Saturday's preseason game against the Cleveland Cavaliers will be special for Boston Celtics point guard Terry Rozier. His father, Terry Sr., was released from prison this summer following a 15-year sentence. Now, for the first time, Sr. will have the opportunity to watch Jr. play in a live NBA setting.
The Rozier name is well-known in Northeast Ohio. In fact, the younger Rozier was an absolute star at Shaker Heights High School, where he averaged 25.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 4.7 steals in his senior year. Sadly, though, the elder Rozier did not get to watch his son play in person. Now, however, he can, and he will.
According to the in-game commentary of FOX Sports Ohio's Fred McLeod during Tuesday's preseason tilt, Rozier Sr. will be in attendance for Saturday's exhibition in Cleveland.
Via Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald:
Little Terry Rozier was on the screen shooting free throws when Cavs broadcaster Fred McLeod noted the Celtics guard’s father would be at Quicken Loans Arena on Saturday to watch his son in person for the first time. After spending 23 of the last 25 years in prison, this was all too true. Terry Sr. missed every in-person minute of his son’s rise as a basketball player, from Shaker Heights to Louisville to the Celtics.
Rozier Sr. watched Tuesday night's game at The Steel City Bar & Grill, which is one of his favorite spots in Youngstown, Ohio. As a kind gesture, management at the popular establishment set up two big screen televisions to air the Cavs-Celtics game. Rozier Sr. noted that he became a bit emotional after hearing McLeod's in-game story.
“This is emotional,” Rozier Sr. said in a phone interview with The Boston Herald as he watched Tuesday's game. “I can’t wait for Saturday, the first time ever. A lot of people think I’m so emotional when I talk about it. I’ve been waiting a long time to come home and watch my son.”
Rozier Jr. picked his father up from Ohio's Trumbull Correctional Institute upon his release earlier this summer. When Sr. walked through the doors, Jr. was there waiting with a van.
“Before I got out there, everyone was telling me, ‘Your son’s out there with a big party bus,'” Terry Sr. told The Boston Herald. “It was just so emotional after being locked up for 15 years. So I was very enthusiastic. We just started talking. There were basketball clips playing on the screen.”
Knowing he would need some new clothes, Rozier then took his father on a bit of a shopping spree.
“He was buying me clothes, shoes,” Rozier Sr. added. “It was a little overwhelming because everything was so new, so fast. I felt like a little kid.”
Growing up without a father around is tough for anyone, but Rozier has managed to persevere. Let's hope these two can spend a lot more time together in the future.
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