BOZICH | Nepotism Rules: LeBron James has plenty of company on local sports scene

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — My first encounter with nepotism came weeks into my first job at a small newspaper northeast of Indianapolis.

I was the second person on a two-person staff where high school and community sports activities packed the calendar.

In my first weeks I pitched a story involving the Indiana Pacers. I made the quick and breezy trip to Market Square Arena — complete with my first professional expense account.

There was a charge for parking as well as $9 in mileage reimbursement — 90 miles round trip times the $0.10 per mile federal guideline at that time.

My expense check arrived several days later — 60 cents short of what I requested. A yellow post-it note was attached.

“Rick: I’m a Pacers’ season ticket holder. I’ve driven to games for years. It’s only 84 miles round trip from the newspaper building to Market Square Arena. Thanks. (Signed by the newspaper accountant).”

I asked my sports editor if this was real.

He nodded.

I asked him if there was a court of appeals, considering I had not started my journey from the newspaper building. I lived several miles out of downtown.

He shook his head.

“The head of the accounting department is the son of the publisher,” he told me. “It’s 84 miles. He’s measured it.”

In other words, Nepotism Rule 1 — it’s real and it’s not always spectacular.

That memory bubbled in my head this week following the news the Los Angeles Lakers, the team of Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, invested their second-round draft pick in an undersized guard from the University of Southern California who made 26.7% of his three-point shots and 67.6% of his free throws, with a turnover rate that was nearly equal to his assist rate.

He is also the son of the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.

Perhaps that figured into the calculation of why the Lakers selected LeBron James’ son, Bronny, with the 55th pick on Thursday.

Some people howled. Initially, I was one of those people.

Others, including the entire ESPN crew that I watched, blew horns, tossed confetti and ignited fireworks.

Hey, it’s pick No. 55. In the NBA, that’s closer to pick No. 555 than it is to No. 5.

Last season Isaiah Wong of Miami was the 55th pick. He played in one NBA game last season.

In 2022, the Warriors took Gui Santos at No. 55. At Basketball Reference, he has earned 0.7 Win Shares in 23 career games.

In 2021, Oklahoma City found an actual player at 55 with Aaron Wiggins of Maryland, who has averaged 7.5 points over three seasons.

Jay Scrubb of Trinity High School was taken 55th by the Brooklyn Nets in 2020. He’s played in 24 games in three years.

In other words, the pick is more miss than hit.

Considering everything that LeBron has done for the NBA and the Lakers, I have moved into the camp that LeBron earned this moment. I can’t remember seeing another superstar who shows up and sponsors his son’s teams at the level James has delivered for Bronny. Hat tip to LeBron.

Then I gave myself a test:

How many nepotism tidbits have I seen in four decades following the local sports scene?

Bobby Petrino is the leader in the clubhouse. In 2017 he had his son Nick (quarterbacks) and son-in-laws, L.D. Scott (defensive line) and Ryan Beard (safeties) on the Louisville staff. They were there when he was asked to no longer serve as the Cardinals’ coach.

Before he launched his head coaching career at Florida International, Richard Pitino had two turns on his father’s staff with the Cardinals, where Pitino also once employed Kevin Willard, the son of his good friend, Ralph. 

There was a time when Mark Jurich was in line to follow Tom Jurich as the University of Louisville athletics director.

Jeff Brohm is ably assisted by his brothers Greg (chief of staff) and Brian (offensive coordinator) at Louisville football. Over the last two seasons, Zan Payne played in 46 games for Kenny Payne's Cardinal basketball teams.

Kentucky fans often wondered if Saul Smith’s playing time as the Wildcats’ point guard was in line with his playmaking abilities. Sean Sutton played the position for his father, Eddie, for the Wildcats.

Check the coaching roster for Arkansas basketball. Brad Calipari is listed as the assistant coach/director for on-court player development. Sources say that before Calipari started working for his father, he was a member of three teams for John Calipari at Kentucky. Of course, Brad Calipari also played in the Derby Classic all-star game.

Bob Knight famously said that Pat Knight was his favorite basketball player at Indiana. He also averaged 1.2 points over 112 games for the Hoosiers — and had his father clear the path for Pat to become the head basketball coach at Texas Tech.

Steve Corso caught touchdown passes for his father, Lee, at Indiana — and he actually became a productive player, catching four touchdown passes, including the game-winner against Kentucky in 1980. Talking about that play still brings Lee Corso to tears.

That’s just the Cliff’s Notes version. I’m sure you can suggest others. Nepotism rules.

Confession: I, too, benefited.

I worked three summers on the labor gang at Inland Steel in East Chicago, Indiana. Sons of union members went to the head of the line in the scramble for summer jobs. We didn’t have a basketball goal but we did have the opportunity to tear down blast furnaces, pass and stack bricks and shovel slag. I lost 30 pounds one summer.

If I was at Inland Steel today, chances are I would don my hardhat, put on my safety glasses, slide on my work gloves and post a picture on Instagram with molten steel flowing behind me.

But I can’t go back to Indiana Harbor.

But what I can do is this: Go to Google maps and get the official mileage from the newspaper building in central Indiana to Market Square Arena.

It wasn’t 90 miles, like I recorded on my expense account.

It wasn’t 84 miles, like the son of the publisher calculated.

Google Maps insists it was 86.4 miles.

I was stiffed out of $0.36.

Nepotism rules.

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