Friday, March 29, 2002
Grandparents followed Fife to IU
The Associated Press
CLARKSTON, Mich. — It was senior night at Indiana University, and coach Mike Davis was addressing a sellout crowd of more than 17,000 at Assembly Hall. As he expressed his gratitude to the seniors and their parents, Davis said: “I want to thank Mamaw and Papaw for their support.”
Mamaw and Papaw?
They are Judy and Duyane Fife, grandparents of Hoosiers guard Dane Fife of Clarkston. They follow their grandson so closely, they move to Bloomington during basketball season. They not only attend games, they go to practices.
This weekend Judy, 76, and Duyane, 80, will travel to the NCAA Final Four in Atlanta, where Indiana will play Oklahoma in a semifinal Saturday night. After spending last weekend in Lexington, Ky., for the South Regional, the Fifes thought they might be too tired to make another trip.
“Coach Davis came up to us at practice today and told us we have to go to Atlanta,” Judy Fife said Monday night. “All four of the assistants came up and told us we had to go.”
So they will.
“I'm 80 years old,” Duyane declared. “There's not a lot I can do, but I can watch basketball.”
When Dane Fife, the 1998 winner of the Hal Schram Mr. Basketball award, was a senior at Clarkston High, he was recruited by former Indiana coach Bob Knight. Duyane asked Knight if he could attend IU practices if Dane played there, and Knight said he would be welcome any time.
Practice is important to Duyane and Judy, who have attended virtually every practice that included their three grandsons — Dugan, Jeremy and Dane. The boys were all-state players at Clarkston, where their father, Dan, is the coach. Dugan later played at Michigan, Jeremy at Niagara and Grand Valley State.
This is the second Final Four appearance for the family. The Fifes were in New Orleans in 1993 during Dugan's freshman year when Chris Webber called the phantom time-out in a close loss to North Carolina.
“This is so emotionally draining. It's such an emotional high-low thing,” said Jan, Dane's mother.
Dane, a three-year starter at Indiana, is the youngest of the three boys. When he headed for college, Duyane and Judy, who have been married for 56 years, tagged along.
They rented an apartment and furniture in Bloomington from October through March. They thought it would be nice for Dane to see two familiar faces there.
That first year, with Dane's approval, Duyane attended some practices, but Judy didn't.
“I was a little worried at first, especially about Mamaw, because of the language, so she was banned,” Dane said. “The first year Papaw was there on a limited basis, but the second year he was there every day — three hours early. Now they camp out there.”
Knight and Duyane hit it off well. To this day, Duyane is a big fan of Knight, who was fired 18 months ago.
“Bobby was different, but he was a wonderful coach; they don't come any better,” Duyane said. “Grandma was going to come to practice, but Bob talks too nasty.”
Davis' practices are a stark contrast.
The only days Judy doesn't attend practice is when Dane is going to their apartment for dinner. Then she stays home and cooks.
“We try not to interfere in his life,” Judy said. “I don't call him unless it's important. But he comes over here once a week or so for dinner.”
The other days, she's in the stands watching practice.
“It's a bunch of old ladies,” she said. “We talk about our aches and pains and how bad our men are.”
Another regular at practice is Tamilya Davis, the coach's wife. She likes to sit near Judy.
“We've been here four years now, and we live right close to the field house and the gym,” Duyane said. “I'd say I know about 99 percent of the people in Bloomington. You know how I was in Clarkston.”
Duyane, who retired from Ford Motor Co. 23 years ago, never has been bashful. He knew all of Clarkston's opposing coaches and players when his three grandsons played in high school, and now he's popular in the Big Ten.
“I find it comical,” Dane said. “It's like 'Sanford and Son.' They're the funniest two people in the world. Papaw's an old redneck, and he doesn't have a care in the world.
“After we beat Purdue, he went up to Gene Keady and was talking to him about our family. We beat Illinois by 30, and he chased down Frankie Williams and starts talking to him about me and my dad and tells him to hang in there.”
Duyane always has been a basketball fan. Back in Carrier Mills, Ill., where the grandparents live when they aren't in Bloomington, he served on the school board. When black players weren't allowed to ride the school bus, Duyane drove them to games.
“They wanted to come with me anyway,” he said. “I always had a new car. We used to have a restaurant, and we had a banquet for them. I told the (white) people if they didn't want to come, they didn't have to.”
The Fifes' lease in Bloomington expires this week, so Duyane and Judy are headed back to Carrier Mills. Dan and Jan will swing by and pick them up on their way to Atlanta.
Dan and Jan drove them to Lexington last weekend, when the Hoosiers beat No. 1 Duke and Kent State. In the victory over Duke, Indiana was leading by four points when Dane — the Big Ten co-defensive player of the year — fouled All-America Jason Williams with 4.2 seconds left. Unfortunately for Indiana, the foul came while Williams was making a three-point shot, setting up a potential four-point play.
“When he started to shoot, I covered my eyes,” Jan said. “The next thing I knew, Dan physically picked me up. Dane fouled the guy, and I thought: 'Now your kid did a Chris Webber boo-boo! He could be known for that the rest of his life!' You know how Indiana people are about their basketball!”
Dan's eyes widened. He couldn't believe his son — a coach's son — had fouled Williams, giving Duke a chance to tie the score.
“I thought:
Mamaw and Papaw were just relieved Williams missed the ensuing free throw. Then Indiana beat Kent State to advance to the Final Four, allowing the Fifes to attend another week of practices.
The Fifes were going to move back to Illinois early this week, but Dane suggested they stick around a few more days until the team leaves for Atlanta.
“I told them they better be in the lobby to see us off like they always do, or Coach Davis would be upset,” Dane said. “He probably wouldn't notice, but maybe not.”
The joke among the players is that when Dane attends an IU women's game, Mamaw and Papaw show up just to watch him watch the game.
“If I didn't know them and love them so much it could bug me,” Dane said. “But they don't bug me at all. They've been around all my life. It's something I'm used to. It's no big deal.”
Actually, it is a big deal to Mamaw and Papaw. They have experienced their grandson's entire college career with him.
“You hear about old people who are so bored they can't wait to die,” Dane said. “This has given them so much joy. They're loving life more now than when they were my age. Of course, they had to deal with the Depression and World War II.”
Truth be told, Dane is loving it, too, especially that senior night celebration when his grandparents were singled out by Davis.
“I think that was pretty awesome,” Dane said. “Coach Davis thanked them, and Papaw was double-fist pumping. He's so deaf he probably couldn't hear what he was saying, but it was a very special moment.”
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Grandparents followed Fife to IU
