It's All Relative: Family Tree Connections in College Hoopdom

March 5th, 2012 - 21:52

In the Name of the Father: The old adage portends that "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." You know the deal! Freshman Rodney Hood, whose father (Ricky) averaged 2.2 ppg for Mississippi State in 1979-80 before transferring and becoming a two-time All-OVC first-team selection with Murray State, is the second-leading rebounder and third-leading scorer for the Bulldogs' Top 20 team. The filling-your-father's footsteps is an even more challenging dynamic for the following players performing at the same school where their dads exercised all of their collegiate eligibility:

  • Junior Ian Hummer, whose father (Ed) averaged 7 rpg for Princeton from 1964-65 through 1966-67 and paced the school in scoring as a junior, led the Tigers in scoring in 10 consecutive games before contributing 25 points and season-high 15 rebounds in a 75-73 victory at Florida State. He also had a big game in Princeton's victory over Ivy League favorite Harvard.

  • Sophomore guard Roy Devyn Marble, whose father with the same first name was a three-time All-Big Ten Conference selection for Iowa in the late 1980s, was inserted into the Hawkeyes' starting lineup amid reaching double figures in scoring in eight of nine games. Teammate Matt Gatens, whose father (Mike) averaged 3.3 ppg and 2.2 rpg for Iowa from 1973-74 through 1975-76, has been the Hawkeyes' scoring leader the past three seasons and recently tallied a career-high 30 points against Indiana.

  • Redshirt sophomore Dave Stockton, whose father (John) was a two-time All-WCAC selection before becoming a Hall of Fame playmaker in the NBA, is runner-up in assists for the Zags as they were blunted in efforts to secure their 12th consecutive West Coast Conference regular-season championship.

  • J.C. transfer John Wilkins, whose father (Jeff) was Illinois State's leader in scoring, rebounding and field-goal shooting in 1976-77 before becoming an NBA second-round draft choice, is averaging 7.5 ppg and 4 rpg for the Redbirds the past two seasons.

  • Redshirt freshman Joseph Young, whose father (Michael) was an All-American for Houston's 1984 NCAA Tournament runner-up, scored a career-high 25 points against Texas State and is leading the Cougars in assists and three-pointers.

Father Knows Best: Creighton's McDermott clan could be bound for a Top 5 ranking regarding the premier father/son, coach/player tandems in college basketball history. Sophomore forward Doug McDermott, the nation's No. 2 scorer, tallied a season-high 44 points in a 92-83 victory at Bradley for the Bluejays under father Greg McDermott. Additional schools currently featuring notable father/son duos include:

Schools of Brotherly Love: UCF was down to just one Jordan brother after Jeffrey Jordan, the son of legendary Michael Jordan, abruptly left the program in mid-season. Jeffrey, a transfer, was a minor contributor after previously playing sparingly for Illinois. Marcus Jordan is the Knights' leading scorer with more than 17 points per game, a figure close to his father's career scoring average with North Carolina (17.7 ppg from 1981-82 through 1983-84).

MJ didn't mind trying his luck in casinos. Apparently, the Heirs Jordan exhibited similar risky tendencies while in Las Vegas for their famous father's fantasy basketball camp. An Orlando Sentinel story detailed their 2010 summer trip to Vegas where underage Marcus immaturely tweeted that he dropped $56,000. While Daddy Dearest ranks among college basketball's all-time Top 100 players, his sons aren't included among CollegeHoopedia.com's 100-plus all-time top brother combinations playing together at the same time.

Running the Family Business: The stiffest competition numerous major-college players ever faced probably was in their own backyards against good ol' dad. Former All-Americans Dell Curry (Virginia Tech), Paul Pressey (Tulsa) and Doc Rivers (Marquette) have at least one son presently playing for highly-regarded teams - junior Seth Curry (Duke's leader in assists, steals, three-pointers and free-throw percentage), senior Matt Pressey (Missouri starter averaging more than 8 points and 4 rebounds per game after playing at the J.C. level like his father), sophomore Phil Pressey (Missouri's leader in assists and steals) and freshman Austin Rivers (Duke's scoring leader).

The Pressey brothers stayed put after they were rumored to be transferring when coach Mike Anderson (dad's college roommate) departed for Arkansas. But another backcourter, Shawn Teague, did transfer from Mizzou after averaging 3.5 ppg during his freshman season in 1980-81 as a teammate of eventual All-Americans Ricky Frazier, Steve Stipanovich and Jon Sundvold.

Teague didn't become an All-American but was a two-time All-ECAC North Atlantic Conference selection for Rick Pitino-coached Boston University in 1983-84 and 1984-85. Teague's son, Marquis, is Kentucky's starting point guard as a freshman. Incidentally, one of his BU teammates was Drederick Irving, whose son, Kyrie Irving, is favorite for NBA Rookie of the Year after a single abbreviated season with Duke.

No father/son combination ever earned All-American status for the same university. Dell Curry and older son Stephen (Davidson) are among the seven tandems in this rare-air category, joining Henry Bibby (UCLA)/Mike Bibby (Arizona); Bob Ferry (St. Louis)/Danny Ferry (Duke); Stan Love (Oregon)/Kevin Love (UCLA); John Lucas Jr. (Maryland)/John Lucas III (Oklahoma State); Scott May (Indiana)/Sean May (North Carolina) and Jimmy Walker (Providence)/Jalen Rose (Michigan). If voters are on top of the selection process, Paul and Phil Pressey should become the eighth father-son A-A combo.

Rivers and Teague also had older sons who competed in elite conferences. Transfer Jeremiah Rivers made modest contributions for Georgetown (2006-07 and 2007-08) and Indiana (2009-10 and 2010-11). Meanwhile, Jeff Teague emerged as an All-American sophomore guard for Wake Forest in 2008-09.

If UK's Marquis Teague eventually secures All-American status, he and Jeff will join the following alphabetical list of eight sets of brothers who became major-college All-Americans:

All in the Family: When Gene Bartow passed away recently, it presented an opportunity to acknowledge again how he and his son, Murry Bartow, are the first father/son duo to each surpass the 250-win plateau at the major-college level. Gene is one of 12 coaches to guide two different schools to the Final Four (Memphis State and UCLA). Murry succeeded his father at UAB before reaching the 250-victory mark last season with East Tennessee State. The Bartows are one of five families with Division I connections to win more than 900 games.

Where is Gene Bartow included among the nation's all-time top 100 coaches in a ranking compiled by CollegeHoopedia.com?