In a rundown gym with peeling paint, a worn surface and no air-conditioning, is where you’ll find the state of Florida’s all-time leading basketball scorer, Teddy Dupay. Even though this court has seen its best days, Dupay still finds beauty in this beat-up building. For him, it represents restoration and hope.

“I’m just trying to turn everything that’s happened negatively for me into a positive for everybody else,” the sharpshooter said.

The Former Florida Gator standout spends a lot of his time at the Prep of South Tampa, sharing his passion for the game with young athletes ranging in age, size and experience.

“I love developing young talent. I love it and I’m really good at it. I feel like that’s my purpose,” Dupay said.

That revelation marked the birth of the Teddy Dupay Basketball Academy in the summer of 2014. Known for his range from anywhere on the court, some of tamp bay’s top players have worked with Dupay including Florida’s Michael Frazier and four-star prospect Juwan Durham from Tampa Prep.

“The elite talent will benefit from this because this is specialized knowledge but it’s the average, everyday kid who wants to be better, that’s what this is all about,” Dupay added.

12-year-old Kevin Blowers has already benefitted from Dupay’s teachings.

“I think Coach Teddy is showing me how to be a competitor against people that are maybe bigger than and stronger than me.”

“He made my shot so much better. It’s part of the reason why I’m a good shooter now,” Jesuit freshman Nick Weir said.

Dupay can speak from experience. The 5-foot-10 undersized guard had an excellent career at Cape Coral Mariner High. The three-point specialist totaled a record 3,744 points, while averaging 41.5 per game as a senior. That same year in 1998, he was also named Mr. Florida basketball and garnered McDonald’s All-American honors.

“It’s hard to imagine a kid having a more storybook high school experience, not just a career, but everything was just so perfect.”

Dupay was the first recruit to commit to Florida under a young Billy Donovan.

“He’s been the one I met as a 16-year-old kid. He believed in me. He was a brand new, he was 31-year old kid and he got that job at Florida and we just decided to do that, create a new culture.”

Dupay became the face of the Gators emerging program, joining forces with future NBA players like Udonis Haslem, Mike Miller and Matt Bonner in Gainesville. They defied expectations—making the Sweet 16, followed by the program’s first national championship game in 2000, led by the sophomore Dupay. He was a program changer, but by his senior year, things began to spiral out of control. Dupay was accused of gambling on pro and college basketball games, including some at Florida. With a one-year suspension from the NCAA staring him in the face, Dupay announced he was leaving the program.

However, he was never criminally charged.

“Definitely the lowest low was that press conference. Making that press conference and giving that announcement that I was leaving the team…it was really tough," Dupay recalled.

The same ball that helped to teach him how to walk as a toddler was the same one being snatched away from him. While Dupay’s goal of making it to the NBA would never be realized, he drew upon his former coaches teachings to help get him in gear.

“I went right back to the 95 blitz mindset. That was done, sat in my room for a few days, 9/11 happened four days later, watched that in amazement, began to think how could I possibly feel sorry for myself, I don’t get to play basketball. I picked up the pieces and I started playing pro ball that year.”

Experience is sometimes the best teacher.  Now he’s taking what he’s learned and sharing it with aspiring hoopsters.

“He just says it all happens for a reason. Just persevere through it, learn from it and don’t make the same mistake again," Tampa Prep freshman Chance Jackson said.

“He said, it’s not about who you were, it’s about who you are now. I’d say he’s a pretty amazing inspiration,” Weir added.

Dupay has used basketball as a safe haven and continues to find comfort in the round ball.

“No matter how chaotic things get, when I come in the gym, it’s just very peaceful, very soothing—some people knit, some people read, I shoot hoops.”

The ultra competitor, Dupay’s dribbles drown out the echoes of past disappointments and now represent renewal with every bounce of the ball.