Footsteps

SAN ANTONIO — John Lucas Jr. threw both arms around his son and pulled him close, turning back the clock in their tight embrace.

“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 6a.m. to take 1,500 shots,” Lucas said yesterday.

And 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?

“Oh, it happened too quickly,” the former Maryland and NBA star said, laughing. “I didn’t have time to think.”

Their giant bear hug behind the bench at the Meadowlands after Oklahoma State’s 64-62 win Saturday night became the most touching moment in a tournament full of famous father and son combos.

For 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.

“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 tomorrow’s semifinal against Georgia Tech. “He sat on the end of the bench.”

Too bad for Darryl Strawberry and Ernie Grunfeld, their kids came up short of the Alamodome.

D.J. Strawberry, son of former All-Star slugger Darryl Strawberry, 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.

Dan Grunfeld, son of former NBA player and current Washington Wizards president of basketball operations Ernie Grunfeld, missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer as top-seeded Stanford was upset by Alabama 70-67 in the second round.

Not 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.

“I’ll be honest. I don’t know who Darryl Strawberry is, but I know his son is a good player,” Rivera said.

A few other familiar names did it like Dad in this year’s 65-team field.

Austin Ainge, a BYU redshirt freshman, and Kansas reserve Omar Wilkes both have fathers who played in the NBA — Danny Ainge and Jamaal Wilkes. North Carolina center Sean May comes from a prominent pedigree: His dad, Scott, led the undefeated 1976 Indiana team to the championship.

In 2001, Mike Dunleavy starred in front of his dad — NBA player and coach Mike Sr. — as Duke won the title. There will be no such family pairing this time when the Blue Devils play Connecticut in Saturday’s other semifinal.

Not that every father-son story in recent tournaments has been so sentimental.

While Sacramento Kings guard Mike Bibby was leading Arizona to the 1997 title, he rejected any references to Henry Bibby, who helped UCLA win three straight titles, won an NBA championship with the New York Knicks and became coach at USC. A bitter divorce left him estranged from his son.

“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.”

Lucas and Sutton also had their struggles.

Despite 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. Now 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.

“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.”

Lucas Jr. went through a very public battle with cocaine and substance abuse. Little John III often grabbed onto him at home and held on.

“I knew he wouldn’t go out and do anything bad when I was with him,” the Oklahoma State point guard said. “My dad didn’t hide anything from us. 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.”

Dave Hudek, Lucas’ coach at Bellaire High School in Houston, recalled watching the young man blossom into a top player.

“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.”

These days Lucas is content to sit back and watch his son play.

“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.”