Do it like Dad

SAN ANTONIO -- John Lucas Jr. threw both arms around his son and pulled him close, turning back the clock in their tight embrace.\n"You think of the little boy you saw down on the floor praying, or putting up posters of Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant in his room or waking up at 6 a.m. to take 1,500 shots," Lucas said Thursday.\nAnd what about the jumper that John Lucas III hit with 6.9 seconds left to beat Saint Joseph's? What exactly was dad feeling when his son squared up to take the biggest shot of the NCAA tournament?\n"Oh, it happened too quickly," the former NBA star said, laughing. "I didn't have time to think."\nTheir giant bearhug behind the bench at the Meadowlands after Oklahoma State's 64-62 win Saturday night became the most touching moment in a tourney full of famous father-and-son combos.\nFor Cowboys coach Eddie Sutton, keeping an eye on his son during this Final Four is even easier. Sean Sutton is one of his dad's assistants.\n"Sean has been with me ever since he was a 4-year-old and heard those halftime, pregame, postgame talks at Arkansas," the elder Sutton said, heading into Saturday's semifinal against Georgia Tech. "He sat on the end of the bench."\nToo bad for Darryl Strawberry and Ernie Grunfeld, as their kids came up short of the Alamodome.\nD.J. Strawberry, son of the former All-Star slugger, missed a pair of short shots in the final seconds for Maryland in a 72-70 loss to defending champion Syracuse in the second round.\nDan Grunfeld, son of the former NBA player and general manager, missed a three-pointer at the buzzer and top-seeded Stanford was upset by Alabama 70-67 in the second round.\nNot that everyone knew who they were up against. Before Maryland played Texas-El Paso in the opening round, Miners guard Filiberto Rivera was asked about the Terrapins' connection.\n"I'll be honest. I don't know who Darryl Strawberry is, but I know his son is a good player," Rivera said.\nA few other familiar names did it like Dad in this year's 65-team field.\nAustin Ainge, a Brigham Young University redshirt freshman, and Kansas reserve Omar Wilkes both have fathers who played well in the NBA -- Danny and Jamaal. North Carolina center Sean May comes from a prominent pedigree: his dad led the undefeated 1976 Indiana team to the championship.\nIn 2001, Mike Dunleavy starred in front of his dad -- NBA player and coach Mike -- as Duke won the title. No such family pairing this time when the Blue Devils play Connecticut in the other semifinal.\nNot that every father-son story in recent tournaments has been so sentimental.\nWhile Sacramento Kings guard Mike Bibby was leading Arizona to the 1997 title, he rejected any references to Henry Bibby.\nHenry Bibby helped University of California Los Angeles win three straight titles, won an NBA championship with the New York Knicks and became the coach at Southern California. But a bitter divorce left him estranged from his son.\n"My father is not part of my life," Mike Bibby said at the time. "I'd rather they put nothing behind my name. Anything but that."\nLucas and Sutton also had their struggles.\nDespite his fond memories of seeing Sean on the bench as a boy, Eddie Sutton went through a bout with alcoholism that put a strain on his family.\nNow, he makes calls every day to his sons Scott, the coach at Oral Roberts, and Steve, a banker in Arkansas. He also visits with Sean's family several times a week.\n"He wasn't around either of my brothers or myself as much as he probably would have liked when we were growing up," Sean said. "I think now he tries to make up some of that by spending a lot of time with his grandkids."\nLucas Jr. went through a very public battle with cocaine and substance abuse. Little John III often grabbed onto him at home and held on.\n"I knew he wouldn't go out and do anything bad when I was with him," the Oklahoma State point guard said.\n"My dad didn't hide anything from us," he said. "When I was young, I knew what was going on, but I didn't know what was going on. I always told him: 'Don't worry, Dad, I am always going to take care of you.' I was like 3 or 4."\nDave Hudek, Lucas' coach at Bellaire High School in Houston, recalled watching the young man blossom into a top player.\n"His father was a famous man. John fought that through his whole high school career," Hudek said. "He lived under his dad's shadow. Not from his dad. He was one of the most remarkable parents I ever dealt with."\nThese days, Lucas is content to sit back and watch his son play.\n"I've taught him everything I could, all the traits," Lucas said. "I'm not worrying that I should've shown him this or shown him that. He waited his whole life for that shot. I'm just glad he made it"