Family time

Spencer Patterson

Monday, Dec. 20, 1999 | 9:41 a.m.

Just a week ago, Austin Ainge could only have dreamed he'd look up into the stands at this week's Reebok Holiday Prep Classic and see his father.

Yet that's exactly where Danny Ainge sat on Saturday, watching his eldest son's opening-round game at Green Valley High School five days after his stunning announcement that he was resigning as the Phoenix Suns head coach.

Ainge said he was calling it quits 20 games into his fourth year as the team's coach for one reason and one reason only: to spend more time with wife Michelle and their six children.

This week, the former NBA player and coach is doing just that, coming to Las Vegas with Michelle to cheer on Austin's Highland (Ariz.) club in the 64-team tournament.

"It feels strange," Danny Ainge said. "Phoenix is playing Sacramento tonight, and I feel like I'm missing something.

"I want to be there, but obviously I'm excited to be here. I had to make some tough choices, and just participating in these kinds of events was one aspect of my decision."

And Austin Ainge, a senior at the Gilbert, Ariz., high school, couldn't be more pleased about having his father and basketball mentor along for the ride.

"This is my last year, and it's great to have him with me," Austin said. "What kid doesn't want his dad home with him?"

On Saturday, Ainge's Highland club fell, 64-60 in double overtime to Jordan High of Long Beach, Calif., but not before the 6-2 point guard displayed the skills that have already earned him a scholarship to BYU -- his father's alma matter.

With a shooting touch reminiscent of his father's, Ainge knocked down three 3-pointers and converted 15-of-20 attempts from the line. He also showed an ability to create shots off the dribble, challenging Jordan's highly touted 6-8 center Travon Bryant in the paint on more than one occasion.

Ainge finished with 32 points -- more than any other player on Day One of the tournament. He also played his best with the pressure on, calmly sinking a long 3-pointer at the buzzer of the first overtime to extend the game.

He got his teammates involved on the offensive end and called out sets on defense, doubling at times as a player-coach on the floor. And he managed to do it all despite picking up his fourth foul with seven minutes remaining in regulation, never fouling out of the contest.

"Austin is a smart player, a good shooter for his age and a very good ballhandler," Danny Ainge said. "He's had a lot of experience, and he's not intimidated by anything.

"He's played one-on-one with Jason Kidd, Toby Bailey, Rex Chapman and Frank Johnson, so his confidence is one of his strengths."

Since earning a spot on his school's varsity squad as a 5-10 sophomore three years ago, Ainge has not only grown four inches, but has also improved by leaps and bounds, according to his Highland coach. And Yates is quick to credit much of that improvement to Austin's "other" coach.

"He's blessed with some coaching year 'round that no one else has," Yates said. "His dad does a great job teaching him basketball, and I've enjoyed the fruits of that."

Now, with his father out of professional coaching, Austin Ainge can reap even more of the benefits of having a parent who played 14 NBA seasons with the Celtics, Kings, Trail Blazers and Suns.

"I get to go back to the hotel room now and he can give me pointers," he said. "That's really fun."

Following his senior year, Ainge plans to go on a two-year Mormon mission. When he returns, he will follow his father's footsteps to BYU -- where the elder Ainge earned a reputation as one of the nation's top two-sport athletes, starring in baseball and basketball.

"He's always liked it there, and when they offered him a scholarship and they gave him an opportunity to go on a mission before he enrolled, he didn't think about anything else," Danny Ainge said.

As for the expectations that are sure to come from longtime Cougars fans, Austin said he'll welcome the challenge.

"There will be a lot of pressure since my dad's the best player in their history, but I'm looking forward to it."

And, with the help of a father whose dedication to his family led him to step away from a multimillion-dollar NBA coaching job, Austin is looking forward to adding his own unique chapter to the annals of Ainge family basketball.

"When he was a sophomore all he heard was, 'He's Danny Ainge's kid,' " Yates said. "Now he's a great basketball player who happens to be Danny Ainge's son."