Dad, sons aim to be national champs

HOLLAND, Mich. (WOOD) - One characteristic that many winning teams have is that they become like family. They play; they work; they bond. That family bond runs a little deeper at Hope College.

Hope Head Coach Matt Neil said he treats every player on this team as if they were his own sons -- but two of them actually are.

"It's an obvious blessing for me to be here, with my sons, every single day during the season," said Neil.

Neil's oldest son Logan is a senior guard.

"Playing for him has been great," said Logan. "It's really strengthened our relationship. We've become really good friends as well as just father and son. We see the game very similarly."

Youngest son Grant is a sophomore forward.

"It's special," said Grant. "It's a dream come true, getting to see my dad and brother every day at practice, and being able to play for him. It's a lot of fun. We have such a close family."

For Logan and Grant, the year has been especially close. They play together on both the varsity basketball and soccer teams.

"Especially position-wise, with me being a defender and him being a goalie, I was by him a lot. So that was something special. We had that connection," said Grant.

Both brothers earned all-conference honors, and led the Flying Dutchmen to their deepest playoff season run ever.

"We made an Elite 8 run," said Logan. "We want to be the national champs and make a run for basketball."

The dream began long ago, when the two brothers were Hope ball boys during the team's Final Four run in 1996.

"I was just looking at pictures the other day, when we were at the Final Four. My dad was on the ground rolling a ball to me, I'm just a little kid," said Grant.

When Hope came up short in the national championship game, Grant and Logan had words of comfort for their father.

"My brother and I went up to my dad and said, 'Don't worry. When Logan and I are here together playing ball for you, we're going to win a national championship,'" remembered Grant.

"We were saying, 'You know, Dad, some day we are going to win a national championship when you're the head coach.' And here it is in front of us," said Logan.

"It would obviously be very special, to go back to Salem and to play that game, where they were little boys and ball boys," said Neil. "It would be special for them and certainly special for me."

This will also be the last time the three have a chance to play together. Each hopes that the season will end with a national championship and the fulfillment of a dream the Neil brothers had in 1996.