By Jeff McDonald, Staff writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2024-12-05 13:23:00
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
2024 年 11 月 11 日星期一，在德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥市的 Frost Bank 中心，圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋哈里森·巴恩斯 (40 号) 在主场迎战萨克拉门托国王队的比赛前被宣布为首发球员。马刺队以 116-96 击败了国王队。
马刺队前锋哈里森·巴恩斯(Harrison Barnes)在爱荷华州艾姆斯市的柯蒂斯大道长大，那里离他生活的中心只有一箭之遥。
高中就在几个街区之外，高中篮球馆也是如此。十几岁的时候，如果天气好，巴恩斯并不介意步行。
在下雪的日子里——在爱荷华州，这样的日子很多——巴恩斯可以使用自己的私家车。
道格·麦克德莫特(Doug McDermott)的日产楼兰的乘客车门总是敞开的。
“他开车带我去任何我需要去的地方，”巴恩斯说。
周五，当麦克德莫特和萨克拉门托国王队回到 Frost Bank 中心时，这将标志着这场酝酿了十多年的、带有NBA风味的艾姆斯高中同学聚会的最新篇章。
2008-09 赛季和 2009-10 赛季，巴恩斯和麦克德莫特在小旋风队的校队一起打了两个赛季。在这段时间里，该校取得了 53 胜 0 负的战绩，赢得了两届爱荷华州冠军。
曾经执教过他们两人的教练知道，两位未来的 NBA 球员同时出现在爱荷华州中部的一个小城市，这是多么难以置信的巧合。
“爱荷华州不是一个很大的地方，”万斯·唐斯(Vance Downs)说道，他在艾姆斯高中执教了 20 个赛季。“同一支球队里有两个像他们这样有天赋的孩子，至少可以说是独一无二的。”
2024 年 11 月 11 日星期一，在德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥市的 Frost Bank 中心，圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋凯尔登·约翰逊与前马刺队队友、现效力于萨克拉门托国王队的道格·麦克德莫特在 NBA 比赛热身时分享笑声。
天时地利人和
艾姆斯市拥有 65,000 多人口，其中许多人以某种身份与爱荷华州立大学有关联。
这就是麦克德莫特来到艾姆斯高中落脚的原因。
他的父亲格雷格在 2006 年春天接受了爱荷华州立大学篮球教练的工作，用 U-Haul 搬家公司把他的家人从锡达福尔斯搬到了一个半小时车程之外的艾姆斯，他之前曾在北爱荷华大学担任教练。
在艾姆斯土生土长的巴恩斯立即对这个新来的孩子印象深刻。
“你可以看出他就是知道怎么打球，”巴恩斯说。“即使在很小的时候，他就对比赛有感觉，并且可以让每个人都更容易打球。”
麦克德莫特的新教练则不太信服。
作为一名即将入学的新生，麦克德莫特还没有迎来他真正的第一次生长突增。他身材矮小瘦弱，是那种可能会被艾姆斯的第一次暴风雪吹走或掩埋的孩子。
身高 6 英尺 8 英寸的格雷格·麦克德莫特向唐斯保证，他的儿子会长高。
“他说麦克德莫特刚上大一时比他还要高，”唐斯说。“你可能会认为这只是一个父亲在说话。”
巴恩斯和麦克德莫特在艾姆斯高中新生队并没有相处太多时间。按照学校的悠久传统，新生不参加校队比赛。即使是伟大的弗雷德·霍伊博格——一位爱荷华州立大学的传奇人物和 NBA 的老将，被广泛认为是艾姆斯当时最好的预科球员——也在新生队里等待时机。
巴恩斯在艾姆斯高中新生队的职业生涯只持续了一次训练。
“在哈里森基本上摧毁了我们的篮球架（扣篮）之后，”唐斯说，“我们知道我们必须让他离开新生队的训练。”
马戏团进城了
到了二年级，巴恩斯开始收到奖学金录取通知书。到他上三年级的时候，巴恩斯已经是他所在地区毋庸置疑的摇滚明星。
一群顶尖的大学教练经常飞往艾姆斯市立机场。杜克大学的迈克·沙舍夫斯基、堪萨斯大学的比尔·塞尔夫和北卡罗来纳大学的罗伊·威廉姆斯都是小旋风队公开训练的常客。
“镇上的孩子们会离开小联盟的训练，来到体育馆，就为了看看这些名人，”唐斯说。
其中最大的名人就是巴恩斯。
在“巴恩斯狂热”的高峰期，小旋风队的比赛在全州各地都座无虚席。唐斯经常不得不偷偷地带领他的球队从体育馆的后门溜走，以避开等候的人群。
“就像一个马戏团，”唐斯说。
麦克德莫特对巴恩斯成为的球员感到震惊。
巴恩斯收到印第安纳州立大学的第一份奖学金录取通知书那天，两人正在一起上二年级的西班牙语课。
“我们当时并不知道，还会有更多的录取通知书，”麦克德莫特说。
巴恩斯，到高年级时已经成为全国排名第一的预科球员，似乎完全没有被自己新获得的名气所困扰。
“它给艾姆斯和爱荷华州带来了如此多的关注，”巴恩斯说。“让这些大学教练来到这里，获得全国关注，让大家关注这个州，这是一种自豪感。我们并没有将其视为压力。”
巴恩斯、麦克德莫特和小旋风队的其他成员都很高兴让爱荷华州的艾姆斯成为预科篮球的中心，在他们看来，这里可以与纽约、芝加哥、洛杉矶或华盛顿特区相媲美。
在整个过程中，在艾姆斯打球——整个城镇都感觉像家人一样——帮助巴恩斯保持了平和的心态。
“镇上的每个人都是你从小到大一起长大的人，”巴恩斯说。“你去主场比赛的看台上，那里有 6000 人，你认识体育馆里的每一个人。感觉就像在家里一样。”
巴恩斯能够保持清醒头脑，没有被过度的关注冲昏头脑，还有另一个原因。她的名字叫雪莉·巴恩斯。
作为一位单身母亲，雪莉努力向儿子展示努力工作的价值。
当哈里森还是个婴儿的时候，两人曾在收容所短暂居住，而雪莉则在等待她的第八章住房申请获得批准。
哈里森·巴恩斯仍然记得他帮助母亲在汽车座椅上翻找零钱，这些零钱是他们急需的汽油钱。当雪莉在爱荷华州立大学的各个部门找到工作后，她用自己的大部分工资来支持儿子蓬勃发展的篮球事业。
“我妈妈是我知道什么是努力工作的原因，”巴恩斯说，他的母亲仍然住在艾姆斯。“她在体育馆里为我捡球。她开车带我走遍美国参加比赛。她确保我能够做任何我需要做的事情，成为最好的篮球运动员。”
演出结束
当巴恩斯成为艾姆斯高中的高年级学生时，他在爱荷华州的人气已经超过了玉米。
麦克德莫特，那时已经长成了他的身材，在他们三年级开始时加入了巴恩斯的校队。他很快指出了接下来发生的事情。
小旋风队再也没有输过。
“如果你问哈里森，我可能是我们从未输过的原因，”麦克德莫特半开玩笑地说。“在我加入校队之前，他们肯定输过。”
艾姆斯高中在 2010 年完成了连续第二次不败的冠军之旅。麦克德莫特试图说服巴恩斯留在家乡，为他父亲在爱荷华州立大学打球，但无济于事。
巴恩斯前往东部为北卡罗来纳大学打球，他带着足够的大学预修课程学分到达那里，立即获得了大学二年级的资格。
2012 年 3 月 18 日，在北卡罗来纳州格林斯伯勒的格林斯伯勒体育馆举行的 2012 年 NCAA 男子篮球锦标赛第三轮比赛下半场，克莱顿蓝鸟队的道格·麦克德莫特试图从北卡罗来纳焦油踵队的哈里森·巴恩斯、泰勒·泽勒和詹姆斯·迈克尔·麦克阿杜头上投篮。
不出所料，麦克德莫特最终与内布拉斯加州奥马哈的克莱顿大学签约，他的父亲刚刚在那里担任主教练。
2010 年爱荷华州冠军赛的第二天，当高年级学生最后一次交还他们的装备时，唐斯把麦克德莫特拉到一边，说了一些告别鼓励的话。
“我告诉他，‘你知道，你可以靠打球谋生，’”唐斯说。“我在想他可以在海外打球什么的。”
唐斯仍然记得麦克德莫特的回答。
“如果我继续努力，”他说。
艾姆斯的骄傲
在周五 Frost Bank 中心的重聚比赛之前，巴恩斯和麦克德莫特加起来正好打了 1700 场 NBA 比赛，包括季后赛。他们一共得到了 18,925 分。
麦克德莫特在 NBA 效力了 11 个赛季。巴恩斯在大二赛季后提前离开北卡罗来纳大学加入联盟，现在是他的第 13 个赛季。
巴恩斯在 2016 年里约热内卢奥运会上获得了美国队的金牌。他在 2015 年随金州勇士队赢得了 NBA 总冠军。
两位球员都曾在马刺队和国王队效力过，基本上与一年前的这个时候交换了东家。
2021 年 1 月 11 日，在加利福尼亚州萨克拉门托的黄金一号中心，印第安纳步行者队的道格·麦克德莫特在萨克拉门托国王队的哈里森·巴恩斯面前上篮。
两人将永远怀念他们在艾姆斯一起度过的美好时光，开着日产车在城里兜风。
“那真是太有趣了，”巴恩斯说。
“可能是我一生中最快乐的时光之一，”麦克德莫特补充道。
对于那些在巴恩斯和麦克德莫特的球队风靡全城时身处艾姆斯的人来说，乐趣从未停止。
对唐斯来说，每当他打开电视，看到他以前的学生穿着 NBA 球衣时，美好的回忆就会被重新点燃。
然后还有像周五这样的夜晚，他可以同时看到巴恩斯和麦克德莫特。
“看到他们成长为男子汉，我们感到非常自豪，”唐斯说。“他们很好地代表了他们的家庭、他们的大学和他们的家乡。对于两个来自艾姆斯的孩子来说，这很不错。”
San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) guards Sacramento Kings forward Doug McDermott (7) during the second half at Frost Bank Center on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. The Spurs defeated the Kings, 116-96.
San Antonio Spurs forward Harrison Barnes (40) dunks on the Sacramento Kings in the first half of an NBA game at the Frost Bank Center on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. The Spurs defeated the Kings, 116-96.
San Antonio Spurs forward Doug McDermott, left and guard Tre Jones celebrate following an NBA basketball game against the Sacramento Kings in Sacramento, Calif., Sunday, April 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Randall Benton)
点击查看原文：Spurs' Harrison Barnes, Kings' Doug McDermott revel in Iowa roots
Spurs’ Harrison Barnes, Kings’ Doug McDermott revel in Iowa roots
San Antonio Spurs forward Harrison Barnes (40) is announced as a starter before a home against against the Sacramento Kings at Frost Bank Center on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. The Spurs defeated the Kings, 116-96.
Spurs forward Harrison Barnes grew up on Curtiss Avenue in Ames, Iowa, a stone’s throw from the center of his universe.
The high school was a couple blocks away, and so was the high school basketball gym. As a teenager, Barnes didn’t mind walking if the weather was nice.
On the days it snowed – and in Iowa, there were many – Barnes had access to his own private car.
The passenger door to Doug McDermott’s Nissan Murano was always open.
“He drove me everywhere I needed to go,” Barnes said.
When McDermott and the Sacramento Kings return to the Frost Bank Center on Friday, it will mark the latest installment in an NBA-flavored Ames High School reunion more than a decade in the making.
Barnes and McDermott played together on the Little Cyclones’ varsity squad for two seasons in 2008-09 and 2009-10. The school went 53-0 in that span, winning two Iowa state championships.
The man who coached them both is aware of the incalculable odds of having two future NBA players show up in the same small city in the middle of Iowa at the same time.
“Iowa is not a big place,” said Vance Downs, who is in his 20th season at Ames High. “To have two kids as talented as that on the same team, it was unique to say the least.”
San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson shares a laugh with former Spurs teammate Doug McDermott, who now plays for the Sacramento Kings, as they warm up for an NBA game at the Frost Bank Center on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas.
Right time, right place
Ames boasts a population of a little more than 65,000 people, many of them affiliated with Iowa State University in some capacity.
That is how McDermott came to land at Ames High.
His father, Greg, took the job as Iowa State’s basketball coach in the spring of 2006, U-Hauling his family an hour and half from Cedar Falls, where he had been the coach at Northern Iowa.
Born and raised in Ames, Barnes was immediately impressed by the new kid.
“You could tell he just knew how to play,” Barnes said. “Even at a young age, he had a feel for the game and could make things easier for everybody.”
McDermott’s new coach was less convinced.
As an incoming freshman, McDermott had not hit his first real growth spurt. He was small and scrawny, the type of kid who might either be blown away or buried by Ames’ first winter blizzard.
Greg McDermott, who stands a stout 6-foot-8, assured Downs his son would grow.
“He said Doug was bigger than he was when he was a freshman,” Downs said. “You kind of chalked it up to just a father talking.”
Barnes and McDermott didn’t spend much time together on the Ames High freshman team. It was a time-honored tradition at the school that freshmen did not play on the varsity. Even the great Fred Hoiberg – an Iowa State legend and NBA journeyman widely considered Ames’ best prep hooper to that point – bided his time on the freshman squad.
Barnes’ career on the Ames High freshman team lasted all of one practice.
“After Harrison basically tore down our basketball support (dunking),” Downs said, “we knew we had to get him out of freshman practices.”
The circus comes to town
By his sophomore year, Barnes was getting scholarship offers. By the time he was a junior, Barnes was an unabashed rock star in his corner of the world.
A Mount Rushmore of college coaches beat a consistent flight path to Ames Municipal Airport. Duke’s Mike Kryzyzewski, Kansas’ Bill Self and North Carolina’s Roy Williams were regulars at the Little Cyclones’ open gym workouts.
“Kids in town would leave Little League practices and come to the gym just to see these celebrities,” Downs said.
The biggest celebrity of them all was Barnes.
At the height of Barnes Mania, the Little Cyclones were playing to packed houses across the state. Downs would often have to sneak his team out the back exits of gymnasiums to avoid awaiting throngs.
“It was like a circus,” Downs said.
McDermott was blown away by the player Barnes had become.
The two were in a sophomore Spanish class together the day Barnes received his first scholarship offer from Indiana State.
“Little did we know, there would be many more to come,” McDermott said.
Barnes, who by his senior year had become the No. 1 prep recruit in the nation, seemed completely unbothered by his newfound fame.
“It brought so much attention to Ames and the state of Iowa,” Barnes said. “There’s a sense of pride to have these college coaches coming here, getting national attention, getting eyeballs to the state. We didn’t look at it as pressure.”
Barnes, McDermott and the rest of the Little Cyclones took gratification in making Ames, Iowa the center of the prep basketball scene, in their minds on par with anything New York, Chicago, Los Angeles or the Washington, D.C. area had to offer.
Through it all, playing in Ames – where the whole town felt like family – helped Barnes maintain an even keel.
“Everyone in town is someone you’ve grown up with your whole life,” Barnes said. “You go into the stands at a home game, there’s 6,000 people there and you know every single person in the gym. It just always felt like being at home.”
There was another reason Barnes was able to keep the outsized attention from going to his head. Her name is Shirley Barnes.
As a single mother, Shirley strove to show her son the value of putting nose to grindstone.
When Harrison was still an infant, the two lived briefly in a homeless shelter while Shirley waited for her Section 8 housing application to be approved.
Harrison Barnes can still recall helping his mother comb through the car seats for loose change desperately needed for gas money. When Shirley got a job working in various departments at Iowa State, she used much of her paycheck to support her son’s burgeoning basketball career.
“My mom’s the reason I know what hard work is,” said Barnes, whose mother still lives in Ames. “She rebounded for me in the gym. She drove me everywhere across the United States for tournaments. She made sure I was able to do anything I needed to do to be the best basketball player I could be.”
The show comes to an end
By the time Barnes was an upperclassman at Ames High, he was out-polling corn in the state of Iowa.
McDermott, who by then had grown into his frame, joined Barnes on the varsity team at the start of their junior seasons. He is quick to note what happened next.
The Little Cyclones never lost again.
“If you ask Harrison, I’m probably the reason we never lost,” McDermott said, tongue-in-cheek. “They definitely lost before I was on varsity.”
Ames High completed its second consecutive undefeated championship run in 2010. McDermott tried to convince Barnes to stay home and play for his dad at Iowa State, but to no avail.
Barnes headed east to play at North Carolina, where he arrived with enough advanced placement credits to immediately qualify as an academic sophomore.
Doug McDermott of the Creighton Bluejays looks to shoot over Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller and James Michael McAdoo of the North Carolina Tar Heels in the second half during the third round of the 2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Greensboro Coliseum on March 18, 2012 in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Unsurprisingly, McDermott eventually signed with Creighton in Omaha, Neb., where his father had just taken the head coaching position.
The day after the 2010 Iowa State championship, as seniors were turning in their gear for the final time, Downs took McDermott aside for some farewell words of encouragement.
“I told him, ‘You know, you could make a living playing this game,’ ” Downs said. “I was thinking he could play overseas or something.”
Downs still recalls McDermott’s response.
“If I keep working hard,” he said.
The pride(s) of Ames
Heading into Friday’s reunion game at the Frost Bank Center, Barnes and McDermott have combined to play in exactly 1,700 NBA games including playoffs. They have accounted for 18,925 points.
McDermott has lasted 11 NBA seasons. Barnes, who left North Carolina for the league early after his sophomore season, is in his 13th.
Barnes earned a gold medal with Team USA at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. He won an NBA championship in 2015 with Golden State.
Both players have spent time with the Spurs and Kings, essentially swapping employers from this time a year ago.
Doug McDermott of the Indiana Pacers goes up for a shot on Harrison Barnes of the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on January 11, 2021 in Sacramento, California.
The pair will always have fond memories of their halcyon days together in Ames, tooling around town in a Nissan.
“It was just a lot of fun,” Barnes said.
“Probably one of the most fun times of my life,” McDermott added.
To those who were in Ames when Barnes and McDermott’s team gripped the town, the fun has never stopped.
For Downs, the fond memories are rekindled every time he turns on the television and sees one of his former players in an NBA uniform.
Then there are nights like Friday, when he can see both Barnes and McDermott at once.
“We take a lot of pride to see the men they’ve blossomed into,” Downs said. “They represent their families, their colleges and their hometown so well. Not bad for two kids from Ames.”
By Jeff McDonald, Staff writer, via San Antonio Express-News