Derrick Banks sat in the stands at Gonzaga High School in February, watching DeMatha's varsity basketball team fight for another close victory over the Eagles, when a man in front of him leaned back in the bleachers.
"Hey, man, look at this roster," the man said, pointing at his phone. "This roster is crazy. This guy is in the NBA. This guy is in the NBA. This one, too …"
The man, a self-proclaimed out-of-town high school basketball fanatic, was showing Banks DeMatha's 2009-10 roster on MaxPreps.com. Banks, unknown to the man, is not only DeMatha's junior varsity coach; he also was a senior on that team, playing with four current NBA players, three of whom are in this year's playoffs: Victor Oladipo (Indiana Pacers), Quinn Cook (Golden State Warriors) and Jerami Grant (Oklahoma City Thunder).
"To see them in the pros, it was almost like a natural progression," Banks said. "It's weird sometimes, normal some other times, but I am just always super, super proud."
One of the greatest teams in high school basketball history — that's a popular opinion about that DeMatha team. Beyond the three in the playoffs, Jerian Grant, Jerami's older brother, plays for the Chicago Bulls. That team produced one of the stars of this year's NCAA tournament: Maryland Baltimore County's Jairus Lyles. And Pittsburgh standout James Robinson and N.C. State's BeeJay Anya were on that roster, too.
Also in the NBA playoffs this year? The No. 1 pick in the 2017 draft: Philadelphia 76ers sensation Markelle Fultz, who graduated from DeMatha in 2016.
Fultz has made a name for himself, but that 2009-10 team continues to stand out from the rest. Banks saw the team's potential before the season, during summer workouts, when almost everyone had uncanny athleticism and the chemistry flowed. He saw the dedication when players would try to get the keys to the gym from the coaches so they go practice on days off.
They were all close, spending nights at the Grants' house when they were younger, continuing to play pickup basketball whenever they get together now, attending one another's camps and always sharing stories and reminiscing about the past.
"It is crazy to see everyone growing up," said Alex Ogundadegbe, a member of that team who's now a coach of DeMatha's junior varsity. "That is the weirdest part."
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Lyles was a freshman when Oladipo and Jerian Grant were seniors, Cook was a junior and Jerami Grant was a sophomore. All built a close bond that has carried over year after year, with Lyles getting even closer with Cook and Jerami Grant after Oladipo and Jerian Grant graduated.
"I thought they were going to be special when they went to college," Lyles said. "And, of course, you do good at college wherever you are at and you'll be going to the NBA, but I would be lying if I thought they would be doing this good in the NBA right now. All the way back then, I wasn't even thinking about the NBA. It just shows you how great of a school DeMatha is and how they develop their athletes."
Lyles is preparing for the draft by spending six weeks at IMG Academy. He hopes to become the latest DeMatha athlete to make it to the professional level, and his performance in the NCAA tournament, when he helped No. 16 seed UMBC to its historic upset of No. 1 seed Virginia, has him on the NBA's radar. But as Lyles prepares for his career, he always keeps up with his old teammates, especially during the NBA playoffs.
"I always knew Victor was going to be good," he said. "When we played pickup just before practice or after the season, he just showed flashes of everything he is doing now, and I used to tell him that he used to remind me of [Dwyane] Wade. So it's funny to see him doing so well right now, but it's so great."
Oladipo is going up against Lyles's favorite team and player: the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James. With the series being so tight — Cleveland leads 3-2, with Game 6 set for Friday night in Indianapolis — Lyles said he will root for Oladipo to do well but wants James to take home another NBA Finals victory.
"It's the game!" Lyles joked.
Banks said watching his old teammates in the NBA can feel strange, but he's extremely proud of their accomplishments.
"It hits me when I hear other people mention their name or say how good they are or when they're like, 'Did you see this person do that?' And then I'm like, 'Well, that's my friend you are talking about,' " Banks said. "It's a nice feeling to have."
For the playoffs, Banks and Ogundadegbe said they will root for their guys over their personal team allegiances. Banks is a Washington Wizards fan, meaning his team could face Oladipo's Pacers in the second round. If it comes to that, Banks said he would want the Pacers to win the series.
"If I'm going to get my heart broken in the playoffs, why not get my heart broken by someone I saw put the work in?" Banks said.
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For the next wave of DeMatha stars, with Coach Mike Jones still at the helm, the stories never fade away. Former players often come back to the school, and tales of their accomplishments are regularly preached, shared with the Twitter hashtag #OneDeMatha.
"You'll see Markelle at a lot of games; Jerian was at a few of our games this year, too," Ogundadegbe said. "[The current players] get to see them all the time, so I think they understand it … and there are pictures of them everywhere in DeMatha.
"We still think that our team could go down as one of the best in high school history."
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