“He said, ‘Yeah, Marcus and Michael.’
“And I go ‘Could that be Michael Weathers son?’
“He says, ‘You got it.’
“And all I could say was, ‘You got to be kidding me!’”
As Yogi Berra, the master of the malaprop once put it:
“It was déjà vu all over again.”
Some 30-plus years ago, when Cooper was a preteen boy, he hung out at the Interscholastic League Fieldhouse in Kansas City. His uncle owned the concession stand there.
“That’s where the city schools in Kansas City played all their games against each other,” Cooper said. “You could watch three varsity games – back to back to back – in one evening.”
Back then, Southeast High, the school that was near his home, was led by a 6-foot-2 left-handed point guard – Michael Weathers.
“He was one of my favorite players when I was coming up,” Cooper said. “Boy, he was some kind of player. He could do it all. He was really good.”
Weathers went on to Drake University.
Cooper grew up, led Rockhurst High, an all-boys Jesuit school, to a state title and then went to Wichita State, where he captained the team two years in a row, each season leading it in scoring and rebounding.
After playing professionally in the Continental Basketball Association and in Europe, he embarked on a college coaching career that included assistant jobs at Fayetteville State, South Carolina, Oregon and Auburn before he took over the Tennessee State program and then Miami five seasons ago.
Michael Weathers died several years ago from heart problems. He was just 40.
For Cooper the connection faded and he had no idea that when Weathers had passed away, he had fraternal twin sons, Marcus and Michael Jr.
Then came the call from his AAU buddy and a roller-coaster recruitment full of starts and stops until the past and present finally converged and the story of John Cooper and Michael Weathers came full circle this season at Miami, where the twin brothers are freshmen making a big impact for the RedHawks.
“There are times I sit here and think about it and it’s just the weirdest deal,” Cooper said with a growing smile. “And it’s pretty cool too.”
Twins find a path to Miami
“Michael is older by three minutes,” Joann Loring, the boy’s mother, said by phone from Kansas City, where she works in a toxicology lab.
“I am the older brother, but Marcus is the bigger brother,” Michael said as he sat next to his brother in Millett Hall the other day.
Marcus nodded: “I’ve got 30 some pounds on him.”
While Michael is 6-foot-2 and 160 pounds, Marcus is 6-5 and 197.
When the boys were small, Joann said she dressed them alike. But even if their outfits were the same, their personalities were – and still are – quite different.
“I’m more outgoing, more energetic,” Michael said. “I smile and laugh more.”
“I’m more quiet,” Marcus offered.
On the basketball court, the difference in their personalities and their games – Michael is a more prolific scorer, Marcus is an inside force – complemented each other and they became a dynamic 1-2 punch for Shawnee Mission North High, leading the team to the Kansas final four two years in a row, the second time, as seniors, bringing their school its first state title in 63 years.
Michael, who played four years of varsity, ended up the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,626 points. Marcus, with three varsity years, ended up the second-leading scorer in program history (1,150.) and the leasing rebounder.
Initially, the brothers were not been highly recruited. Their high school had never been a basketball powerhouse that drew scouts to the stands each game and the AAU team they played on was not one of those high-profile outfits that traversed the country.
But their senior year word got out and Michael especially drew interest from schools like Creighton, Nebraska, Southern Methodist, Virginia Tech, Missouri and New Mexico.
Their mom, who eventually remarried Henry Loring, a former Grambling football player, said she wanted the boys to stay together when they picked a college:
“Me and my husband always taught them to look out for each other. And they always did. They work well together. That’s why I wanted them to go to the same college. They could help each other and when we wanted to see them play we wouldn’t have to decide which college to go to.”
After the call from his AAU buddy, Cooper and his staff entered the recruiting mix, but he said Michael, prior to his senior year, let them know he was “looking in a different direction.”
“I told them, ‘Wherever you decide to go that’s fine, but if you need me to help you or review your transcripts, whatever you need, I’ll do it,’” Cooper said. “’I was a huge fan of your dad’s and more importantly I’m from Kansas City and I care about the guys from back home.’”
The brothers said schools like Eastern Illinois, Texas- El Paso, Southern Mississippi, Missouri State, Missouri-Kansas City and Texas Christian showed interest in both of them.
But then there were concerns about their academics and it took a while for them to get through NCAA Clearinghouse.
Some schools didn’t want to wait and especially didn’t want to tie up two scholarships that late in process.
Eventually Cooper said he got a call from the AAU coach again:
“He said, ‘Coop, you’re a home boy. You know all of us…We trust you and know you’ll look out for them.’ He said. ‘You definitely should be one of the guys looking at them.
“I said they had eliminated us, but he said their situation had changed. And within minutes, I got text messages from them.”
Their grades and test scores had improved and they had learned a little more about Cooper.
The two brothers committed to the RedHawks without ever visiting the campus.
But they had listened to Cooper.
“I wanted them to know that when they came I wasn’t going to give them anything,” he said. “They had to earn it. But I promised I’d watch out for them like I do for any kid. I said they woud get a degree and probably, more than anybody, I’d ride them to make sure they did.
“I said, ‘I like going back home. I don’t want my reputation tarnished on that end.’”
Immediate impact for RedHawks
Joann said she doesn’t know how much the boys remember of their dad.
“I took them to the funeral, but they were just five,” she said. “There were aunts and uncles and their grandparents, but I don’t know how much they actually remember from being with him.”
“Everybody tells us he was a real good basketball player,” Michael said. “They say he had a chance to make the NBA.”
Marcus nodded: “Coach Cooper watched him when he was a kid and I guess he just eventually fell in love with the way he played.”
Although Cooper hasn’t pressed the issue he said: “Obviously their mom and other people can tell them stories, but from a basketball perspective I can tell them a lot about their dad. I saw him play plenty times.
“In some ways he was a combination of both of these kids.”
As Miami opens Mid-American Conference play Tuesday night against Northern Illinois at Millett Hall, Michael leads the 7-6 RedHawks in scoring (19.2 points per game), steals, assists, blocked shots and minutes played.
Unlike his brother who has starred all 13 games, Marcus has come off the bench in each. His 71 rebounds are tops in the team. He’s also No. 1 in three-point accuracy (41.2), second in field goal percentage (48.6) and fourth in in minutes and scoring (8.6 .)
The past few games Michael has been recovering from a bout of tonsilitis that zapped some of his energy.
Marcus said “we always have each other’s back,” so as his brother has recovered he has averaged 13 points and eight rebounds a game his past seven outings.
Although the pair combined for 27 points 11 assists and 12 rebounds in a 89-69 victory over Olivet College Thursday night, Cooper said the brothers are just beginning to learn the demands of the college game.
He sees a tremendous upside in them and they, in turn, see something even better from him.
“Coach Cooper looks out for us and makes sure we keep going in the right direction and do the right thing,” Marcus said.
Michael agreed: “Even though we’ve had some success, he won’t let us get big headed. He knows how to keep us level leaded. He wants us to learn more. He knows what we could be one day.”
That’s because he saw it once before many years ago.
That’s because this is déjà vu all over again.
TUESDAY’S GAME
Northern Illinois at Miami, 7 p.m., 1450, 980
About the Author