By JOE BUIE, Staff Writer, Tyler Morning Telegraph

"Hoop Daddy," a book about fathers, sons and basketball, was a popular read at the Marquis house last summer.

Tyler Junior College men's basketball coach Mike Marquis was getting ready to coach his son, Mitch, and wanted to avoid the pitfalls of such an endeavor.

"I worried and fretted all summer about it," Mike said Tuesday. "I just wasn't sure how it was going to go, how we were both going to handle it. This has been beyond my wildest dreams."

Mitch is the starting point guard for the Apaches (17-10), who play Lon Morris (16-14) at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Region XIV Tournament at UT Tyler's Herrington Patriot Center. The 5-11 freshman finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in assists (6.3 per game) for the conference, and No. 9 in NJCAA Division I.

While Mitch said the season has been tough "because we haven't had games go our way as they did last year," both father and son agree that this may be the most fun they've ever had during a basketball campaign.

"We are blessed to have an unusually good group of kids," the coach said. "I think the pitfalls are the jealousy factor. (Mitch) proved his self-worth with his own play, but it's also been a credit to the team, of how he and I have been able to have a relationship within the confines of all the relationships you have on a team."

Mike has coached players before at TJC with whom he had a father-son type bond. He cherishes those connections - and following his players' journeys beyond TJC - as much as the victories.

"This is a team of relationships that are a lot longer than the normal two-year junior college relationship," said Mike, who has been a Juco head coach for 23 years.

The examples he used were Kyle Ford, who grew up playing basketball in Whitehouse with Mitch; Malcolm Moore, a former AAU teammate of Mitch's; and Byron Maxson, a redshirt sophomore who has been with the Apaches for three seasons.

The Marquises moved here from Iowa in 2001, and the Apaches have had many native Iowans on the team. Moore, a freshman forward and TJC's leading scorer, played AAU ball with Mitch as did current redshirts Jaron Nash and L.A. Pomlee.

Those are the connections for which Mitch, an academic qualifier, says he will return to TJC for his sophomore year.

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Making A Point

Mitch Marquis, who has been dribbling a basketball from the time he could walk, was born to play point guard. He may have been born to coach, too.

After all, Mitch's dad was a point guard and has been a coach nearly half of his life.

"The good Lord has blessed him with point guard size and point guard skills," Mike Marquis said. "I think his mindset is really what separates him from other people that play the position."

Mitch said his father never pressured him to play basketball, but at the same time there's no doubt that he is a coach's son. He shows it with leadership on and off the court, and with his fundamentals in handling the ball and making free throws.

"Basketball has always been my choice," Mitch said. "He's just kind of supported me along the way. I used to watch Pistol Pete (Maravich) videos and still watch Steve Nash videos ... The number one thing for me is to take care of the ball and make sure we get the offense set up."

Mitch averages 5.2 points per game, but he attempted more shots and for better results as the season progressed. He scored 16 points and made four 3-pointers against Bossier Parish in TJC's final home game.

"I'm not the type of guy that's going to go out and score 30 or create (my) own shots," said Mitch, a 76 percent free-throw shooter. "I would rather get a teammate the ball and have him score it. That's how I've always been. In the college game, it's a lot different as far as physical (play).

"I just try to bring the same energy every night and try to make hustle plays. I try to play every game like it's my last."

After Mitch's playing career is done, he made it sound like he wouldn't mind being a history teacher and a high school basketball coach.

The history buff didn't rule out junior college but, like his dad, he's not interested in coaching at a four-year college due to the time it takes you away from your family.

It's like the old saying - the acorn doesn't fall far from the tree.

Link to Original Article:  http://tylerpaper.com/article/20100303/SPORTS06/3030339