Cougars’ ‘Jr.’ class shares family bond on and off the court
At the start of every basketball season, Daniel Reeves is busy sewing nameplates on the back of jerseys.
This season has taken a few extra letters than usual, with nearly half of the University of Houston men’s basketball 15-player roster having the suffix “Jr.” in their names.
“If you have a Jr. in your name, there’s a good shot at playing for the Cougars,” jokes Reeves, UH’s assistant athletic director for equipment operations.
The roll call of family namesakes includes Galen Robinson Jr., Corey Davis Jr., Fabian White Jr., Cedrick Alley Jr. and Chris Harris Jr.
Two other Juniors are not as obvious, as Rob Gray and Devin Davis do not have the suffix on the back of their jerseys.
“They just kept coming,” Reeves said. “Everybody was a Junior.”
In his father’s footsteps
For sons that are named after their dads, it’s often part of a family tradition or a way to honor them. Sometimes there’s a distinct similarity, like guard Galen Robinson Jr., whose father, Galen, played for the Cougars from 199498. But that’s where the comparisons stop. Galen Jr. is among the school’s all-time assists leaders; Galen Sr. ranked 30th in scoring at the start of this season.
“No pressure,” the younger Robinson said. “It would be easier to compare me to my dad if I’m 6-foot-7, but I’m 6-foot-1. Two completely different beasts. He was good at what he did, and I feel like I’m good at what I do.”
Coach Kelvin Sampson is not surprised with all the namesakes, noticing, among the first things, a family atmosphere when he enters homes to recruit players.
“That’s one of the things I like about this team — they are very family-oriented,” said Sampson, whose sixth-seeded Cougars make their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2010 against 11th-seeded San Diego State on Thursday in Wichita, Kan. “When you come from closeknit families it’s a lot easier to develop a family atmosphere with your team. And this team is extremely close-knit.”
Sampson never considered passing down his name to son Kellen, an assistant coach on the UH staff. Instead, Kellen is named after Kellen Winslow, a former tight end for Missouri and the San Diego Chargers whom the elder Sampson got to know during his days coaching at Oklahoma.
“I always liked that name Kellen,” Sampson said. “Kelvin Jr. didn’t do it for me. I figured one was enough.”
Chris Harris Jr. was given his name as the first-born son in his family. Corey Davis Jr. said he comes from a long line of Juniors in his family and plans to continue the tradition.
“I’m going to keep it going,” the younger Davis said. “I’m definitely going to name him after me.”
Fabian White Sr. said he passed down the name to his son Fabian Jr., the Cougars’ 6-7 freshman forward who has 32 blocks and was named to the American Athletic Conference All-Rookie team, because of its uniqueness.
“No history,” the elder White said. “It’s a unique name, a name you don’t hear often. It’s a memorable name.”
Fabian Jr. said he’s close to his dad and proud to share a name as a way “to keep the name alive.”
“I’m making a name for myself, too, with his name,” the younger White said.
It can also be confusing for some. The younger White said his mother started to call him by his middle name, Christopher, to avoid both Fabians from answering. Cedrick Alley Jr.’s mother, Tamiko Childress, had an entirely different problem as he son grew up.
“People couldn’t get his first name right,” she said. “They always spelled Cedrick without the ‘k.’”
At times, Childress said she’s had to remind Alley Jr., a freshman forward who is redshirting this season, to add Jr. when signing his name. His response to her: “Mom, they know who I am.”
Family comes before success
More than anybody on the team, Devin Davis buys into the family atmosphere. He has a “Family First” tattoo on his chest.
“Before any of the success we’re a family,” Davis said. “That family feeling is floating around the (Guy V. Lewis Development Facility).”
Few, however, know that Davis is named after his father because he doesn’t wear it on the back of his jersey. That would cause another headache with “Davis Jr.” already in use on Corey Davis Jr.’s jersey.
“We have a great bond,” Devin Davis said of his relationship with his father. “I love that I have the same name as my dad. I’m carrying on our name.”
Sometimes Reaves doesn’t find out about name preferences for jerseys until it’s too late.
“Most times you don’t know,” Reeves said.
That was the case with Rob Gray, the Cougars’ leading scorer, who never put Jr. on the back of his jersey throughout high school and one season at Howard Junior College. When Gray arrived at UH, his road and home jerseys all included the suffix, and it was too late to make a change.
“I didn’t know they were going to (put Jr. on my jersey) so I asked them to take it off my second year,” Gray said.
Still, the name means something to Gray and his family.
“When I found out I was having a son we didn’t need to look for any other names,” the elder Gray said. “It was going to be Rob Gray Jr.”
Reeves, who handles the jerseys for several UH sports, encountered a similar problem just last season when All-American defensive tackle Ed Oliver asked to add “Jr.” to his nameplate.
“I had no idea he was a Junior,” Reeves said. “I told him, ‘Show me your driver’s license.’ ”
Of course, then there’s a matter if adding “Jr.” will fit on the nameplate. Reeves said it depends on the cut, but sometimes a name can cover across from one shoulder to the other. It was a tight fit for Robinson Jr. “Pretty close,” Reeves said.