Catching up with Greg and Doug McDermott for Father's Day
Catching up with Creighton basketball coach Greg McDermott and his son Doug, the Creighton star.
By
Gary Parrish
•
3 min read
The wildest thing about the McDermotts' story is how close it came to never happening.
I mean, what if Oregon had hired Mark Few? Or Jamie Dixon? Or any of the other candidates who were initially approached about the Pac-12 opening that, in April 2010, eventually went to Dana Altman? Under that scenario, Altman wouldn't have left Creighton. So Creighton wouldn't have needed to hire Greg McDermott. So McDermott woud've stayed at Iowa State while his son, Doug, enrolled at Northern Iowa.
And then so many things would now be different.
"It's crazy how it all unfolded," Doug told me. "But I wouldn't want it any other way."
Father's Day is Sunday.
This was news to Doug McDermott earlier this week.
"I didn't even realize that until I got your text," he told me the other day.
So you'd be wrong if you assumed the two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year (and soon-to-be Preseason Big East Player of the Year) has had big plans long in the works. But that won't make the weekend any less special, this final Father's Day that Greg McDermott and Doug McDermott will spend as one of the best and most successful dad-son combos in college basketball history -- right up there with Press and Pete Maravich, Dick and Tony Bennett, Al and Allie McGuire, Homer and Bryce Drew.
"I hope to play golf somewhere," Greg said.
(Note to Doug: Schedule a tee time. You're welcome for the tip.)
So perhaps the McDermotts will play golf somewhere Sunday, then settle in with the rest of the family at their home in Omaha. Or maybe they won't. Either way, what's remarkable about the whole thing is that the day won't be a rare encounter, which is rare in general for college students and especially rare for college basketball coaches.
Think about it.
High school graduates, at least a large percentage of them, go to college at 18 years of age, move away from home and temporarily separate themselves from their families. They get back every once in a while, maybe for a holiday or the summer. But they're typically gone, sometimes for good. And college basketball coaches? Man, they're always working. I can't tell you how many conversations I've had with millionaires who despise the hours in the office, in the gym, on the road and on the phone their jobs require. To be successful, most know, they almost certainly have to sacrifice something, and that something is usually a traditional family setup with, you know, dinners at the kitchen table.
But not Greg McDermott.
He sees his middle child more than most fathers are able to see their college-aged kids and more than most basketball coaches are able to see their any-aged kids. That's the byproduct of this unique setup that has, over the past three years, helped elevate Creighton's program and Doug's career. He's gone from a mid-major recruit to a NBA prospect while scoring, rebounding and winning at an All-American level. Needless to say, he could've entered this month's NBA Draft, where he would've likely been a first-round pick. But Doug ultimately decided to return to Creighton for one final season, and it would be naive to think the appeal of the life he's living didn't factor into the decision.
"Somewhere along the way somebody told Doug that you never get old and think you spent too much time with your parents, and I think part of that hit home with him," Greg said. "And it's more than just me being his coach. It's that his mother is in town. His sister watches every game. His older brother just moved back and took a job in Omaha. So there's a family component that was much more of a pull than just me being his coach."
But Greg is Doug's coach.
(He's actually listed as "Coach Mac" in Doug's phone.)
And it's a really nice deal that both are wise enough to appreciate in the moment.
"I had one coach tell me last year, 'You're the envy of every coach in the country to be able to coach your son at the highest level and be able to have the success you're having as a coach and he's having as a player,' and that really hit me," Greg said. "It's unique and special and something I'll always cherish. ... and the fact that Doug's coming back to school, and the fact that we'll have our whole family together in Omaha for his last year of college is itself enough of a Father's Day present for me. It's gonna be pretty cool."
