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Spencer Rivers, Son of Doc, Will Play For UC Irvine

The youngest son of the former NBA player and current coach joins his two older brothers in playing collegiate basketball.

Doc and Austin Rivers have been the cream of the basketball crop for the Rivers family.
Doc and Austin Rivers have been the cream of the basketball crop for the Rivers family.
Jared Wickerham

Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers was a fine NBA player and has had a very good career as a coach, and some would argue that his 2008 NBA Championship run with the Boston Celtics speaks best to his ability to coach the sport. But it's possible that a quick look at his family tree might do that better. This winter, Doc's youngest son, Spencer, will become the third son to play Division I basketball when he suits up for the UC Irvine Anteaters.

The news was originally reported by the Orlando Sentinel, and the report states that proximity to his father in Los Angeles factored into his decision. UC Irvine is located 45 miles south of the Staples Center, making it a quick drive for one to visit the other.

Spencer played point guard for Winter Park High School (Fla.) and led them to a Florida 8A State Championship in 2014. His older brothers, Jeremiah and Austin, also played for Winter Park before moving on to collegiate careers that saw them play for national powers.

Jeremiah played for Georgetown for two seasons before transferring to Indiana, finishing his career as a role player on some of Tom Crean's first teams in Bloomington. Austin played a single one-and-done season at Duke before being drafted No. 10 overall in the 2012 NBA Draft and now plays for the New Orleans Pelicans.

As a senior, Spencer averaged 10.4 points and 4.9 assists per game on 49 percent shooting from the field, per MaxPreps. He joins an Anteaters team coming of a 23-11 season and an NIT appearance in which they fell to eventual runner up, SMU.