For Popeye Jones and Doug Overton, the next generation arrives

Nets assistants Popeye Jones and Doug Overton were teammates in Denver with young sons when fate intervened. Jones' boys fell in love with hockey and now Seth is likely to be the overall No. 1 pick in the NHL draft, which takes place one week after the NBA Draft in Newark. And Dikembe Mutombo picked up young Miles Overton and let him dunk for the first time. Miles is now a top recruit for Wake Forest and those who have seen him around PNY Center think he'll make some waves in the ACC.

The father-and-son combinations are profiled in SLAM Magazine online. Jones of course is going to have a lot of anxiety at the end of June. He's satisfied that Seth is prepared.

"He is a very grounded kid, very smart kid and as a father I’m proud of him more of the person, the young teenager that he is more than as a hockey player," Jone said. "He has been taught to keep his head down and work hard and that’s kind of what he does. He doesn’t let any of it affect him and he knows that hard work pays off and he continues to do that."

Overton senior believes being the son of a pro athlete and coming from an athletic family will help Miles compete.

"The main things I told him was the guys are going to be bigger, stronger, faster and those are some things that he has to work on since he is going to be playing with older kids now," said Overton. "Work on his body, become more of an athlete than just a basketball player."

As for the two boys, they have yet to meet although Doug Overton says they're anxious to sit down together. Asked if Miles would want to get on the ice like Seth, Overton shook his head, smiled and said, "that's not going to happen."

• Like Fathers, Like Sons - Krissy Harper - SLAM
• Doug Overton Interview - On Nets Playoffs and His Son Miles Overton (Video) - SLAM