Globetrotter: Ron DuBois Completes Cal Poly Coaching Staff
7/18/2024 10:29:00 AM | Men's Basketball
SAN LUIS OBISPO – St. John’s, capital city of Caribbean nation Antigua and Barbuda, sits 3,795 miles from San Luis Obispo and Montevideo, Uruguay’s capital since 1830, is 6,381 miles south. UC Davis, the Cal Poly men’s basketball program’s Big West opponent for 17 years, sits a lot closer while Santa Cruz, site of the Golden State Warriors’ G League franchise and Division III program UC Santa Cruz, is just a two-and-a-half hour drive from Mott Athletics Center.
Ron DuBois, Cal Poly’s first year assistant, has coached, worked and studied basketball in each locale and many more both domestic (Memphis, Phoenix, Chico) and abroad (France, Mexico).
“Basketball has taken Ron all over the world,” said first-year Cal Poly head coach Mike DeGeorge, who initially crossed paths with DuBois after the latter approached the former about a coaching position with Division III Rhodes College (Memphis) in 2010. “For the past 14 years, he’s served a variety of roles for me including assistant coach, mentor, confidant and friend. There’s no finer person or coach and I’m thrilled we’ll be able to have him on staff. He’s played a major role in the coaching development of [Cal Poly assistants] Kyle Bossier and Sam Walters. He’ll be able to help unify the staff in its purpose and our players will benefit tremendously from his experience at every level.”“It’s a simple game, but its played differently in different parts of the world,” DuBois said. “I just loved learning new things. I loved the FIBA game – the way the game is played at that level and the ability to see and learn from different coaches and different types of basketball. I loved seeing different parts of the world and meeting new people. In France, I got to scout opponents and travel to different cities. In Mexico, I got to travel again and experience different cultures. It’s something I have a passion for and enjoy.”
With 16 years of NCAA experience and seven between the NBA and G League, DuBois arrives in San Luis Obispo as one of Cal Poly’s five first-year assistants, serving the program in recruiting evaluations, opponent scouting and quality control in all aspects of team operations.
It’s a simple game, but its played differently in different parts of the world. I just loved learning new things. I loved the FIBA game – the way the game is played at that level and the ability to see and learn from different coaches and different types of basketball. I loved seeing different parts of the world and meeting new people. In France, I got to scout opponents and travel to different cities. In Mexico, I got to travel again and experience different cultures. It’s something I have a passion for and enjoy.- Ron DuBois, Cal Poly Men's Basketball Assistant Coach
A native of Lodi, Calif., DuBois played collegiately at Arizona State, rising to the program’s captaincy for his 1998-99 senior season. His coaching career began the very next season as a graduate assistant with the Sun Devils. After completing his master’s degree, DuBois served as a video coordinator with the Phoenix Suns from 2001-03 and, in 2002, as an assistant coach with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury.
An assistant coaching role followed with UC Davis (2003-06) – then in its transition to Division I – alongside a head coaching stop with the Chico Force (2005, 2006) of the former International Basketball League.
DuBois’ first international assignment came during the 2006-07 season with French first division club Paris Basket Racing as a coaching staff analyst.
A return to the NBA followed as an assistant coach with the Memphis Grizzlies and as a head coach for the franchise during the Las Vegas Summer League.
“[After two seasons] the coaching staff was let go. It was right when Mike DeGeorge was hired at Rhodes College,” said DuBois, who also took charge of the Antigua and Barbuda Men’s National Team in 2009 before syncing up with DeGeorge. “My wife [Rebecca] was doing a postdoctorate [in Memphis] and just couldn’t leave. I knocked on Mike’s door and said, ‘hey, I’d love to be a part of the staff.’ It was right about the time Kyle Bossier did the same thing. Ever since then we’ve been connected and Mike’s been a great mentor for me.”
In two seasons alongside DeGeorge, DuBois helped kickstart the program’s revival. Having sustained 10 straight losing seasons prior to DeGeorge’s appointment, Rhodes captured the Southern Athletic Association title a year after DuBois’ departure.
In 2012, DuBois began his lengthiest coaching stint, continuing at the Division III level, but returning west to UC Santa Cruz.
He's coached in ????, ????, ????, ????, the NBA, G League and NCAA Divisions 1?, 2? & 3?. Bringing more than two decades of experience to the Cal Poly men's basketball coaching staff, please welcome Ron DuBois!#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/Lg2If3g1QR
— Cal Poly Men’s Basketball (@calpolymbb) July 18, 2024
“There were a lot of draws to the Division III level that coach DeGeorge opened my eyes to when we worked together at Rhodes,” DuBois said. “It’s a great quality of life balance. [My wife and I] were starting a family and we wanted to get back to California. We’d lived abroad in France, then Memphis; when the opportunity came at UC Santa Cruz, it wasn’t just a chance for me basketball-wise to be a head coach, but it’s a research university that my wife could work toward being a professor.”
DuBois concluded his nine-season tenure at UC Santa Cruz in 2021 as the Banana Slugs program’s all-time victories leader and with a 100 percent student-athlete graduate rate.
He also provided the coaching start for fellow first-year Cal Poly assistant Sam Walters, who joined UC Santa Cruz in 2019.
[Ron has] an unbelievable basketball mind and he’s so well-traveled. He’s coached in Paris, Mexico, Uruguay, the NBA, college – all these cool places. It’s pretty special and he’s the most down-to-Earth, humble guy ever, but he’s been around some of the best coaches in the game. To be honest, I didn’t know how cool of an opportunity it was to work with him at UC Santa Cruz.- Sam Walters, Cal Poly Men's Basketball Assistant Coach
By 2021, DuBois had one more international adventure. His wife, now a tenured professor at UC Santa Cruz, was due for a sabbatical. Uruguay was the destination and a position as a coaching staff analyst with national basketball federation opened.
“It was an amazing opportunity with all of their national team programs, which were headed by Rubén Magnano (editor’s note: a FIBA Hall of Fame inductee, Magnano, among many distinctions, coached Argentina to the 2004 Olympics gold medal). For me, it was just another chance in my career to learn from an amazing coach,” DuBois said. “As part of the national team programs, I just brought a different view. It was an amazing adventure for our family. I was able to keep those relationships going – not just everything I learned on the court, but some great friendships were formed off the court.”
Professional basketball though came calling once more in 2022. This time, DuBois – continuing as a coaching staff analyst – was behind the scenes with the G League’s Santa Cruz Warriors.
“I’d been coaching in college for the previous decade and to get back to the NBA after having been with Memphis and Phoenix was refreshing,” DuBois said. “The game had changed so much in 10 years. I soaked in all the things they were teaching and how they implemented their style of play. I tried to pass along all of the things I was learning to Mike DeGeorge and Kyle Bossier. I was grateful with what [Santa Cruz’s coaching staff] was able to share with me. It was cool to stay at the forefront of the highest level and what they’re teaching.”
Now, DuBois provides more than two decades of coaching experience to the Cal Poly program, re-joining DeGeorge, Bossier and Walters on the Mott Athletics Center sideline. The trio is joined by Jesse Pruitt, who comes to Cal Poly after eight seasons with Stanford, and BJ Andrews, who arrived with DuBois and Bossier from Division II Colorado Mesa.
It all goes back to Mike and the trust we’ve developed over the years and how much I believe in him and have learned from him. He’s played a big part in my career and I really value him as a coach and person. I think he’s a great tone setter. I knew [Cal Poly] would be an amazing opportunity because I have so much respect for him.- Ron DuBois, Cal Poly Men's Basketball Assistant Coach
[DeGeorge] has always been able to adapt to his teams. Sometimes the styles have changed over the years, but what I really appreciate about him is his ability to set the tone for the whole program, his professionalism and his character and how he can really develop trust within a group and coaching staff. That’s really the foundation of his programs and something I really appreciate – when you’re apart of something that everyone can collaborate and feel valued from players to coaches, its really valuable.
