Homegrown Hero: Joplin family ready for NCAA Tournament

 

COLUMBUS, OH (CBS 58) -- The road to Columbus Ohio and the NCAA Tournament started with film study more than a decade ago in Brookfield for Marquette's David Joplin with his dad.

"I've been doing it since he was probably in 4^th grade," said Howard Joplin.

The Joplin's tipped off film study early and have not stopped.

"I would say maybe a couple of hundred," said David Joplin.

A decade of constant improvement. Some of that comes from Howard's background as a police officer. He used to take David to the police academy to run through drills and learn important lessons.

"The hardest thing to do is to be repetitive in learning something because it's the boring things and it's the boring that helps you. I can remember teaching him how to use his left hand. Man, we couldn't have imagined 10 years ago where they're at right now," said Howard Joplin, David's father.

Now, Howard is less of a coach and more of a superfan, watching his son, the Big East's Sixth Man of the Year, help Marquette win a championship at Madison Square Garden and prepare for the Big Dance.

"It was awesome! I could feel some tears coming up and I'm trying to hold up cause I'm a tough guy," said Howard Joplin, laughing.

While Howard is clearly proud of David's work on the court, he says he's most proud of the young man he is becoming off of it.