Family Makes Hoops Mark

Pick a day. Any day really. Chances are there's a player named Gripp on the court in Tyrone making buckets.

"Basketball is a big part of our family," Tyrone junior Brandon Gripp says. "It's what we eat and sleep."
"Basketball's always kind of been there for us," adds Brandon's sister Nicole, a Golden Eagles senior.

Nicole just passed a 1,000 career points.
Brandon paces the boys team.
Both have their squads into the Dist. 6 AA playoffs.
Their dad, George, the Golden Eagles boys' head coach sees past all the success.
He remembers how Brandon and Nicole got their start in the sport that bonds the family.

"These guys have been tagging along in the gym here since they were in kindergarten and first grade," George says. "They've really grown up around the game of basketball."

Dad has been there every step of the way for Brandon and Nicole, offering tips along the path.

"He taught me all I knew. He's helped me through everything," Brandon says. "Every time I went down or can't shoot, he'd always tell me to keep shooting. Keep your head up."

"He'll tell me the bad things, too, even if I don't want to hear them," adds Nicole. She says her dad critiques every game he gets to see. "It'll still help me. I don't like it, but it still helps me."

The pick-up games on the family's home court can get pretty competitive.
More often than not, though, it's the younger Gripps getting the best of the older one.

"There comes a day when the father has to swallow his pride," George says, "and let the younger generation know that they got you."

He proudly passes the torch and is ready to push for postseason success.