Former Chippewa Great: 'You Are Worthy'

Photo by: Lilly Sharrak, @shot.by_lilly ('29)

10/8/2026 11:06:00 AM | General, Mental Health & Wellness, Our Stories

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CMU Athletics Hall of Famer David Webber delivers powerful message to Chippewa student-athletes

By: Andy Sneddon

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The comparisons were inevitable and inescapable.

And they drew David Webber to where he is today.

Webber starred on the basketball court at CMU from 1999-2002, earning All-America honors and the Mid-American Conference Most Valuable Player Award. He was inducted into the Marcy Weston CMU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.

That's the David Webber those on campus and around Mount Pleasant remember. But away from that, he was more widely known as Chris Webber's younger brother, and living in that substantial shadow took a toll on David.

"There were moments I liked it when I was very young, but as I got older, it was awful," David Webber said. "And so I struggled with seeing my own value."

And that -- finding value in yourself -- has become Webber's mission as he works as a licensed professional counselor and licensed therapist.

He spent two days on campus, culminating in a Wednesday-night talk with CMU student-athletes in McGuirk Arena, where Webber and future NBA standout Chris Kaman led the Chippewas to the 2000-01 MAC championship.

"My 'why' is that we are worthy," Webber said. "And the reason that's important to me is that I was in my brother's shadow for so long. And that was horrible.

"I struggled with seeing my own gifts, my own talents. And so my mission is, truly, that you are worthy. And as I work with different athletes and different business people, I realize that we all struggle with it."

David Webber, 46, is seven years younger than Chris, and following in his brother's footsteps proved to be an increasing mental burden, beginning at Detroit Country Day School where fans of opposing teams taunted him with derisive chants.

Chris Webber was already a national phenom as high school freshman, and he became the crowning jewel of the University of Michigan's Fab Five in the early 1990s before going on to the NBA and, in 2021, a spot in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

The pressure on David Webber, some seven inches shorter than his uber-talented brother, was immense. And it remained so as he carved out one of the best careers in CMU basketball history and then took a swing at professional basketball.

The most intense pressure came from within, Webber said during his Wednesday-night talk with CMU student-athletes.

"No one ever called me David Webber; they always called me C Webb's little brother," he said. "No one referred to me by my name until I got to Central Michigan. The first time anyone ever called me David Webber, or D Webb, was here. I struggled to live up to being him, I struggled with my identity, with who I am.

"I could never be tall enough, I could never be fast enough, I could never be quick enough, I could never be Chris enough, it was never going to happen. And that destroyed me."

After completing a bachelor of arts degree with a major in English from CMU, David went on to earn a master's degree from Northwestern and is now pursuing a doctorate from Liberty. He is writing a book, due for publication in early 2027, and has worked for a decade in private practice with a variety of clients in schools, hospitals, and prisons, among others.

His message to CMU student-athletes: You are worthy.

"My story, although it seems like it's about me, is really about you," he said. "Perhaps it's your brother, perhaps it's your teammate, perhaps it's a teammate from your high school, perhaps it someone you knew from a long, long time ago that you compare yourself to.

"Or maybe it's not another person, maybe it's you. Maybe you have an injury right now, and two years ago you were faster, you were quicker and now you're not as fast, you're not as quick.

"Maybe you have someone you played with in high school and now they're in the Big Ten or the ACC and you're going, 'What's wrong with me? Why am I not enough. Is there something wrong with me?'

"And I'm here to tell you, and this is the most important part of what I'll say all day, and I believe this in my soul … you are good enough. Right now, right this minute, as is. You are worthy now."

Webber, through his practice, said he sees it with regularity in his patients, and it extends far beyond the athletic realm.

"It doesn't matter where we're at, we still struggle with seeing our own value," he said. "It doesn't change … We all struggle with this idea of, am I good enough? You are. And it's not because you've done something to earn it. It's because you just are.

"You're going to have these times in your life that you question yourself; you question your value, you question your worth, and you become overwhelmed: Am I enough? My answer is this, you are invaluable, you are priceless.

"And that's the hardest thing to come to grips with, that we are indeed priceless."