KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- For longtime University of Missouri fans, the name Melvin Booker still stirs fond memories.
As part of one of the most storied seasons in school history, Booker was the 1993-94 Big 8 Conference Player of the Year as he led the Tigers to a 28-4 record, regular-season league title and run to the Elite Eight. Missouri finished fifth in the AP Top 25; Booker was a consensus All-America selection.
The 6-1 guard averaged 18.1 points, 4.5 assists and 3.8 rebounds, stuffing the stat sheet night in and night out.
But for all Melvin's achievements, his son, Devin Booker, has surpassed him.
Devin -- who almost committed to Missouri as a five-star prep recruit in 2014 -- wound up spending a year at Kentucky, where he won the SEC Sixth Man of the Year award on a 38-1 Wildcats team that had nine NBA players and was unbeaten until the Final Four.
But it's what Devin has done more recently that's taken the basketball world by storm.
In his first playoff appearance with the Phoenix Suns, the franchise he's been with since the 2015 NBA Draft, Devin has taken Phoenix on a historic run to its first NBA Finals appearance since 1993. He helped the Suns to a 118-105 Game 1 win over the Milwaukee Bucks Tuesday at home, scoring 27 points.
A high school standout at Moss Point (Miss.), Devin was the state's Gatorade Player of the Year in 2014 and visited Mizzou twice, once officially and another time when his father and the rest of the 1993-94 team was honored for a 20th anniversary of the Elite Eight run.
Then-Tigers coach Frank Haith had been pursuing Devin for several years -- Haith's assistant coaches became regulars at Devin's high school games -- but the pedigree of Kentucky Coach John Calipari's program drew him to Lexington. Devin certainly seems to have made a good choice: The 2014-15 Kentucky team is considered one of the greatest never to win the NCAA title.
Coached by Kim Anderson, the Tigers went 9-23 that season. They were still reeling from Haith's sudden departure to Tulsa (and, later, the sting of NCAA violations).
Melvin was proud of his son's choice, as he told the Columbia Daily Tribune in 2013 after Devin's commitment: "I'm proud of my son. He's showing me that he's becoming a young man. He made his decision for himself. He felt that was best for him, and I'm excited. But, you know, the other side of me wanted to see my son in that black and gold."
Devin still plays pickup basketball with his dad
Devin Booker was raised by Melvin in Moss Point, and drills and workouts were commonplace.
One of Devin's signature moves is the dribble pull-up jumper, a shot he hits with consistency and confidence even as the league shifts to greater reliance on three-pointers. Melvin used that same move during his Missouri career. The elder Booker's senior-year field-goal percentage was 50.4% -- sixth best in the Big 8, and an impressive number for a point guard.
Per a story this week by The Undefeated, Melvin still plays pickup hoops a few times each week, partly to stay in shape in case Devin needs an impromptu workout.
And observers continue to notice parallels between the father and son's games.
"He plays just like his son," said former star NFL defensive end Simeon Rice, who was playing in a pickup game with Melvin. "You see where his son gets his game. Super-crafty at his age. Still knows how to get by guys. Knocks down jumpers. Junior is Senior and Senior is Junior. Same guy. It's just Senior is older now. I don't know if he was an elite athlete back in the day, but he knows the game without a doubt."
During his lone season in Lexington, Devin faced the school where his father enjoyed legendary status.
On Jan. 29, 2015, at Mizzou Arena, Kentucky cruised to a 69-53 victory that extended its unbeaten streak to 20 games. Devin scored 9 points in 22 minutes off the bench, but he also had 4 turnovers. UK was led by the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns, Olathe Northwest product Willie Cauley-Stein and the Harrison twins (Andrew, Aaron).
With Melvin in attendance wearing a T-shirt featuring both Missouri and Kentucky, Devin expressed appreciation for Mizzou that day.
"They showed me a lot of love," he said in a news conference before the game. "[My Dad and I] talked about it together for days on days, and I just came up with the best decision for me. ... I still have love for Missouri. They showed me a lot of love when they were recruiting me. They'd been recruiting me since seventh or eighth grade and they still have a special place in my heart."