My brother and me

Coach Ray Lopes turned Shantay Legans from a 'high-risk' 9-year-old to a compassionate, trustworthy and caring young man—not to mention the starting point guard on the second-year coach's first ever head job.

By Maggie Thach

It had been just him and his mom for as long as he can remember. Susan Legans felt that her nine-year-old son Shantay needed a male influence in his life.

“ I was a single parent,” Susan Legans said. “It was hard for a boy to just hang out with his mom.”

So, in the fall of 1990, Susan called to the Big Brothers of Santa Barbara to find a mentor for her basketball-minded son. Shantay Legans wanted a player from the UC-Santa Barabara men’s basketball team, but things didn’t turn out exactly how he wanted.

A representative of Big Brothers called the UCSB basketball office looking for a mentor. An assistant coach happened to receive the call.

“ They said they were looking for a match for Shantay, but the student athletes didn’t want to put in the time,” said Ray Lopes, the coach who took the call. “They sounded like they needed a match and being the nice guy that I am, I took it on. I thought it would be a great gesture.”

Now all Lopes had to do was get through to a boy who was 20 years his junior and labeled “high-risk.”

“ First and foremost, I thought I could get through to [Shantay] through basketball,” Lopes said. “I knew there would be a respect there. Second, I just wanted to be sincere and genuine.”

“ I wasn’t going to try to be his father, but once I really got to know him, I never saw the problems they said he had.”

His tactic worked.

“ At first, [Ray] seemed very nice but I was still hesitant,” Shantay Legans said. “I started to feel comfortable with him because even though he was older, I could just go to talk to him. He was always asking how I was doing and what my interests were. He never gave me a chance to push him away.”

From then on, Lopes and Legans built a relationship, laying the foundation for what would be a life-long connection. Slowly, Lopes made Legans a part of his family and everyday life.

Once a week, Lopes picked up Legans and would occasionally bring him to practices and workouts. Once, Lopes even got Legans to be a ball boy.

He came to dinner at the Lopes’ house, did homework, and became a big brother to the Lopes’ one-year-old daughter, Alaina.

“ I felt good that Shantay was getting a sense of family over at Ray’s house,” Susan Legans said. “Being a single mother, it was something I couldn’t provide for him.”

Shantay Legans also felt the benefits of having a second family—especially a father figure.

“ My mom couldn’t teach a boy to be a man,” Shantay Legans said. “Coach taught me how to cut my hair and shave. Whatever a dad would do.”

And just like a real father, Lopes exposed him to new things.

Lopes was with Shantay when he first saw snow and bungee jumped for the first time. Because of Lopes, Legans flew on a plane, went camping and played golf.

“ Even though he’ll try to deny it,” Legans said. “[Lopes] lost to a sixth grader on a par 3 course.”

Golf wasn’t the only thing Legans could beat Lopes at. Even though Lopes was hesitant to admit it, he said Legans beat him a couple times in one-on-one basketball games.

“ Right when he got to the point where I knew he could beat me, I stopped playing,” Lopes said.

By Legans’ seventh-grade year, the games of one-on-one became less frequent. In 1993, Lopes went on to become the assistant coach at the men’s basketball program at Washington State. But the relationship between the two did not waver. Legans would fly to Pullman, Wash. to watch Lopes and the team practice.

“ I thought, ‘Wow, they have to do all this stuff,’” Legans said. “They were really good and intense. It was a good experience.”

At that point, Legans realized what it would take to play college basketball—hard work and dedication—two things Lopes had stressed throughout their relationship.

The following year, Lopes moved on to the assistant coach’s position at the University of Oklahoma.

As Lopes settled into his new role, Legans made his own transition into high school. Both followed their own path of success.

While at Dos Pueblos High School, Legans was named league MVP in his junior and senior years, voted Player of the Year for Santa Barbara County, and rated the seventh-best point guard in the nation by Recruiting USA.

Meanwhile, Lopes posted a 187-74 record as an assistant coach at Oklahoma. While he was there, they won the 2001 and 2002 Big 12 tournament title.

Lopes and Legans kept in touch over the years through phone calls and e-mail, at least twice a week. Between Legans’ junior and senior years of high school, Lopes attempted to reunite himself with his little brother.

“ I wanted to recruit Shan to come play for Oklahoma,” Lopes said. “I brought my head coach to the Big Time Tourney in Las Vegas. Shan played great. He was the reason why they won. He was convinced that Shan was a great player. Unfortunately, we signed with someone else.”

So Lopes’ hopes of a reunion were dashed, but Legans had a vast array of schools to choose from. He was recruited by many schools, including Cal, Pepperdine and NC State. With the guidance of Lopes, Legans decided Cal was the school for him.

“ He never told me where to go, but he told me his thoughts on what schools were good,” Legans said.

After all, Cal had the things Lopes had emphasized all along. Being in the Pac-10 conference, the school embodied a sense of hard work and dedication, as well as a good education.

While at Cal, Legans established himself as one of the premier point guards of the conference in his three years there. He was poised to be the celebrated leader for the team his senior year, but being at Cal was not what he wanted anymore. He wasn’t having fun.

“ [Shantay] wasn’t being the old Shantay,” Susan Legans said. “Until he came to Fresno.”

At about the same time, Lopes was being welcomed by the Fresno community as the new men’s basketball coach. Legans saw a chance to finally be with his big brother.

“ That was tough because I was thinking of [Shantay],” Lopes said. “I told him to not be a quitter, to not complain and do his best. When it came down to it, he decided this is what he wanted to do. I wasn’t going to turn him down.”

“ In sixth or seventh grade, I told [Lopes] if I ever got to play college ball, I wanted to play for him,” Legans said. “He said, ‘me too.”

So in the fall of 2002, Legans became a player under Lopes for the first time. Sitting out a year due to NCAA regulations has helped Legans see the game in a whole new perspective.

“ I’ve been on a team every year since I was in fifth grade,” Legans said. “I finally got to see the game from a coach’s position.”

Seeing basketball from a different perspective has seemed to bond Legans and Lopes closer together.

“ I do sometimes see my characteristics in him because he, too, wants to become a coach,” Lopes said. “He shows concern for his teammates and acts as a leader for them as well.”

Lopes said he hopes this leadership will translate onto the basketball court.

“ Shan has a great feel, great instincts, everything you could want in a point guard as a coach,” Lopes said. “We’re fortunate to have him at Fresno State. I hope that he has a chance to play beyond college. If not, I want him to be on my coaching staff. I want him to work for me.”

“ Give Shan a lot of credit. He’s really mature. It wasn’t all me. He deserves a lot of credit and so does his mom.”

This response only exemplifies that mutual respect Lopes and Legans have for each other.

“ Ray gave him goals, focus, work ethic and the mentality that he’s able to make dreams come true,” Susan Legans said. “They’re so close because he can tell Ray anything and he has respect for him. Having Ray in his life has given Shantay such a positive outlook on life.”

So when Legans suits up to play as the starting point guard in the Save Mart Center this November, Lopes will know that he has had a hand in cultivating the compassionate, trustworthy and caring point guard on his team.

“ [Shantay]’s gonna do a heck of a job,” Lopes said.

But more importantly than that, Lopes has seen him evolve into a compassionate, trustworthy, and caring young man.

“ Shan has truly been something special in my life,” Lopes said. “He’s been the best big brother my three kids could have. He’s allowed me to be a father and big brother. I feel honored to be in his life.”