At DePaul’s men’s basketball practice, there is a drill that requires one side of the lane to post and score with the other side pulling up for a jump shot and shooting.

Running this drill one afternoon is assistant Billy Garrett Sr., making sure the players’ footwork is correct and that the shots go in. Garrett Sr. is quick to say something if he notices an error.

“You’ve got to make those shots,” he says to one player who misses a pull-up jumper.

The player looks and nods while jogging to the other side. It seems like a normal interaction between player and coach. However, for this particular player, there’s something different about hearing the voice of Garrett Sr. in a practice setting.

For that player, Garrett Sr. is also his dad.

“We just have a connection and we kind of see things the same,” freshman Billy Garrett Jr. said. “Me listening and understanding, what he’s trying to get in my head, it makes it easier.”

Garrett Sr. and Jr. are the second father-son tandem to work with each other at DePaul. Legendary coach Ray Meyer and his son Joey Meyer worked together for a total of 14 years, with Joey playing with the Blue Demons for three seasons and also becoming an assistant coach under his father for 11 years.

“One thing I like about being in college is that he doesn’t treat me different like he would any other player,” he said. “I’ve never played for him before I got here so it’s all kind of new to me.”

Garrett Jr.’s arrival has brought big expectations. The 19-year-old freshman ranked in ESPN and Rival’s Top 100 recruiting class, becoming the first top 100 recruit to commit to DePaul during head coach Oliver Purnell’s tenure.

Garrett Jr. already has battled with beating expectations. The freshman genetically carries the sickle-cell trait, which is generally regarded as a benign condition but can cause complications. Those complications occurred when Jr. was 12 and he suffered a splenic sequestration crisis, in which the spleen enlarged without the flow of normal blood and needed a blood transfusion.

Garrett Jr. overcame that crisis and earned a scholarship from the Blue Demons. He now has to live up to his potential.

“Being a Top 100 recruit doesn’t really matter when you leave high school,” Garrett Jr. said. “I think people might be expecting certain things and I’m going to go out there and give them the best that I can.”

Garrett said his parents played a role in where he wanted to go. He also noted that he had other options, but came here because he wanted to.

To Garrett Sr., he’s just glad that his son joined the Blue Demons. At no point was that guaranteed, he said. He wanted Jr. to make his own decision and rarely talked about it.

“My wife wouldn’t let me press him out,” Garrett Sr. said. “He told (my wife and I) one day when we were out at dinner. One day he said the next time that Oliver was going to ask him if he was ready to come to DePaul, he was going to say yes.”

Now that they are together at DePaul, both said that their relationship as father and son tends not to intersect while on the court.

“I look at them like all my sons,” Garrett Sr. said. “I just try to leave the basketball stuff with basketball. I try to be his dad at home. In the quiet times, I’m trying to his dad. But then sometimes, I even end up mixing them.”

Garrett Jr. said he notices his dad’s impact when it comes to individual things.

“I’ll watch tape with him and he’ll say ‘you need to do this and you need to do that,'” Garrett Jr. said.

Ironically, Garrett Sr. said the two spend more time together now than when his son was younger. His job as a coach required him to miss most of Jr.’s high school games and practices.

Garrett Sr. noticed his son developing a deep passion for basketball between 10 and 11 years old. From there, he watched his son mature over the years into the player that he is today.

“As he’s matured, he at least understands the direction I’m taking him,” Garrett Sr. said. “He knows how hard he has to work. He’s not ashamed or afraid to try and be good. “

All of his son’s hard work led to an emotional moment for Garrett Sr. after Jr.’s first exhibition game against Lewis University. Garrett Jr. scored 12 points and added four assists in an 84-79 win.

“Tonight was a little bit different because he’s been with me 18 to 19 years,” Garrett Sr. said. “I was just proud of him. It was a proud moment for him to be playing college basketball and me being able to sit there.”

Garrett knows he’ll have his father, coaches and teammates right there beside him.

“Everybody is close and everybody knows each other,” Garrett Jr. said. “It’s like a family atmosphere.”