Former LSU Basketball Player, NBA Executive Ronald Dupree, Returns To LSU In New Basketball General Manager Position

BATON ROUGE – Former star LSU player, 11-year pro and longtime NBA executive, Ronald Dupree, will join Coach Matt McMahon’s Tiger basketball staff in the newly created position of General Manager.

He has served since 2017 as a scout for the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks and since the 2023-24 season has been the Director of Global Scouting for the franchise.

Dupree has used his firsthand experience in his time with the Bucks to create a deeper understanding for the team of player development, departmental collaboration, data analysis, global talent evaluation, and strategic planning.

“I am thrilled to announce Ronald Dupree as the first General Manager of the LSU basketball program,” said Coach McMahon. “This is a special day as we welcome Ronald and his family home to LSU. As the college basketball landscape changes, it was important to add a star to our staff from the NBA’s front office world. Ronald’s experience in roster construction, player evaluation, player development, and much more will add great value to our players, future recruits, staff, and our program.”

Dupree played at LSU from 1999-2003 under then LSU Coach Jon Brady. The Tigers went to the NCAA Sweet 16 and won the conference championship in 2000, his freshman season. He was on teams that advanced to the second round of the NIT in 2002 and the NCAA Tournament in 2003.

He was the leading scorer in the league in 2001 at 17.3 points per game and second in rebounding at 8.8 boards per game. He was also near the top of the league in rebounds in 2002 (8.8) and 2003 (8.5) and was among the leaders in scoring in both 2002 (16.2 ppg) and 2003 (15.8 ppg).

He is to this day ninth in both career scoring (1,726 points, 13.4 ppg average for 129 games) and in career rebounds with 907 (7.0 rpg). LSU won 81 games during the course of his four years and he was a three-time All-SEC selection.

“Thanks to the athletic administration, Coach McMahon and staff, and supporters of the program for helping to facilitate this opportunity,” said Dupree. “I am super excited to help navigate this program into a new frontier of NIL and revenue sharing space of college basketball; to build an infrastructure of process driven decision making for competitive team building and performance that leads to sustained success for years to come. My family and I are truly blessed and honored to return back to Baton Rouge … our home and alma mater. Geaux Tigers! Forever LSU.”

Dupree recorded six years of experience in the NBA as a player primarily with Chicago, Minnesota and three different stints with the Detroit Pistons. He had 14 post-season appearances with the Pistons in 2005 when they won the NBA Eastern Division.

He also played for teams in what was then the NBA Developmental League (now the NBA G-League) and with professional teams in Germany, Italy and Israel.

Upon his retirement from playing professionally, he returned to LSU to finish up his degree work and became a student coach for Coach Johnny Jones staff in 2014. He was elevated to the position of director of student development for the 2015-16 season. He then moved to Nevada as an assistant coach for the 2016-17 season before joining the Bucks prior to the 2017-18 season.

Dupree spearheaded global talent evaluation, uncovering elite prospects and future stars. He has played an integral role in team strategy, player assessment and long-team team scouting initiatives. His scouting work contributed to the Milwaukee Bucks’ NBA Championship in 2021 and Emirates Cup Championship in 2024.

The 44-year-old Dupree was born in Biloxi, Mississippi.

The hiring is subject to the normal background checks and approval of the LSU Board of Supervisors.