It’s rare that the youngster can witness family history through the eyes and words of others and, at the same time, share it with his father.
Darius Garland, the 23-year-old guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers, got to do just that last weekend. Taking a two-day break from his NBA preseason practice schedule, Garland was able to attend the Bears Basketball Network reunion that paid tribute to his dad, Winston Garland, Oct. 13-14.
There were stories told by Winston Garland and his teammates, who 36 years ago were the toast of Springfield and the Ozarks when they took Missouri State on a ride to its first NCAA Tournament as a Division I men’s basketball program.
Coach Charlie Spoonhour’s Bears, led by Garland’s 24 points, beat Clemson in a first-round shocker that didn’t shock the undersized Bears.
“We were the ‘Tiny Bears.’ We knew we were gonna win that game,” said Kelby Stuckey, the 6-foot-6 center on that team who’s now a prosecuting attorney in Buffalo, New York.
But perhaps the most unique aspect of the storytelling of up to eight members of the 1987 team — along with a couple of dozen other Bears from other eras — was how Winston Garland’s son viewed it.
“It’s been fun to come back to his old stomping grounds and see some of his old teammates plus some new faces. It’s cool,” Darius Garland said. “To see the love he gets around here is super cool as well.
“It’s good to see the smile on his face and the crying a little bit. Everybody is showing him love. It’s very cool.”
Visit by Darius a surprise to Winson
Darius Garland visited Springfield in January of 2018 to play in the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions for Brentwood Academy out of Nashville, Tennessee. He averaged 33 points in winning tournament MVP honors and, a few months later, he was off to Vanderbilt University.
While that trip to Springfield was mostly about Darius, this time it was about Winston. Darius, in coordination with his mother, surprised Winston by flying into Springfield for the festivities.
“He played a preseason game Thursday night and my wife, I knew something was up,” Winston Garland said. “I couldn’t put a finger on it. After practice (Friday) he and my oldest son, Desmond, flew in and surprised me.
“The weekend was awesome, getting to reminisce and reconnect with my old teammates and be able to share it with my family.”
A video tribute, showcasing Winston Garland’s college career and seven seasons in the NBA, was particularly moving to Darius. Several of Winston’s NBA teammates with the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets, including Hall of Famer Chris Mullin, sent video tributes.
“I knew that he was good, I didn’t know he was that good,” Darius Garland said afterward.
“He still doesn’t,” Winston responded, with a belly laugh. “I still don’t think he believes that I could play, but that’s OK. It’s fun to have him here.”
Becoming a leader — and getting kicked out of practice
During a meet-and-greet a night earlier, Darius surprised his dad by asking for the microphone during a question-and-answer session. Darius asked Winston how he became a team leader in college.
Winston Garland said it was the “late, great Coach Spoonhour” that was the key. He told the story of how things were going well during his introduction to Springfield, then came the official start to practice in mid-October.
“Those first two practices, Coach Spoonhour kicked me out. He said, ‘Get out of my gym,’” Winston Garland said. “I was like, I’d been recruited by Bob Knight and Indiana, by Kansas State, and I’m getting kicked out of practice here?
“I walked to my apartment and was gonna call my mom, tell her this wasn’t the place for me. Well, by the time I got there, Coach had already called her. My Mom loved Coach Spoonhour. She told me, ‘No, no, no. You’re not coming home. You’re not working hard enough.’”
Winston Garland became emotional when trying to expand on his memories of Spoonhour, whose son Jay was in the audience. Jay Spoonhour, 15 at that time, is now a first-year assistant coach with the Bears.
Jay Spoonhour said he recalled asking his dad how the Bears were going to be upon Garland and Greg Bell’s arrival from Southeastern Community College in Burlington, Iowa.
“Back then, getting T-shirts was a big deal — unlike today when players get all sorts of gear — and they were passing out T-shirts the first day of practice,” Jay Spoonhour recalled. “They didn’t have enough t-shirts for everybody and one of the managers didn’t get one.
“Winston told my dad that the manager could have his T-shirt if they didn’t have enough. My dad told me, ‘If our best player is thinking about the manager getting a T-shirt, we are gonna be pretty good.’ That’s the kind of a leader Winston was.”
A chip off the old block
Darius Garland appears to act with much of the same humility as Winston. A knee injury wiped out most of Darius Garland’s lone season at Vanderbilt, but he was an NBA lottery pick in 2019 by the Cavaliers and he already has logged four NBA seasons, making his first all-star game last season.
While he never saw his dad play, Darius said he hopes to carry on an important trait of Winston’s game. Asked what has rubbed off the most, Darius said it’s the competitive spirit that his dad had as a player.
“I think I got a lot of that from him,” Darius Garland said. “He’s just a big competitor who was going to give it his all and always was going to play hard when he was on the floor. That’s what he installed in me.”
The Cavaliers open the season next Wednesday, Oct. 25, at Brooklyn.
