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Me and Marcus Dupree
Published: 11/10/2010 7:03 AM
Last Modified: 11/10/2010 7:03 AM

Marcus Dupree was not the best I ever saw.
I have seen Barry Sanders, Gale Sayers, Earl Campbell, Emmitt Smith and Eric Dickerson.
I’ve sat in stadiums and watched Billy Sims, Thurman Thomas, Steve Owens, Adrian Peterson, Terry Miller and Joe Washington.
So, Dupree wasn’t the best. But, he could have been.
Dupree was the subject of an ESPN documentary film, “The Best That Never Was”, that aired Tuesday night.
My two most memorable moments with Dupree had nothing to do with him playing. It had everything to do with him just showing up.
The first was OU photo day his freshman year. The anticipation of seeing him in an OU uniform on the practice field in Norman was pretty high.
When he walked out of the locker room, and into the bright spotlight of the media, every eye was on him. I had never seen anything like him.
He was huge. He looked perfect.
Then, the following August, there were rumors that Dupree was unhappy and that things weren’t good in his relationship with coach Barry Switzer.
Still, it came as quite a shocker when he did not show up for photo day and the first day of practice.
I stood on the practice field with my old friend Bob Hersom of the Daily Oklahoman, just south of the south end zone, nervously joking with each other about the whereabouts of Dupree. Finally, after glancing over at the locker room door every time it opened, expecting to see Dupree, Switzer made it official.
The story was that Dupree’s car was broken down and he’d be here later.
I don’t think anyone bought that story. The rumors that he didn’t want to come back to Oklahoma were pretty strong. Plus, from what we knew, he drove a nicer car than all of the media guys waiting to see him that day.
Dupree was an unbelievable player. I’ve always wondered just how good he could have been.
That glimpse of him as a freshman was magnificent.
But, we never really got to see it in full bloom. So, we’ll never know how good he could have been.



Reader Comments 13 Total
DomoArrigato (2 years ago)
Crash Davis in "Bull Durham" defined Marcus Dupree...

" Come on, Rook. Show us that million-dollar arm, 'cause I got a good idea about that five-cent head of yours. "
Ignatz (2 years ago)
Was it the Sun Bowl where Dupree had 200 yards rushing and a sportscaster stuck a microphone in Switzer's face and asked him to comment on a remarkable performance and Switzer said ,"he should have had 300 yards?" I remember thinking that it is unusual for a coach to openly criticize such a good player. Barry seemed to put up with all kinds of malcreants on the team, so Marcus must have been very special to have rubbed him the wrong way. Perhaps expectations were way too high, considering the attitude of that "student-athlete" (I always loved how Barry just called them "football players.")
Ignatz (2 years ago)
Sorry...meant "miscreants" and "malcontents", although that's not a bad word to create.
JoJo (2 years ago)
I saw the show last night. Everyone from OU to the Mississipi Reverend (forgot the parasite's name) used Dupree. One thing I didn't know, he played 2 seasons with the NFL LA Rams.
But What Do I Know? (2 years ago)
Take a look at some Marcus Dupree videos on YouTube. He was truly remarkable. A player his size with that strength, quickness and speed - Wow! I like watching him pull away from d-backs. And that poor dude that gets in the way of an MD stiff arm. Bet he didn't do that again.

Another name that comes to mind of wasted talent like Marcus's is a fellow ex-Sooner. Joe Don Looney.
SoonerDJ (2 years ago)
Anyone know where online this can be watched. ESPN America in Europe only shows freakin Hockey!
Ferris Bueller (2 years ago)
I saw the program too. Tragic story. I don't know how you protect these kids from the abuse that comes through the university courting process. The detailed rules of the NCAA seem like nonsense until you see a story like this one. Also tragic was the knee injury at 23 that took away his future athletic career. From multi-million dollar athlete to trucker but the better part of the story seemed to be the contentment that MD has achieved.
tulsandn (2 years ago)
I got to see Marcus Dupree play against Colorado in Boulder....

He returned a punt 70 yards for a TD that day.... At the 40 a CU player was right behind him, at the 10 he was running by himself on into the endzone....

He was special, I remember against either K-State or Mizzou, the way he weaved through the line of scrimmage & then smoothly shifted gears & was gone on another long TD run....

An OU assistant coach used the term, "A cadillac body with a volkswagon brain...."
the original Ace (2 years ago)
Watched the show last night too. When all this was going on in the 80's I felt that MD let OU and the fans down. Now I think the peopple around Marcus let him down. I think he is easily influenced. What a shame. Another "could have been" for OU: Aaron Goins from Owasso.
Bart78 (2 years ago)
FTA: "Plus, from what we knew, he drove a nicer car than all of the media guys waiting to see him that day."

Mr. Klein, please favor us with the story of how you investigated the source of that vehicle. Oh, I remember now, it was the Sooners so that was no problem, right??? Can we compare your coverage of that with your coverage of Hart Lee Dykes a few years later and 80 miles north?
Glenn616 (2 years ago)
lgnatz, that was actually the 1983 Fiesta Bowl game against Arizona State.
jmann22 (2 years ago)
I watched also last night.The whole time I watched I was thinking marcus was just a KID and it was so sad that he did not have a dad or strong male figure in his life to guide him and keep him from snakes like the so called REV FAIRLY or what ever his name was.That dude was a snake.It was really sad to watch marcus watch viedo of himself.You could tell it was hitting him how good he could have been.
Ignatz (2 years ago)
Thanks, Glenn. I just remember it was someplace with a desert. 27 years is a long time.
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Klein's Korner

Tulsa World senior sports columnist John Klein is in his fourth decade of covering sports. He started his newspaper career at The Daily Ardmoreite in 1977 and moved to the Tulsa World in 1978. He served 10 years as sports editor for the Tulsa World before being named to his current position in 2005. He also spent five years as the Southwest Conference beat writer for the Houston Post. He has won many writing awards and is a former Oklahoma Sports Writer of the Year.

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