Dodie Dunson II sought to seize opportunities quickly as a player. Basketball rewards those who beat opponents to a spot, drive hard to the basket or hustle to take a charge. Dunson did all of those things, starring at Bloomington High School before playing collegiately at Iowa State, Vincennes and Bradley.
Find an opening and attack swiftly, aggressively. That was the mindset.
Dunson has exercised more patience as a coach. He spent 14 years as a college assistant coach, mostly in women’s basketball, with stops at Wabash Valley, Western Illinois, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, Alabama-Birmingham, Tulsa, Illinois-Chicago and Evansville.
There were opportunities to become a head coach, but Dunson waited.
“I actually had been offered some jobs, but it was finding the right one,” he said. “The number one thing for me, and I’ve always looked at my career this way, is my faith, my family and my career. I prayed about it. I was trying to find, ‘Where could I be that I could make an impact?’”
Dunson found that fit at Lewis University. He was hired in April 2025 as women’s head coach and calls himself “truly blessed” to be at the NCAA Division II school in Romeoville.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to run a program, the right program, where I could have an impact through sports,” Dunson said. “My roots are in Central Illinois and to be able to get this opportunity … sometimes you don’t get to choose that as a coach. Things just aligned at the right time. I’m super blessed and grateful.”
Dunson’s first season started slowly. The Flyers were 2-6, in part because of early injuries. They have won 12 of 13 games since then, boosting their record to 14-7 and 10-3 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Included was a 10-game win streak.
Dunson inherited a program that was 26-4 last year and 70-24 in three seasons under his predecessor, Keisha Newell, now head coach at Division I Oakland University.
Dunson researched Lewis’ women’s basketball history and learned about the school from former Flyers head coaches Newell, Sam Quigley, now at SIU Edwardsville, and Kristen Gillespie, the ninth-year head coach at Illinois State. He called Gillespie “one of my mentors.
“I just listened to mentors about how Lewis is a great job not just as a coach, but for the experience of our student-athletes,” Dunson said. “They have a rich tradition of winning. It’s big shoes to fill. But since taking the job, bringing in some of my kids and with a lot of returnees who are tremendous young ladies, it’s been awesome.
“They take care of business, but they are very competitive. I’m just happy to pull it all together and try to roll with it.”
Dunson’s first recruiting class included four freshmen and two Division I transfers. The Flyers recently lost starting forward Gabi Hoover, a 6-foot-2 junior, to a season-ending foot injury. Still, Dunson said the ceiling for his team is “unlimited.
“I tell our kids, we can’t control injuries. We can control our attitude, our mindset and just give it the best we have,” he said. “I truly believe we could have a special year if we just stay connected and give all-out effort.
“One of the quotes I tell them every day is, ‘How you do anything is how you do everything.’ So if you’re not willing to put in the work, whether it’s in the classroom or at work, you can’t expect to have successful results. But if you give it everything you have, if you just try to become the best version of yourself, positive results happen, even if it’s not perfect.”
Lewis graduated three all-conference players last year, including league Player of the Year, Taylor Gugliuzza. Several of the returning players saw action, but “did not play heavy minutes,” Dunson said.
They are in bigger roles now and have impressed their coach, who said the returnees “have been tremendous with their effort and their attitude and bringing others along … our freshmen and our transfers.”
Touting Tyler
Dunson said he has a rising star in assistant coach Tyler McCormick, a former Ridgeview High School basketball standout.
McCormick played on Bloomington’s west side under Dunson’s father, Dodie Sr. The younger Dunson stayed in touch with McCormick and persuaded him to become a women’s assistant coach last year at Evansville, where Dunson was associate head coach.
When Dunson landed the Lewis job, he immediately asked McCormick to join him.
“That is my guy,” Dunson said. “I said, ‘I have a great relationship with him, I know his roots, I know his calling.’ By God’s favor, he made the move to come with me and I’m super happy about it. He’s going to be a superstar in the business. He’s just scratching the surface.”
Norton’s impact
Dunson said he benefitted greatly from his time as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Alabama-Birmingham [UAB] under head coach Randy Norton, a former Illinois State assistant.
Norton’s sons, Tom and Nick, had played for Dunson’s father in the Team Illinois AAU program. During Dunson’s three years as a player at Bradley, Randy Norton told him, “You should think about coaching on the women’s side.” In 2018, he hired Dunson at UAB, where they coached together for three seasons.
“By the time I got there, he was like, ‘I told you you’d be coaching on the women’s side,’” Dunson said. “He has been a huge inspiration and motivator for me who has really grown me as a coach and as a man believing in God. You talk about doing things the right way. He is a lifelong friend and mentor who helped shape me into who I am today.”
Family support
Dunson’s parents, Dodie Sr. and Jaci, are regulars at Lewis home games. They have supported their son through his many moves up the coaching ladder.
“I’m so blessed and grateful that now I’m closer to Bloomington,” Dunson said. “At UAB and Tulsa, I was so far away. My dad has an ongoing thing where he tells me, ‘Son, I made it here in an hour and 20 minutes.’ Then it’s like, ‘an hour and 15.’ He tries to beat his time from his doorstep to make it to campus.”
Also in Dunson’s corner is his wife of 10 years, Tameka. He calls her “the backbone of my life.
“We met at Iowa State. She has made multiple sacrifices,” Dunson said. “She’s sacrificed her ambitions for me to chase my dreams. I wouldn’t be where I am without her. I know that for a fact.”
Dunson, 39, expressed pride in the career of his younger brother, Brandon, a men’s assistant basketball coach at nationally ranked BYU.
“I am so incredibly proud of him,” Dunson said. “I just think about the work he’s had to put in and the connections he’s made over the years. As much as I’m excited for myself, I’m more excited for him because I know the passion that he has to help people and help people grow.”
