Team NLP - 17U - HEAD COACH
Dickey Simpkins, Former Chicago Bulls
Three - Time NBA Champion
Founder and Head Coach, Dickey Simpkins', experiences have taught him that hard work, dedication, determination, and perseverance are attributes that help an athlete become successful in sports as well as in life. Dickey used these attributes to achieve success at each level. He established himself as one of the premier prep players in the Washington, D.C. area, one of the country's basketball hot beds. Simpkins achieved success while playing for Friendly High School (Ft. Washington, Md.), and grabbed All-County, All-Metropolitan, All-American Honors which led him to be selected to the Mc Donald’s Capitol Classic Team (1990). In addition to playing high school basketball, Dickey also played AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) basketball where his team won Washington, D.C. area Championships '87, '89, and '90.
After high school, he landed a full scholarship to play basketball at Providence College, in the Big East, one of the top conferences in Division I. While playing for Providence College, Dickey was selected to play in the 1991 Olympic Festival where he won a Gold medal, he was named to the Big East All-Tournament Team '92 and '94, ranked 15th in career points and helped Providence College win it’s first and only Big East Tournament Championship, 1994. Dickey graduated from Providence in 1994 with a B.A. in Marketing/Art. He was successful in completing his major by attending Providence College and Rhode Island School of Design concurrently.
In the 1994 NBA Draft, Simpkins was selected in the first round (21st overall) by the Chicago Bulls. He went on to play 6 seasons with the Bulls where he was a part of the best NBA team record ever (1996) and three NBA Championship Titles '96, '97, '98. Since 2000, Dickey has played for international professional basketball teams in various countries and territories, which include Germany, Greece, Russia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Spain, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. During his international career some of his achievements include being named to the Puerto Rico Basketball League All-Star Team '02 and Puerto Rico Basketball League Championship Title '05, FIBA Europe Championship Cup North '03, and Lithuania League All-Star Team '04.
In addition, he has played European Cup competition in Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Israel, Poland, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
"My experience, knowledge, work ethic, desire, and determination are some of the reasons for my success at the highest levels of basketball, both on and off the court...
...by each athlete using his or her talents, abilities, work ethic, consistency and determination combined with a personal hands-on training program, he or she can elevate their game to the NEXT LEVEL."
- Dickey Simpkins
