http://thefacts.com/story.lasso?ewcd=9bbdd3a881a50ac0 Houston executive helps rebuild team By Joel Luna The Facts Published January 8, 2006 Dedication is what Dennis Dale Lindsey has been all about since he picked up a basketball for the first time. For him to better himself at a game that he wanted to prosper in after high school and college, Lindsey dropped football and baseball from his repertoire to give hoops his full attention. “If I wanted to play at a higher level, I had to give up those other sports,” Lindsey said. “In basketball, one has to have some athleticism. But in order for the skill development, I had to play everyday.” Lindsey took it upon himself to make sure the development was not short-changed, practicing every day for six years from junior high through high school. “It was a ritual for me, dribbling the ball through my neighborhood every day,” Lindsey said. “I have been lucky to build a career in it.” As vice president of basketball operations for the Houston Rockets, Lindsey still is bouncing the ball, but in a different fashion. In charge of the scouting department, Lindsey has little time to waste attending between 150 to 180 games during the season, including Rockets games, as well as college and foreign games. Lindsey and his staff dissect miles and miles of scouting tapes to learn everything about a player the Rockets are interested in. The former Brazoswood standout joined the Rockets as a scout in 1996. “I used to have some down time in August and September, but not as much now,” Lindsey said. “With the international talent picking up, I spent quite a bit of time in China scouting Yao (Ming).” During the season, he will take three trips across the Atlantic and scout about 10 European games. Lindsey also evaluates talent from the National Basketball Developmental League and the Continental Basketball Association. He also takes in three or four NCAA basketball tournament games each day of the March event. Lindsey finds time to prepare for the draft, check out the free agency market, keep up with Houston’s summer league team, view trade proposals and crunch statistical and salary numbers, as well, during his busy days. “He is my right-hand guy, the one that I meet with the most,” Houston general manager Carroll Dawson said. “He is good at what he does and has a great future ahead of him. I rely on him a lot and is a good personnel guy. Some day he will be an executive and he currently has a great name in the NBA.” As a high school senior for the Bucs in 1987, Lindsey led District 24-5A with a 21.5 points-per-game average, while pulling down seven rebounds and dishing out four assists. For his accomplishments Lindsey was selected the district’s most valuable player and helped the Bucs reach the regional quarterfinals. He joined the varsity team as a sophomore and entered the starting lineup as a junior. Lindsey went on to play at Baylor, where he teamed in the backcourt with Rockets guard David Wesley. An ankle injury sidelined him in his sophomore year, along with a family tragedy. While returning home from seeing Lindsey play at Baylor, his mom was killed in an automobile accident. His dad, Dennis Earl Lindsey, and sister, Christy Lindsey, were seriously injured. “When you lose a parent in any fashion it is tragic,” Lindsey said. “My mom passed away immediately when the accident happened and my dad, sister and foster child we had were pretty beat up. It rocked us pretty good as a family. After the accident I did consider not going back that fall, but my family convinced me to return. I believe that when something is taken away, God gives you something else. It was during that time that I met my future wife. That was a difficult time and I have never been completely whole, but I got healthy and helped my family move on.” Lindsey started as a freshman at Baylor and experienced the NCAA tournament. Later in his career, he also played in the National Invitational Tournament. After the surgery to his ankle, Lindsey was primarily a sixth man for the Bears. Born in Freeport in 1969, he first learned the game from Clute Intermediate coach Jack Kern. It was at that point of his life that Lindsey knew basketball was going to be a big part of his life. Later on, Brazoswood head coach Bob Cook entered the picture and Lindsey considered him like a second father. “I knew at one point that after playing I wanted too coach,” Lindsey said. “Which I did when I was done at Baylor. I coached at Southwest High School in Fort Worth. By the age of 36, I wanted to be a Division I college coach. Eventually I wanted to go into the NBA as a coach, but the scouting gig came along and I saw it had so many opportunities inside of management.” Already a father of three, in Jacob, Matthew and Meredith, Lindsey and his wife, Rebecca, are expecting a fourth child in March. With three promotions since he joined the Rockets, Lindsey is staying the course to see what else he can conquer. “He is one of the most self-disciplined kids that I’ve met,” Dennis Earl Lindsey said. “His dedication for working out always came first, even when his girlfriend came over. She had to wait until he finished.” With more than 100 family members in Brazoria County, including his dad and sister, Lindsey considers the area his true home. As he criss crosses the country from one assignment to the next, he feels like this is what he was meant to do. “If you love sports, other than playing, there is no greater experience,” Lindsey said. “I work basketball 24/7 and I could do this for the next 20 years and be happy. But my ambitions are to be in charge as a coach or manager. I just feel lucky for getting into the league at the age of 27 and having nine years of scouting and upper management experience so far.” Joel Luna is a sports writer for The Facts and can be reached at (979) 237-0160.
