Chauncey Billups wants his involvement with the Porter-Billups Leadership Academy to go beyond his name. The trouble is, the Denver-based youth institute isn’t exactly in the same neighborhood as The Palace.

“It’s a really, really beautiful thing,” Billups gushed before Friday’s win over Orlando. “I wish it was closer to me, like it was right here in Detroit, so I could go down and see it. It’s been a beautiful thing.”

Over the past couple of days, the Pistons’ All-Star found a temporary solution. He hosted six academy students ranging from middle school to high school seniors. He had dinner with them when they arrived Thursday, and while he was preparing for Friday night’s game he scheduled field trips to the Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History and the Motown Historical Museum. After the students watched Billups score 21 points against the Magic, they had dinner with him again. All Billups wanted in return was their company.

“It will be a good trip for them,” he said. “It’s a good opportunity for me to see them. I probably wouldn’t be able to until the end of the season or when I go home to play the Nuggets so it’s going to be a very great trip.”

The trip was made possible by Billups’ partnership with Lonnie Porter, who founded the leadership academy in 1996. Most Pistons fans have never heard of Porter, who has amassed more than 460 victories in 29 years as head coach of Regis University to become Colorado’s winningest collegiate coach. But for the Denver native Billups, Porter’s name is so revered he was reluctant to offer his assistance to Porter’s off-court venture. Billups said he had “admired it from afar” since the program began, and he finally connected with Porter through a mutual friend two years ago.

“It’s funny, because initially I didn’t really want to tell him I wanted to be involved because I didn’t want my name to overpower his so much, and I come to find out he wanted me involved but he didn’t want me to think he’s was coming at me just to get (my name) on the project. So long story short, we locked up and it’s been great ever since. The Leadership Academy has 130 kids right now it’s probably going to grow to 160.”

Porter’s daughter, Staci Porter-Bentley, has helped run the academy since its inception. She has seen its growth potential multiply since it became the Porter-Billups Leadership Academy in 2006.

“Having Chauncey on board definitely takes the program to a completely higher level,” Porter-Bentley said. “Just having his name associated with us has helped us generate more funds for the program. When I have speaking engagements people know about the program and are willing to become involved. … Just knowing that that support is going to be there makes all the difference for us.”

The academy works with administrators around Denver to identify promising youths as early as grade school. If they meet academic benchmarks and prove themselves to be “leaders among their peers,” the academy – through an endowment funded predominantly by Billups – will pay for the student’s tuition to Regis University. If the student chooses to attend another school, the academy will try to provide grants and help secure scholarships. The academy itself is free.

“It’s not about paying to get in. We don’t want you to ever have to worry about that,” Billups said. “It’s not a financial commitment in any way. All you have to be committed to is learning and trying to reach your potential and trying to reach all your requirements: being at school on time, meeting a certain standard and being there everyday for three weeks in the summer and having a fun time and making new friends.”

Billups didn’t mention anything about basketball. And he won’t. On the home page of the academy’s Web site, www.porter-billups.org, one word is underlined: non-sports. The fact the academy was founded by a college coach and now has an NBA All-Star as a spokesperson and endower is merely coincidental. To be blunt, there is no basketball component whatsoever. It’s a point they like to stress so others do not lose sight of the real mission: building leaders in the community through education and civic involvement.

“We have the biggest part of the program in the summertime,” Billups said. “But one thing about it is it has nothing to do with athletics. Nothing about athletics, it’s all academic stuff and teaching you to be confident, about etiquette, just people skills.”

Academy participants don’t go to the three-week leadership seminar once or twice, but every summer they’re in the program. That long-term commitment by the kids is why Billups feels obligated to do more than lend his name. It’s the reason the Pistons captain feels like he should be one of the leaders to challenge them and inspire them.

“When we’re together and spending time with him, he doesn’t really ever talk about basketball,” Porter-Bentley said. “He talks with the kids about, ‘So what are you going to be when you grow up? What college do you want to go to? What are you going to do to give back?' We spend very little time talking about athletics.”

For Juanita Archuleta, 18, one of the soon-to-be academy graduates who came to Detroit, meeting Billups was the highlight of the trip – Billups the person, not the basketball player.

“He’s a real guy, he’s a real person. He’s not Mr. Big Shot like everyone thinks,” she said. “He’s just a nice guy and hard-working and welcoming to you. Last night we were talking about education and he was telling us you have to go for your goals but don’t ever forget where you came from.”

Carlos Lomeli, 17, knows where Billups is from. They’re from the same part of Denver. He goes to the same rec center Billups once did and has even seen him there on occasion.

”I was excited he was coming back to Denver to help the community,” said Lomeli, who has been in the program since third grade. “Hopefully when I’m successful, I can do something like what Mr. Billups has done, to give back to the community, to show kids that once you do make it or become successful, it’s OK to give back.”

Billups first thought about bringing the kids to Detroit after meeting the students last summer. It has been his most personal project with the academy so far, and he’s working on future projects he won’t specifically speak about yet. “But it’s looking good,” he said. “There’s a real bright future.”

He should know. He’s helping build it.