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The podcast “D&K in the lab” is getting a lot of notice for its inspirational stories and interviews of D1 college basketball players. Its co-hosts, Dex G. and Kurt Lee, aren’t afraid to dive into the realities of what it really takes to play at such a high level and the sacrifices these players make to achieve their dreams. The podcast also explores Dex’s own life as he defies the expectations of others and pursues his dreams of playing basketball at a higher level.
“While it is about basketball, I think anyone can relate to the stories and ideas they’ll hear,” Dex says. “Certainly they will be able to understand what it’s like to have people tell you that you won’t succeed. That’s what I heard when I said i was going to play basketball, and I proved them wrong when I started playing at Suffern High School in New York.”
After graduating from Marist College and continuing his education at Montclair State, Dex found success with MSU’s basketball club. “I helped them go undefeated at 7-0 during that first semester,” he remembers. “What made this so satisfying was that MSU competed in the NCBBA. This gave me so much confidence that I kept playing even while I was taking classes at different schools to become a medical records professional.”
Dex feels he really reached a higher level when he played for the team at SUNY Ulster Community College, a division 2 NJCAA. “I felt proud to be one of the four players who made it to the next level. I actually committed to playing at County College of Morris after Montclair, but after a month, I transferred to SUNY Ulster and walked on the team later on in the season. I also played semi-pro for the East Carolina Cardinals. I am still trying to play at a high level, and I will be working out with the Ghanaian team, Braves of Customs. It is one of the top basketball clubs in Ghana that competes in FIBA competition, and they have competed in the NBA-BAL qualifiers.” Dex has shown great enthusiasm for helping the team reach its ultimate goal: winning a FIBA qualifier once the pandemic slows down.
When the pandemic hit, Kurt had the idea of creating a podcast about basketball. “No one could play because of the quarantine,” Dex says, “so we were really wanting something to do. Kurt suggested the podcast, and we ran with it. We decided to really get into what it takes to become a D1 player and how difficult the road to success can be.” Kurt is not a basketball player but knows every statistic about the players, so he was a great partner to collaborate with.
“To understand our podcast, you have to get how difficult it is for high school players to make it onto a Division 1 team in college,” Dex says. “It’s not easy to do. At that level, it’s all about winning – losing isn’t acceptable. Yet, so many high schoolers are aiming for that dream. That’s one reason they’ll like this podcast, as will anyone interested in inspirational stories.”
Dex interviewed Ahmad Clark, who plays for Albany University, and Chris Galbreath, who plays for Sam Houston State, for his podcast. “They get real about how hard you must work to make it to that level, how you have to eat, and how brutal the training really is.” That’s one of the messages Dex would like to get across to high school players: the importance of changing their mentalities so that they can play at the Division 1 level.
Dex and Kurt are happy that what started as a way to pass the time during the pandemic has evolved into something much bigger. “Our own life stories are all full of struggles,” Dex says. “Being able to learn from them and pass that knowledge on to other people is important.”
