Posted on Fri, Feb. 08, 2008

Ray Shipman couldn't hear the doorbell or the multiple knocks, so it took a phone call for the 18-year-old to answer the front door of his Miramar home.

He was on the deck in the back yard, Shipman explains, fishing with his dad. ''He ain't gonna catch nothing, though,'' the always relaxed Shipman cracks.

So the 6-5 local basketball star plops himself on a black love seat in front of a big-screen TV and continues to watch a Janet Jackson movie, Poetic Justice, while discussing his childhood introduction to sports.

Shortly after, his father, Ray Sr., strolls in from the backyard and plants himself on a nearby kitchen stool. Then his mom, Rosalind, makes her way to a comfortable spot beside the couch. And eventually 15-year-old sister Raina settles on mom's lap to join the conversation.

It's suddenly a family affair for this Miami Monsignor Pace senior.

But then, that always is the case with Shipman, a second-generation Miami-Dade County hoopster. It explains why he's the last person he knows in his age group going to movies with his family. And why every night in the Shipman household ends in a powwow in one of the bedrooms. And why his coach says Shipman's family bond ''has got to be the healthiest relationship you've ever seen.'' And why a simple website screen name can make a 6-5 giant of a dad cry.

There are stable foundations, and then there is the Shipman family.

''My friends call us the black Brady Bunch,'' Shipman says.

A TEAM LEADER

Shipman is averaging 25 points in his senior season, attempting to lead the Spartans to a second consecutive 4A state title. He has signed a letter of intent with the University of Florida and is on pace to graduate with a 4.6 grade-point average. He's mild-mannered, respectful and grounded.

It's all perfect, it seems he actually was plucked from a '60s family sitcom. In actuality, Shipman is the result of a plan perfectly executed.

Ray Sr. had always envisioned being the ideal family man. A former All-Dade performer at Miami Jackson, the elder Shipman wanted his children to experience everything he couldn't.

''My dad died when I was 3,'' Ray Sr. said. ``So I always told people when I have a son, or a daughter, I was going to be this Superdad.''

For Ray Sr. and Rosalind, both high school basketball standouts who met while attending Chipola Jr. College in Rosalind's hometown of Marianna, that started with getting Ray and Raina out of the Miami neighborhood where Ray Sr. grew up.

''One night somebody lit fireworks,'' said Ray Sr., an officer for the City of Miami Police. 'Ray came out of the room so scared. He came out of there crawling on his hands and knees crying, `They're shooting again.' Right there I was like, 'I've got to do better to get my boy from out of here.' ''

So he did, eventually moving to Miramar. There were other challenges, such as controlling little Ray's asthma while keeping him involved in sports.

But it all worked out, with his boy developing into the combination of student and athlete.

Superdad even managed to arrange a meeting between his son and the NBA's Superman. It happened when Ray Sr. received a phone call from his sergeant, who was hoping the biggest man in his department could help an even bigger man execute some tactics and takedowns to earn his certification.

That bigger man was former Heat center Shaquille O'Neal.

''During breaks and stuff, Shaq would joke around with Ray and give him tips,'' Ray Sr. said.

O'Neal left Ray a signed hat that read ''See you in the NBA,'' which he now has encased on a nightstand in his bedroom.

If dad ever needed reminders that parenting efforts like those were appreciated, he'd get them. Like the time his kids created a screen name for him.

Ray and Raina called their dad into the room and told him the handle they had chosen. ''For me it was best dadray@aol.com,'' Ray Sr. said. ``They told me what it was, and I was like, `OK.'

'Then I walked out of the room and I was like, `Oh, man,' '' he added, admitting he shed a tear for what he called ``one of the proudest moments I remember.''

It should come as no surprise, then, that Ray Sr. is a regular at his son's games, watching Ray grow from an emergency starter late in his freshman year into a standout senior just months from making the jump to big-time college basketball.

There was a brief time when Ray Sr. couldn't watch his son. It was last summer, when Ray Sr., at age 39, was diagnosed with colon cancer, keeping him away from most of his son's games.

''The thing was, he wasn't supposed to really get tested until he was 50,'' Ray said of his dad. ``So it was like a blessing or a miracle that he just felt like he wanted to get tested because he wasn't feeling right.

``When he told me, he tried to make light of it. But when I went to my room, I was bawling.''

CANCER GONE

Ray went on with his summer basketball circuit, forced to envision his dad in the stands rather than actually seeing him there. Ray Sr.'s cancer was removed, and thanks mostly to the early detection, no further treatment was necessary.

It was that staggering reminder that nothing is promised that narrowed Shipman's college choices to a geographically convenient few. The combination of location and the personal attention the family received from Florida coach Billy Donovan made UF the easy choice.

''I knew it wasn't going to be any farther than Gainesville because of how close he is with his family,'' Pace coach Mark Lieberman said.

Despite the relative proximity, Ray already expects homesickness to be one of his biggest challenges.

He certainly won't have problems with academics.

''Since pre-K, elementary, on up, I just hate to see people do better than me in the classroom,'' Ray said.

He might have a little trouble developing a nastier disposition on the college court. ''I just think that's probably where I can't do anymore, and the next level will do more for him,'' Lieberman said.

But none of it will compare to the adjustment of being away from the ideal family atmosphere -- the kind that can't be recreated.

''That's going to be a big transition for me,'' Ray said.

Who else is he going to compare perfect report cards with if not his sister? Who else is going to tease him about being a ''bubble boy'' because of his multiple childhood allergies if not his mom? Who else is going to fish with him on a random weeknight if not his dad?

It might seem like a common concern for a soon-to-be college freshman. But it's more than that for a member of the uncommonly close Shipman crew.

''We,'' Rosalind Shipman said, ``are unfortunately not the norm.''