Who’s Your Daddy: Jared Dudley

What is the most important life lesson your dad passed down to you?

“Wow. That is a great question. My dad was a smart guy, he was an engineer who got his degree at Irvine. I just remember my dad working hard, especially at an early age. He use to always say, ‘always respect everybody.’ I remember that my dad always said ‘hi’ to everybody. It’s funny cause my dad lives in Arizona now so he is always at my basketball games. You would think he was a part-owner with the way he walks around the arena. He says ‘hi’ to all security, chefs, he know more people at the arena than I do. We use to walk the street and he would always say ‘hi’ to everybody. So I would say work hard and say “hi” to everybody.”

What is the most memorable sports experience you remember with your dad?

“You know what, my parents were divorced early on in the 80s, but my sports experience that I remember is my dad coming to my games. I remember him coming to my games in high school and coming to my games in college at Boston College. It was like, at that point of time when your parents are divorced and they come back to your games and see you, man, you’ve gotten a lot better, you have improved your game, it was a cool feeling to experience that with my dad. Sometimes, dads come in and out of your life, and they don’t come back, but my dad came back. For him to experience that and see me get drafted by Charlotte, with him being from North Carolina, that was a cool moment for us.”

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