ve been on a number of international trips around the world, serving in close to 50 foreign countries. We work primarily in areas where kids have next to nothing.”
Dunn worked in an African country where most kids who came to his basketball camp had no shoes. He also worked another camp in the Ukraine, about 25 miles outside of where Chernobyl happened, and doctors had to come evaluate the children because of issues like radiation.
“Putting on sport camps for these incredible kids was also a catalyst to character and leadership development in young people,” said Dunn. “In these situations, they taught me the value of perseverance and commitment.”
Intersection of Two Passions at Lehigh
A former basketball coach at Liberty High School, Allentown Central Catholic and Emmaus High School, Dunn is merging multiple passions from his life. Sports can teach so much about life.
“I get to take my love for the game and my passion for faith to serve others, which tie together so well,” he said.
“Sports does two things at the same time,” Dunn continued. “Sports builds character and it reveals character, often in the same play. That’s how my journey got started. I’ve worked in professional sports, which includes in the Philadelphia Phillies organization as a chaplain for the Reading Phillies.”
When an opportunity at Lehigh arose, Dunn couldn’t pass it down.
“Billy is here by invitation to serve as an additional resource outside of our coaching staff, but connected to our coaching staff, for our student-athletes,” said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed.
“The coaching staff is outstanding,” said Dunn. “As I got to know Coach Reed, Wyche, Morra and Hightower, I knew I was at the right place. Once I got to know the players, I knew I found a home.
“There were moments when I walked into Stabler Arena this past year and I felt so blessed to be able to serve here at Lehigh.”
Dunn’s Impact
Dunn made an immediate impact on the Mountain Hawks last season. Some players utilized him more than others, but whether someone talked with him multiple times per week or just a few times all year, Dunn was always there for everyone.
“Billy brings an overall personality and charisma,” said rising sophomore Caleb Bennett. “He brings a vocal presence and is someone who genuinely cares about everyone. I feel as though I’ve had an outlet for myself and I know my teammates have had an outlet as well. He’s always there for us.”
Dunn is there for the student-athletes in the short term, but also helping them grow in the long term.
“There were strategic times in the year when Coach Reed would give me five, ten or even 15 minutes to speak to our guys about leadership,” said Dunn. “One thing a lot of guys talked about was called The Law of the Lid. You can be a zero to 10 in your leadership skill and a zero to 10 in your character. If your leadership is an eight, but your character is a two, the amount of influence you’re going to have is very small.
“Our goal is moving our guys to be great leaders and also great character guys where now, they can get the most of who they are and get the most out of the program.”
Dunn also led a chapel before games, which was open to whoever was interested.
“There would be guys who would seek me out and ask if I would mind praying for him before the game, so I would offer that,” said Dunn.
“I also met with many of our guys one-on-one, really just to encourage them. I’d grab lunch with them, grab dinner with them. Just get to know them and let them know I was here to serve them.”
Dunn’s impact last year was tangible for many individuals, and for the team as a whole.
“There was a point during the season where I was really down on myself,” said Bennett. “I wasn’t playing my best brand of basketball and Billy sat down and talked to me. Whether we were talking about basketball or just life in general, he was always there for me and always helped me get past them.”
“Billy is great at being subtle,” said rising senior Kyle Leufroy. “He can pick it up when he knows somebody is going through something… something deeper than basketball. He’ll come over and ask what’s up and help you get through it the best he can. Billy is definitely someone we look forward to seeing every day.”
Being a part-time job for Dunn, no one has questioned his devotion to the program. Two nights after a tough home loss to Navy, the Mountain Hawks played at Holy Cross on a Monday night.
That’s when a simple action spoke volumes.
“I just felt like I needed to be there [at Holy Cross],” said Dunn.
On Monday, Dunn worked until 12:30 then jumped in his car and drove the five hours. After the game, he immediately drove home, arriving at 2:30 in the morning.
“I wanted our guys to know I’m in and I’m committed to you,” he said.
The trip was well worth it as the team pulled out an exciting win in a nationally-televised game on CBS Sports Network, sparking an eight-game winning streak to end the regular season.
“It’s been really gratifying to observe Billy interact with our team,” said Reed. “I think something that really captures his spirit is the fact that he’s taken trips and driven himself to Virginia to Worcester, Massachusetts to Colgate in Hamilton, New York. He did so going the extra mile in addition to his normal day job, because he wanted to be there and he wanted the players and coaches to understand how invested he is in their experience.”
An Even Larger Role
Dunn was at most games and most practices last year, but Dunn is taking on an increased role within the program moving forward.
“I will be involved about 20 hours a week, making myself more available,” said Dunn. “In the past, one of our players would ask about grabbing lunch. I’d look at my schedule and realize I can, but in eight days. It was too long.
“I’m also going to ask our guys about how I could continue cultivating leadership and character,” Dunn continued. “One of our players asked if I would be willing to lead a lunch, every other week. We would study a leadership book together and meet at lunch here at Rathbone Dining Hall on campus, spend an hour eating together and just talking about leadership.
“The way I would describe it is doing life together. They already do life together on the court and in the locker room. My goal is to help cultivate doing life with a leadership and character focus, both on and off the court.”
In the end, Dunn is doing what he loves at a place he loves. He couldn’t ask for more.
“I wanted to adjust my schedule to be more a part of this,” said Dunn. “Once I got to know our players, I fell in love with the role because of the guys… not the role. I could do this role in a lot of ways or in a lot of places, but I fell in love with this group – the way they compete, the way they work hard and what Lehigh means as an academic institution.
“There’s a guy I love to read, Bob Goff, who said we are all rough drafts of the people we’re still becoming,” Dunn continued. “I look at our young men, who are just beginning to develop a pedigree and foundation of leadership and character. It’s going to carry them in their place of employment, who they marry if they choose to marry, the way they serve the community and the kids they might raise.
“You’ll never regret investing in those things.”
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