CHICAGO — Watching her sons, AJ and Damari Nixon, play basketball is like stepping into a time machine for Latora Johnson.
With every crossover, jumper and athletic dive toward the floor for a loose ball, Johnson is reminded of her famous hoops-playing brother, the boys' uncle Ronnie Fields — the Farragut Academy legend who had a long pro career and is now mentoring both Nixons. AJ, 15, is a freshman varsity guard at Fenwick High School in Oak Park, while Damari, also a guard, is a 13-year-old eighth-grader at Legacy Charter School in North Lawndale.
"The way they move on the court, it takes me back to my brother's games," said Johnson, a fellow Farragut graduate. "For him to come in and take my boys under his wing, I am forever grateful because the teaching won't get any better than that."
Justin Breen says Fields enjoys watching his nephews excel:
Fields, who had an all-but-certain NBA career derailed after breaking his neck in a car accident, was best known for his explosiveness on the court — jumping over defenders for vicious slam dunks and seemingly scoring at will while playing alongside Kevin Garnett at Farragut. A 15-season pro career ended three years ago, and since returning to his native Chicago, he's tutored his nephews on basketball fundamentals, skills and general know-how.
"It's an honor to sit and watch and see how much they love and enjoy just competing and following in their uncle's footsteps," said Fields, 37, who is an assistant coach at Fenwick, runs the Illinois Admirals AAU hoops program and speaks to children about avoiding the same mistakes he did as a teen.
"I watch them and watch their improvement, and they look more advanced in certain parts of their game than I was at their age," he said.
AJ Nixon said he occasionally views highlight tapes of Fields, but he and Damari both stressed they want to create their own basketball identities.
"There's more to me than being Ronnie Fields' nephew," said AJ, who's 6-foot-2 but believes he'll grow a few more inches during high school. "But we have the same mentality, in that sometimes we face obstacles and that just makes us play harder and harder, and I could see that from my uncle.
"Basketball means a lot to our family," AJ added. "We make our family proud each and every night by having good performances. Basketball is a culture and tradition in our family."
Fenwick head coach Rick Malnati, who's known Fields since he was an eighth-grade star at Mason Elementary School in North Lawndale, said it's difficult to compare Fields to AJ because the former's "athleticism was unparalleled."
But he noted AJ has great potential.
"His greatest quality is he's really fast with the ball, and he really puts a lot of pressure on teams with penetrating," said Malnati, a former assistant coach at Loyola University.
Damari Nixon's school shares a building with Mason, which houses Fields' eighth-grade uniform and 1991 city championship in its trophy case. Damari rarely walks by his uncle's hardware, but said he doesn't have to to understand Fields' significance at the school, on the West Side and in Chicago basketball lore.
And Damari also said he appreciates how Fields is preparing him and his older brother to hopefully be the next outstanding hoopsters in the family.
"I admire my uncle," Damari said. "He's a great leader and a great influence for other kids. He helps so many kids become great basketball players."
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
