The challenge of trying to eclipse his father’s legend gradually drained Gates’ passion for basketball.
When he played on the JV team at St. Joseph as a freshman, he felt like a failure because his dad spent all four years on varsity. When he cracked the varsity starting lineup as a sophomore, he still viewed it as a disappointment because his dad had emerged as one of Chicago’s best players by then.
Even as the elder Gates tried to ease the pressure his son was feeling, the irony of the situation was not lost on him. The former Marquette guard knew his son possessed the raw talent to go as far or further in basketball than he ever did, but the only way the younger Gates would do it is if he stopped worrying so much about matching his dad’s accomplishments.
“He thought he had to do everything dad did but better,” the elder Gates said. “People thought I was under pressure in the movie. This kid was under the same pressure and he was living in dad’s shadow. That’s tough. He’d talk about it with me, and I’d just let him know, ‘Hey son, I have no expectations. I’m just glad you love the game.'”