Shane is grateful for his bloodlines.

"I thank my dad — and my mom," Shane says. "If I don't thank her, she'll get on me."

Barry notes that his wife, Lisa, was indeed an excellent dancer. And he says Shane's success involves more than mere good genes.

"Growing up the son of a major league player, Shane used to get so incredibly upset when people said he was only given opportunities because of who his father was or because he had money or whatever," Barry says. "Those things motivated him, and I think Shane does an incredible job of working really hard."

Barry says he still wonders how good his son might have been at baseball. But Shane says his decision to focus on basketball went beyond frustration with his Little League coach.

"I was a hyper kid, so I didn't want to play baseball and wait for the ball to come to me," Shane says. "I wanted to play a sport where I could go get the ball.

"When I was young, it was fun being in the locker room and shagging balls in the outfield in spring training," he says. "But I couldn't keep my attention on the games for more than 30 minutes. I would sit there with my Game Boy the whole game."

Now the sport has changed, and so have the Larkins' roles. Shane's glad to be playing, and Dad happily does the watching.