Before he became a star in the NBA, Ray Allen first made a name for himself at Hillcrest High School. He led the Wildcats to the 4A state championship in 1993 and one of his teammates back then was Tee Morant, father of Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant.
“Ja Morant’s dad and Ray Allen won a championship together? Tee Morant went to high school in South Carolina where both he and Ray Allen played for the Hillcrest Wildcats, and they went on to win the 4A state championship in 1993,” Madelaine Sells said. “Tee hit a last-minute layup to send him and Ray to the championship, which would end up being the only one the school ever won.”
Ray Allen and Tee Morant were high school teammates!? 👀 @overtimemaddy pic.twitter.com/sKJDnygh5h
— Overtime (@overtime) February 14, 2024
The Wildcats were indeed at serious risk of losing in the Lower State Championship game to Hartsville, but Allen and Morant delivered in the clutch. With the score tied at 74 in the closing stages, three Hartsville defenders swarmed Allen, who passed the ball to a wide-open Tee.
He made the game-winning layup with just 0.2 seconds left on the clock to finish with 25 points on the night. Morant scored 12 points in the fourth quarter alone, including 10 of the last 14 for Hillcrest.
Then in the State Championship game against Byrnes, Allen had 25 points to go with 12 rebounds to lead the Wildcats to the title. Hillcrest finished their 1992-93 season with an impressive 27-4 record, and Allen’s exploits landed him a scholarship at UConn.
Tee, meanwhile, would end up playing college basketball at Claflin University. He then played semi-professionally, after which he considered playing professionally overseas, but his now-wife Jamie then got pregnant with Ja.
Tee decided to put the breaks on his basketball career and instead, became a barber. He would also train his son in their backyard and Ja would, of course, turn out to be a far greater player than Tee. He could very well end up accomplishing even more than what Allen did in his incredible career as well.
NBA Fans Reacted To Allen And Morant Being Teammates
Safe to say not many knew that Allen and Tee were teammates. NBA fans were amazed to find out about this fact.
One said this was crazy.
Ayooo that's crazy
— GLeagueHub (@GLeagueHub) February 14, 2024
A fan joked that they wouldn’t have gotten along as their personalities are so different.
Lol they literally have the most opposite personalities, they deffo didn’t click with each other
— Stat Defender (@statdefender) February 14, 2024
One said this shows just how small the world can be.
Son . This world is too small . I hope this isn’t cap
— EA (@EvMatic) February 14, 2024
A fan claimed he played against the Wildcats, and stated both Morant and Allen were ballers.
I played basketball against that 1993 Hillcrest team. I played at Fairfield Central High. They both were ballers! Ray Allen dunked on everybody!
— Jonathan Bell Sr (@jonjonb_316) February 14, 2024
A fan had a lot of respect for Morant after watching the video.
Wow…🏀🏀🏀💯everyones path and "why" is different
Much respect @teemorant12
— Hunt3sonsDad (@hunt3sons) February 14, 2024
Everyone’s path is indeed different. If you want to know more about that team, you can check out the video below.
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