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NBA in NCAA? It's All Relative

By RANDY KIM,

AOL

Posted: 2008-03-20 09:49:43

Filed Under: NBA, NCAA Tournament

Sports Commentary

Welcome to Baseline to Baseline, AOL Sports' sweeping roundup of the NBA's hot-button issues. In this edition of B2B, take a look at which NBA players and coaches will be rooting for family in this year's NCAA Tournament.

Step into any NBA locker room this time of year, and you'll quickly find that college campuses and corporate office parks - where photocopied brackets are thumbtacked to the walls of nearly every cubicle in the building - aren't the only places overrun with March Madness.

Photo Gallery

Mitchell Layton, Getty Images (L); Nathaniel S. Butler, NBAE/Getty Images (R)

College Ballers
With NBA Genes

1 of 13

Patrick Ewing Jr., Georgetown
Talk about some big shoes to fill. Patrick Jr. is a senior forward for Georgetown, who grabbed the two seed in the Midwest. Junior's father, of course, is none other than Knicks and Hoyas legend, Patrick Ewing.

Once the NCAA Tournament tips off, NBA players immediately begin jawing with one another about how tough their former schools are, while deriding their teammates' shoddy, choke-job programs. This trash-talking actually makes perfect sense, as many NBA players once took the floor during the Big Dance. So it's only natural that they become crazed fans this time of year.

Within this select group of passionate - if not handsomely paid - college basketball fans, however, there's a more selective sub-set of supporters who have an even greater interest in what happens in the college game. As it turns out, these NBA players and coaches don't just have ties to schools.

They have family on the floor.

Having genetic ties between college and the pros only makes sense. After all, as the saying goes, basketball's in the blood. So why wouldn't mighty hops and sweet strokes be passed down from father to son, or even shared among siblings?

Check out the photos above to see a breakdown of some college players who have family ties to the pro game. Some are well known, some aren't. Some made the Big Dance, some didn't.

But all of them have pretty big legacies to live up to.

The List Goes On

The gallery above certainly isn't an exhaustive list of college players with professional genes. Here are some more amateur hoopsters with family ties to the NBA:

- Kevin Durant's brother, Tony, plays at Towson University.

- Dwight Howard's brother, Jahaziel, plays at the University of Central Florida.

- Kansas star Brandon Rush is the brother of current Pacers guard Kareem Rush.

- Minnesota's Ryan Saunders is the son of Pistons coach Flip Saunders.

There are plenty more on the way, as well. Klay Thompson, the son of former NBA great Mychal Thompson, is going to play at Washington State next season. Meanwhile, a trio of high-schoolers with familiar names - Shawn Kemp Jr., Glen Rice Jr., and Ralph Sampson Jr. - are all among the nation's top recruits.

Randy Kim is the Senior NBA Editor for AOL Sports. Before joining AOL, he covered the league for seven years at NBA.com and FOXSports.com. Kim considers his career highlight to be a standing/sit-down interview with Bullets legend Gheorghe Muresan. Send him comments and questions at RandallKim07@aol.com.

2008-03-19 12:54:17

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matrixcl55 01:06:06 PM Mar 20 2008

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You forgot NBA Harvey Grant and his son, Jerai, at Clemson

gotselby 12:36:10 AM Mar 20 2008

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Curtis Terry PG at UNLV, brother of Mavs Jason Terry

pmnisco 11:58:02 PM Mar 19 2008

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Kevin Love, UCLA, Pac 10 player of the year: Father is Stan Love, former NBA, Uncle is a former Beach Boy. Good Vibrations brining the Bruins title # 12 !!

pmnisco 11:56:20 PM Mar 19 2008

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How about Kevin Love? Father is Stan Love. Uncle is a Beach Boy !!! UCLA's "got a whole lotta love" heading toward title #12.

bobbyhustles 11:06:53 PM Mar 19 2008

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Anyone remember Pat Ewing's first television interview? Absolutely horrific.......My hat goes got to John Thompson and the education department of Georgetown..........