Playing hoops with Dad ain't so bad

Matt Wolff, on the BU men's basketball team (above), was coached by his father, Dennis Wolff. (Boston University)

Joe Cabral faced a tough decision. His college future was staring him down, and the two-sport athlete at Walpole High needed to pick a school. He wanted to play both basketball and baseball, if possible. Schools like Fitchburg State and Eastern Nazarene were interested and Cabral visited the campuses with his family. But when the bell sounded for the final decision last year, Cabral chose a school that was a little more familiar to him.

While most teenagers are eager to get as far away from their parents as possible for college, Cabral chose Mount Ida College, a Division 3 program in Newton, because he wanted to play basketball for his dad, Rico Cabral.

"Me and my dad have always had a pretty good relationship," said Joe Cabral. "He never put pressure on me. He always would point out the positives after a game. It's something I was looking for in a coach. When we sat down and talked about it, we agreed he would keep his space. And we had a mutual understanding there would be boundaries."

In all his years of playing youth basketball and baseball, Joe Cabral never played for his father, who recently completed his 17th season as head coach at Mount Ida. He was unsure of what the experience would be like in college. But there was another family in town - personal friends, in fact - for an example to follow.

Over the past five years, Dennis Wolff coached his son, Matt, on the Boston University men's basketball team.

Rico Cabral and Dennis Wolff met more than 20 years ago, bonding as former assistant coaches at St. Bonaventure at different times under Jim O'Brien. The two have exchanged advice over the years and Dennis Wolff had plenty to share with Rico Cabral about what to anticipate in coaching his own son.

"You have to work to keep the basketball part of it separate from the father-son thing," said Wolff, who earlier this week was fired after 15 seasons at BU, and a 247-197 record, including a 17-13 mark this season.

"With my son, when we were recruiting him, he wanted to be able to call home and complain like kids would complain to his mother without it getting back to me."

The same rules were set up with the Cabrals. No special treatment on campus. Joe lives on campus. Although Joe calls his father "Dad" instead of "Coach" during the season, he kept his focus on developing the respect of his teammates.

Rico Cabral said he thought the dynamic would be more difficult for Joe to adjust to than himself.

"I think it's easier to keep your distance and go into the gym and look at my son not as my son but as No. 12, Joe Cabral the basketball player," Rico Cabral said. "He's in a tougher situation. In the locker room, I'm sure there is criticism being the coach's son and you have to listen to the good and bad about me."

This proved to be a tough season for Joe to learn that lesson. The Mustangs ended the year at 11-14. The team lost five games by fewer than 3 points and were plagued by injuries. When complaints about playing time or annoyances popped up in the locker room, Joe had to listen.

"It's just a learning experience and you learn how to get over it," said Joe, a 6-foot-2 guard.

Joe mostly came off the bench this season, averaging seven minutes per game. He found his role to be more defensive and took it seriously, trying to follow what Matt Wolff managed at Walpole and at BU. Joe made it to many of Walpole's games while Matt was a player there, including the 2004 season, when Wolff helped power the Rebels to the state title. Matt's play motivated Joe so much that at Walpole, he chose to wear the same number (5) and modeled a scrappy style of play after the 6-foot-5 Wolff.

When Joe arrived at Mount Ida and learned he would be coming off the bench, he said he fought for every ball and worked a little harder to prove he belonged.

"There's definitely an added pressure because if I screw up, people will be like, 'Why is he playing,' " Joe Cabral said. "I just give it 100 percent so people can't look at it like that."

That energy went a long way with Rico Cabral and his coaching staff.

"He earned his way onto the team," Rico Cabral said. "He is legitimately there on his own accomplishments and skills. I think he more than proved himself this year as a freshman."

When watching his son play, Rico Cabral said he was unsure how he would feel if Joe had a good game or if he would be more likely to praise or criticize him, but he was relieved that didn't become an issue.

"I'm really looking forward to the next three years," Rico Cabral said.

Monique Walker can be reached at mwalker@globe.com.