Darrius Banks, center, the cousin of Marcus Banks of the Miami Heat and UNLV, coaches Marcus’ eponymous prep team Wednesday in a game at Spring Valley High School.
Thursday, July 31, 2008 | 2 a.m.
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Beyond the Sun
Darrius Banks serves burritos, gelato, pizza and sushi, and waits tables at the Carnival World Buffet at the Rio.
His passion is coaching the Marcus Banks Hard 2 Guard summer prep team and assisting at Desert Pines High. He implores the kids on both squads not to be like him.
Set yourself up to do what you want to do, not what you have to do.
“My job is to let the kids know the importance of an education,” said Darrius Banks, 33. “I don’t want them to make the same mistakes I made; I want them to make something of themselves.”
He also gave a big assist to younger cousin Marcus, the former UNLV point guard and current Miami Heat player whose prep-team sponsorship this summer is his first act of philanthropy in his hometown.
Because of his success in the NBA, some detractors have criticized Marcus Banks, who went to Cimarron-Memorial High, for not doing enough back home.
Marcus recognizes that he’s been slow to respond to the needs of certain kids in Las Vegas, Darrius Banks said, but he has been busy establishing himself in the NBA.
In five seasons in the league, he has played for Boston, Phoenix and Miami. Heat President Pat Riley recommended that Marcus spend much of the summer working out in South Florida.
“It’s been difficult for him,” said Darrius Banks. “But better late than never. He’s starting to get it. He said, ‘Let me know what you need. If you need me in the gym, whatever, I’ll do that, too.’
“I told him to make sure he takes care of his business in Miami, that I’ll take care of this team.”
Marcus Banks was honored with an NBA citizenship award when he and Darrius served Thanksgiving dinners to needy individuals in Phoenix, and the Banks cousins plan to make it an annual event.
Darrius Banks had some skills when he played for Phil Clarke at Cheyenne High, but he skipped college to make money as soon as he left high school.
He is grateful to his Rio employers, who give him flexibility to coach basketball.
Hard 2 Guard went 1-3 in the adidas Super 64 tournament last week, but beat three foes by an average of 43 points before beginning the knockout stage of the Nike-sponsored Las Vegas Summer Classic on Wednesday at Spring Valley High.
Darrius Banks beamed about Milos Knezevic, a 6-foot-8 sweet-shooting forward for Hard 2 Guard and Liberty High who committed to Bradley before last week’s tournament.
Reggie Shaw, a slick 6-3 guard whom Banks also helps coach at Desert Pines, and a few other Hard 2 Guard players should have scholarship opportunities, too.
“It’s not just that you’re accomplishing something,” said Banks, who has two young children. “But, as a parent, you don’t have to come up with $120,000 for an education.”
He finds himself often repeating lines from Clarke that once made him laugh — share the ball, be a good sport and play the game, not the score.
From Cheyenne, Clarke moved to Palo Verde, where the court is named after him. He lost a battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in December 2004. He was 53.
“At the time, I wasn’t a big fan of his,” Banks said. “But as years get on, I have realized that everything he told me I’m telling my players. It’s a trickle-down theory.”
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