Basketball fans of a certain age who hear that a pair of players named Tim Hardaway and Glenn Robinson have propelled their team into the postseason may have flashbacks to the 1990s.
That's when Tim Hardaway Sr. and Glenn Robinson Jr. led the Miami Heat and the Milwaukee Bucks, respectively, into the playoffs.
Flash forward to 2013, and it's the next generation that has been doing the heavy lifting.
Tim Hardaway Jr. and Glenn Robinson III each had 21 points in Michigan's second-round win over South Dakota State, and then 14 points in the Wolverines' third-round victory over VCU, to propel their squad to the Sweet 16 for the first time in nearly two decades.
The duo has been the subject of much publicity this year, and rightfully so. Not only do they both boast spectacular basketball bloodlines, they each had a solid season. Hardaway was a first-team All-Big Ten pick by the coaches while Robinson was on the conference's All-Freshman team.
For Hardaway Jr., whose father had perhaps the better professional career of the two, it has always been important to distinguish himself.
"It was hard just to try to follow his footsteps, and you try not to worry about it," Hardaway said. "You try to leave a legacy of your own. It takes a long time to do that."
For the elder Robinson, who starred at Purdue in the early 1990s, having his son play for another Big Ten squad has caused some problems. For example, when Michigan played at Purdue this year, Robinson said he was rooting against his alma mater.
"I hate to root against my team, but this is my son, so I had to do what I had to do," Robinson said. "I wasn’t pulling for Purdue to do well ... a no-brainer. I cheer for Purdue when they play any other team than Michigan right now."
Both fathers realize the added pressure on their sons, and they both have said it doesn't matter to them if their boys have the same professional success that they did.
"If he makes it to the NBA, I will love him," Hardaway Sr. said before the 2012-13 season. "If he makes it to be a commentator or a garbageman, I will still love him because that is my son."
The elder Hardaway played his college ball at UTEP.
And it shouldn't be forgotten that even though Hardaway and Robinson may have learned the game from their fathers, their mothers were also a crucial part of their upbringing. After all, with both men traveling through the grueling NBA schedule, the boys spent a lot of quality time with their mothers.
In fact, if it wasn't for these women, Hardaway and Robinson may not have ended up in Ann Arbor.
"We really feel good about it because their dads do know basketball," Michigan coach John Beilein ssaid of his team's basketball bloodlines. "We think that's always been a feather in our cap to have families. It's not just the dad involved with all these. There's a strong mother involved with every single one of these young men, and they've had a big part to do with their success as well."
Robinson and Hardaway are looking to return Michigan to the level of excellence it experienced when the "Fab Five" wore the maize and blue 20 years ago. And by getting the Wolverines to the Sweet 16, these two have taken a step in the right direction. Not that they were exactly anonymous before, but now the youngsters are truly making a name for themselves.
