Posted on 12/21/2003 3:01:19 PM PST by GaryL
Many of them have actually played together for The Rising Stars, a highly successful AAU basketball program in Deerfield, where a sixth-grade team now has a Wennington and a Kukoc. At Loyola Academy, there not only is a Jordan, but also a Grant. Teammates with Jordan is a son of the Super Bowl, Suhey, who also plays football. One football star on the varsity is a Duerson. At Lake Forest High is a Cartwright and a Paxson. At Stevenson, a Morrissey.
Doors are opened for them, and they apparently are part of a pretty special gene pool, and people clamber to see them, wondering if they have the stuff their old man had. But they wonder other things, too.
''They always wonder if you got that article written about you because you are so-and-so's son,'' Tregg Duerson said. ''Or if you got that scholarship because of that. My freshman year, I made the varsity and a lot of people took that as being because of who my dad is.''
Make varsity and suspicion is of favoritism. Fail to make it and you're no Dave Duerson.
So these championship kids face different issues than other kids, maybe some favoritism and certainly financial security. But they also have their own pressures and doubts.
Their famous parents take differing approaches to seeing them through it.
''We talked about that early on,'' said John Paxson, now the Bulls' general manager. His son, Ryan, is a senior at Lake Forest. ''I think he feels real comfortable with that. He knows there's always going to be name recognition, and he's starting to embrace that.
''You can handle it one of two ways: Let it bug you and bring you down or embrace it and be a challenge of playing. Ryan played a little varsity as a sophomore, and people would say stuff to him. Fans would chant at him. He decided he'd accept that as part of the challenge.''
This is certainly not the Jordan approach. Michael and Juanita Jordan seem to be trying to do the impossible: Hide their three kids -- Jeffrey, Marcus and Jasmine -- from their father's fame.
All three kids have played in the Rising Stars program, led by coach Michael Weinstein. But while Weinstein was willing to discuss the other celebrity kids he has coached, he wouldn't say anything about the Jordans. Meanwhile, Loyola coach Brian Tucker didn't return phone calls to talk about Jeffrey.
This is said to be part of a strict code of demands, Jordan's Parenting Rules, from Michael and Juanita. Tregg Duerson, who is close to Jeffrey, said he would be playing on varsity, but that Michael wants him on the sophomore team.
A few weeks ago, Jeffrey played for Loyola and the place was packed not only with fans, but also reporters. Michael was there, too. When it was over, Jeffrey was not allowed to speak to reporters about his play. His coaches didn't speak. And Michael Jordan left with only a few words, telling reporters, ''Come on, man, leave him alone,'' and, ''He's just a kid. Let him play.''
So which approach is right? Hiding from the fame or embracing it?
Maybe both.
Joel Fish, director of the Center for Sport Psychology, recently wrote the book 101 Ways to Be a Terrific Sports Parent. Fish, who works with several pro teams in Philadelphia, wrote a section on celebrity sports parents.
He says parenting strategies should be based partly on the kid's age. Ryan Paxson is a high school senior and Jeffrey Jordan a freshman.
''The key issue all along has to do with identity,'' Fish said. ''The ultimate goal for a parent is to make sure each child develops his unique personality. Part of all parents is that we want to see our kids as an extension of who we are.
''The difference for a professional athlete is that it's not only the parent who has that desire, but also the rest of the world. If MJ's son turned out to be only an average athlete, people might say that quicker than they would if they were talking about my son or your son.''
For example, we know Michael Jordan once failed to make his varsity team. But at the time, who cared? He was just some kid not playing varsity. With Jeffrey Jordan not playing varsity, questions are sure to come up about why the son of the greatest player of all time isn't starring.
''There's an extra layer of pressure,'' Fish said. ''These parents have to prepare a kid to deal with the inevitable comparisons. They can say, 'I know the polite answer you give to 99 percent of the world. But you can always talk to me about it.'
''For younger ages, through 10 or 11, it's better for the kid just to play. Once a kid gets to 12, 13 or so, that's when I recommend people start dealing with that in a more up-front way.''
Tregg Duerson said that in private, Jeffrey Jordan likes the comparisons with his father. And worst case, Tregg said, being told you are no Michael Jordan is hardly an insult. In his prime, even Magic Johnson was no Michael Jordan.
But Duerson acknowledged that for him, the comparisons were a burden when he was younger. Now, as a senior, he is motivated by them. He wears his dad's No. 22 and also has chosen to play football at Notre Dame, where Dave Duerson played.
''I'm going to face it again, but I'm past that,'' Tregg said. ''I guess I've just outgrown it.''
Same with Ryan Paxson, according to John. Of course, the burden of comparison might be highest for a Jordan.
Many of these celebrity parents have entrusted their kids to Weinstein. His Rising Stars teams, part of a program called Joy of the Game Inc., teaches 4,000 kids a year through camps, clinics and leagues. It is believed to be the biggest AAU program in the country.
Weinstein has coached not only all three Jordans and Paxson, but also Joey Suhey, Horace Grant Jr., Kristin Cartwright, Marin Kukoc and little Robert Wennington.
Maybe ''little'' is the wrong word. At 12, he's already 6-1.
''No one's treated any different here,'' Weinstein said. ''But when you've had as many celebrity kids as we have, people do want to come over and look. People want to see these kids play.
''That's only a real problem when we go to nationals. So we make sure we do everything as a group. Our teams have to stay together, bond together, work together. When you're on the road with a celebrity kid, you have to make sure you're keeping an eye on him.''
Weinstein said the famous parents aren't the ones causing him troubles. They trust him and, for the most part, stay out of his way.
''Mr. Paxson walks in, and no one knows who he is half the time,'' Weinstein said. ''Bill [Wennington] walks in and says hi to everyone. The toughest parents are the doctors, lawyers and business people under 5-10 who tell me their kids have potential. They tell me I don't know how to evaluate their fourth-grader.''
Weinstein and Fish agree it's important for a kid to play his father's sport because he wants to, and not for any outside reason. Tregg Duerson said that's exactly what his dad always told him: ''Are you sure you want to play? I hope you're not wanting to play just because I played.''
And Bill Wennington is only now considering what his son is about to face.
''I've seen things with John Paxson's kids,'' he said. ''People are much quicker to criticize them if they're not playing well. My son went to a tournament and I wasn't there, and my wife sat in the stands. People complained that he was older than 12, that he shouldn't be there. That's normal stuff because he's so tall.
''When they see me there, they're saying, 'Is he any good?' But he's pretty young, and I don't think they judge him a lot yet. As he gets older, people will put a lot of pressure on him.''
It's the pressure the Jordans seem to be trying to limit on their kids. The pressure Ryan Paxson and Tregg Duerson, and Jarrett Payton before them, have dealt with.
But for now, Wennington just wants to make sure he's not the one causing the pressure. It was no accident he didn't name his son Bill Jr. -- Robert needed to be his own person. And Robert, with Bill's encouragement, not only plays basketball, but ''also plays football in the fall, baseball in the summer,'' Wennington said. ''He swims all summer long, water skis, tubes. In the winter he goes snow skiing. He's very well-rounded.
''When he gets older, we won't hide from who he is. If you want to be good in basketball, there's going to be pressure and you're going to have to deal with it. I just don't want it to be now. Right now, he's a kid.''
few minutes before a Bulls game last season at the United Center, two teams of suburban kids took the court in uniform for a chance to play at the house that Michael built. Imagine the thrill for these sixth-graders.
And to think, the best player on one team was even wearing Michael Jordan's No. 23. And the kids were running the court, and the clock was running, and ...
''Psst,'' a security guard said. ''Here's a scoop for you. They're keeping it a secret. That No. 23 is Michael Jordan's kid.''
It was Marcus Jordan. He was playing a game on the court his dad made famous. And, psst, let's keep it a secret.
These are the new Jordan Rules. Michael Jordan's kids are playing basketball in the area, and Jordan is trying to keep that quiet. Jeffrey Jordan is a freshman who plays on the sophomore team at Loyola Academy.
He is not to talk to reporters. Coaches are not to talk about him.
It is all about parenting, about guarding the youth of the child of a famous parent. Several kids who used to crawl around Chicago's championship locker rooms are growing up and playing sports around town.
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