But crowds usually don’t gather to hear him speak, as the case was Saturday in Mount Pleasant, Mich., home of Central Michigan University. Dumars addressed one of three commencement ceremonies for December graduates at CMU’s Rose Arena.

Allison Andres, a history major who received her Bachelor of Science degree, said the graduates were eager to hear what the Pistons’ legend had to say. “Before we walked out to the arena, a lot of the students were talking about it and anticipating listening to him speak,” Andres said. “They were all pretty excited we were able to experience it during our ceremony.”

Kirsten Nicholson, Ph.D., an assistant professor of biology and curator of natural history at CMU’s Museum of Cultural and Natural History, was one of the faculty members in attendance.

“I know throughout the museum a lot of people were excited to hear that he was going to speak and were curious to hear what he was going to say,” Nicholson said. “You don’t often hear about athletes giving graduation addresses.”

Dumars spoke at the 5 p.m. ceremony, while CMU Trustee Emeritus Jerry Campbell spoke during the 9:30 a.m. ceremony and Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land addressed the 1:30 p.m. graduates - to the envy of some CMU graduates. “There was one student in particular that I talked to” from an earlier ceremony, Andres said. “He mentioned, ‘Yeah, you guys got to listen to Joe Dumars!’ He was pretty bummed.”

Dumars’ remarks were not uncommon for a graduation ceremony. “I think the most relevant and most memorable (parts) were when he talked about success and not letting anything stand in your way. Be your own self, be true to your values, don’t let anybody try to tell you how to live your life or what you should be - define it for yourself,” Nicholson said.

Dumars’ message struck a chord with an audience that has seen him succeed - and fail - on the very public stage of professional athletics. He’s won three NBA championships with the Pistons but also fallen short of two more in heart-breaking Game 7 defeats.

“I guess what stuck out to me the most was he really emphasized, you’re going to be coming across a lot of failures in your life and it’s okay,” Andres said. “Don’t ever quit. If you keep failing just keep trying and do whatever makes you happy in life. … Know who you are and don’t let anyone else tell you who you are.”

Dumars also exhibited one of the finest qualities in a commencement speaker - brevity. His address was between 10 to 15 minutes, after which he received an honorary doctorate in commercial science. He then apologized for his abrupt departure as he tried to beat the impending snowstorm to the airport.

In a matter of minutes, Dumars had left the graduates with a sage advice to ‘know who you are.’ In doing so, he had also left them with a fairly strong impression of who he was.

“It seemed like he was very down to earth and somebody that anybody could relate to, actually, which is kind of surprising, being how he is famous,” Andres said. “It was nice to see he was very down to earth and he was able to talk to you like anybody (else).”

Just your average Joe - make that “Dr. Joe.”