Houston-area native and former Texas player T.J. Ford couldn’t be happier about his return to the area of his college success.
Ford said he had other opportunities, but was more excited about the opportunity to have a homecoming of sorts by joining the Spurs.
“In the eight years of my career I’ve been in the midwest, the east coast … far from home,” said Ford, who attended Sugarland Willowridge before spending two seasons with the Longhorns. “I have a lot of family and friends between Houston and Austin, so there’s a lot of opportunity for them to come see me play. Just to feel the love and the atmosphere, it feels good.”
Those good feelings and the opportunity for playing time with the Spurs were the biggest reasons he chose San Antonio.
“I think they wanted me. That was the big thing for me,” Ford said. “ I just felt it was the right fit from the time I got that first phone call. I didn’t think about any other team.
“I had other offers, but I don’t think I could have gotten a better situation than being in San Antonio.”
And the opportunity for playing time in place of the traded George Hill also had to factor into the decision.
The Spurs have had only one former Longhorn on their roster in their previous history. Johnny Moore played all but one game in his 520-game NBA career with the Spurs from 1980-90.
The team will have two former UT players this year in Ford and rookie guard Cory Joseph, the team’s first-round draft pick this season.