For
Max Majerle and
Cade Bennett, basketball was never far away.
It was in the gyms they grew up around, in the conversations at home and in the lessons passed down by fathers who had already made names for themselves in the sport.
Majerle grew up as the son of "Thunder" Dan Majerle, the three-time NBA All-Star who spent much of his 14-year career with the Phoenix Suns. Bennett grew up as the son of Randy Bennett, the longtime college basketball coach who built Saint Mary's into a national program before recently taking over as Arizona State's head coach this spring.
Now, the two redshirt seniors are beginning new chapters together at NAU. A new chapter, but a final chapter in their respective collegiate careers during journeys in the sport that have never simply been about following their fathers.
For both first-year Lumberjacks, being the son of a respected basketball figure has provided opportunities that few others receive. It has also meant learning how to separate their own identities from the reputations of the men who came before them.
"I'm my own person, I'm my own player," Majerle explained. "He was an All-Star, he was the 14th pick in the first round and he was one-of-a-kind, but I'm Max. I'm my own guy."
That distinction has become increasingly important as Majerle has carved out his own path.
Basketball was a major part of his household from the beginning. His father was finishing his NBA playing career when Majerle was born, before transitioning into broadcasting and later, coaching. By the time Majerle reached middle school, Dan was an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns, giving his son a front-row seat to see what his world was like.
One of Majerle's earliest basketball memories came at the Suns' arena, where his father taught him a free-throw routine that he still uses today.
The access was an advantage. So was the knowledge.
Majerle learned from watching his father play, and later by watching him coach, including a seven-year stint as head coach at Grand Canyon. He saw the competitiveness, toughness, defense, leadership and doing the small things that do not appear in the box score.
"He was a really good shooter. He could defend and those are things that I take pride in as well," Majerle said with a grin. "But playing hard every day, competing and having toughness as well as being a leader on the floor are probably the biggest things I've taken away from him."
The influence has been evident in Majerle's career. The 6-foot-4 guard arrives at NAU after playing at Central Michigan, Pima Community College and North Dakota State. Last season at NDSU, he was part of a Summit League Championship team that reached the NCAA Tournament.
Yet, having "Majerle" on the back of his jersey has also meant carrying a name that is recognizable throughout the Arizona basketball community.
Majerle admitted that there were times growing up when he felt people expected more from him because of his father's reputation. The pressure was strongest during his freshman and sophomore years of high school, when he first established himself as a varsity-level player.
Over time, however, the attention became something he learned to embrace.
"I think pressure's a privilege," Majerle stated.
Rather than allowing comparisons to define him, he learned to use them as motivation while developing parts of his game that were distinctly his own. His father was a bigger wing. Max sees himself more as a guard who can handle the ball.
The goal was never to escape his father's shadow. Instead, the goal was to understand that the shadow did not have to determine his path.
Bennett has faced a different version of the same challenge.
His father did not play in the NBA. Instead, Randy Bennett spent decades building a reputation as one of college basketball's most successful head coaches. He spent 25 seasons at Saint Mary's, winning 589 games, reaching 12 NCAA Tournaments and producing 18 consecutive postseason appearances before taking the Arizona State job in March.
For Bennett, that meant growing up around high-level coaches, players and practices.
"It put me ahead of a lot of kids from the start, just with the basics and fundamentals of the game," Bennett said.
The benefits extended beyond simply having access to the gym. His father was a resource who could explain the game from a coach's perspective and teach him what winning basketball looked like.
Despite growing up around the game, Bennett never viewed basketball as an obligation.
His family encouraged him and his brothers to play other sports. Basketball remained his choice, not something imposed on him. It's a distinction that helped him appreciate the advantages of having a coach for a father without feeling as if he owed the game his future.
However, there were moments when the relationship became complicated.
Bennett eventually played for his father at Saint Mary's, forcing the two to navigate a relationship that had previously been divided between home and the basketball court.
At practice, games, team meals and walkthroughs, his father was "Coach." At home, he was "Dad."
"It was always Coach," Bennett explained with a laugh. "So whenever I was away, and say I went home for Christmas, that's when it was Dad."
The arrangement was not always that easy. Bennett acknowledged there were times when his father was hard on him after a poor game. There were also moments when he believed his father was wrong.
Instead of letting disagreements define their relationship, Bennett learned to evaluate them. He watched film and asked teammates or his brother for an honest opinion. Most of the time, he admits, his father was right.
That process made him more critical of his own game, but Bennett sees that as an advantage.
"I think just knowing that stuff and being taught that stuff from an early age, you kind of expect more from yourself," he stated.
Like Majerle, Bennett has also worked to establish a basketball identity separate from his father's.
He credits his father with teaching him how to play hard, be tough and understand the game. But he points to passing and creativity as aspects of his game that developed through his own experiences.
The distinction matters now more than ever.
With Randy Bennett set to begin his first season in Tempe, back in his home state, Bennett is concluding his career at NAU. Their paths remain connected, but they are no longer moving through the same program.
"I know that I'm my own person no matter what," Bennett explained. "He has had a big impact on college basketball along with the teams and players he's coached. I think knowing that I'm my own self and I have my own path to go down is important."
Coming from a basketball family has its benefits, something that head coach
Shane Burcar recognizes. Majerle and Bennett join
JT Amundsen as current Lumberjacks whose fathers were collegiate basketball coaches. Additionally in recent years,
Isaiah Shaw and Liam Lloyd also donned the Blue & Gold having come from similar backgrounds.
"The biggest advantage is players like Max and Cade understand that basketball is a lifestyle," Burcar said. "The intensity and strains of a season is already understood. Winning also runs big in all of their families."
Neither player denies his father's contributions. In fact, they both recognize that their careers would look different without the opportunities and instruction they received.
Dan's background helped shape Majerle's basketball mind and approach. Meanwhile, Bennett detailed how he would be a different player without the early exposure to high-level basketball his father provided.
Their fathers gave them access, knowledge and examples to follow. Now Majerle and Bennett have a final season in Flagstaff to decide what they will do with those advantages.
At NAU, they are no longer simply the sons of Dan Majerle and Randy Bennett. They are Lumberjacks, starting at a new place, with new teammates, new coaches and their own opportunities to define what comes next.
For two players who grew up around basketball royalty, that may be the most important part of the journey.
