| Well, almost on their own. ``Sometimes when I've done something in a game that I know he wouldn't have liked, I've thought about what he might say,'' said Kasim, 19. After games this season, the brothers often recall their father's postgame ``analysis'' on rides home. The elder Withers would wait until the boys were in the car before speaking his mind. By the time the family pulled up to its house on Sherburne Avenue in St. Paul's Frogtown neighborhood, the boys had a thorough report. ``It didn't matter that we were his sons,'' said Ahmad, 21. ``He would get on us. When we played well, he would say, `You looked like a true Withers out there.''' John Withers was a first-team all-metro selection in his junior season (1976-77) at Central. At 5 feet 7, he was regarded as one of the top point guards in the Twin Cities, an old-school version of former Minneapolis North star Khalid El-Amin. Many people approach Ahmad and Kasim, and tell them how much they enjoyed watching him play. ``John was a little ahead of his time, self-assertive and very confident about his skills,'' said retired referee Jim Robinson, who worked many of Withers' games. ``He knew how to distribute the ball and get his shot off when necessary. People would just fall out when they saw him make a move. He was a can't-miss type of player. The things kids are doing today, the spin moves and all of that, John was doing back then.'' Withers never got the chance to finish his high school career and pursue a college scholarship. His playing style clashed with new Central coach Dan Brink, who replaced Dave Hueller. Brink cut him before his senior season. Withers and his future wife, Marie Swann, had started a family, prompting him to forgo college after graduating from Central. He gave up basketball to get a job. As Ahmad and Kasim prepared for Minneapolis CC's opener against Vermilion in the Minnesota Community College Conference tournament Friday in Mankato, they wondered about another missed opportunity for their father. Ahmad and Kasim, both sophomores, became the Marauders' starting backcourt two weeks after their father's death. This is the first time the brothers have started together since they were AAU teammates as pre-teens. Kasim was the Marauders' starting point guard last season. Ahmad, a shooting guard, was a reserve. John Withers saw his sons play against each other in high school - Kasim graduated from St. Paul Central; Ahmad finished at Highland Park. ``It was one of our father's biggest dreams to see us play together when we got older,'' Kasim said. ``For him to hear our names called as starters on the p.a. system would have been a big thrill for him.'' Ahmad and Kasim appeared in all 22 regular-season games this season, leading the Marauders to a 15-7 record and third place in the MCCC (8-4) behind Bethany Lutheran (10-2) and Anoka-Ramsey (9-3). Kasim averaged 15.8 points, 5.2 assists and 3.5 steals; Ahmad averaged 9.8 points, 3.2 assists and 2.6 steals. The brothers put up creditable numbers despite losing their father and despite other family adversity. Two months after their father's death, their mother, Marie, was seriously injured in a car accident. She and several family members were returning from college graduation ceremonies for her daughter, Elena, Ahmad and Kasim's older sister and a former track star at the University of South Dakota. Twenty-five miles from the Twin Cities, their car hit an ice patch and flipped several times, leaving Marie with neck and back injuries. The accident has kept her from her job as a residential care worker for the Wilder Foundation, a social service agency that counsels abused children. Ahmad and Kasim considered quitting school to get a job to help support the family. ``If anybody was going to do it, I wanted to be the one,'' Ahmad said. ``I didn't want my brother to quit because he's always been pretty good in school and he's a better ballplayer than me. I think he can play Division I ball when he leaves here. I'm more of a Division II player if I get the opportunity. A lot of people say Kasim has some of our father's quickness and shooting touch. I get by on heart and determination.'' Financial help from relatives - particularly a cousin, Michael Binns, and an uncle, Elijah Muhammad - enabled Ahmad and Kasim to remain in school, which Marie advocated. ``I told them that not finishing school would be far worse than the short-term struggles we're going through now,'' Marie said. Marie was unable to keep all family burdens away from her sons. Ahmad and Kasim remained diligent in taking care of the two youngest family members - Shahied, Ahmad's 3-year-old son, and Khalil, 4, Marie and John Withers' sixth child. When Ahmad and Kasim head for school, they often pack up the two young boys and take them to Minneapolis CC to ease stress on their mother. A day at school for Shahied and Khalil includes watching the team practice. Good behavior means a chance to shoot baskets when it's over. ``What Ahmad and Kasim are doing with the little guys is very commendable,'' Marauders coach Jay Pivec said. ``It takes a special kind of kid to handle the responsibilities they have, go to classes and play basketball. On the junior college level, you don't have a lot of luxuries that are common at Division I or Division II schools. Ahmad and Kasim are showing their maturity in a lot of ways.'' It would have made their father very proud.
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Illustration:2 Photos
1) John Withers, a flashy point guard and an all-metro player, was a
standout at St. Paul Central from 1974-77.
2) SCOTT GOIHL/PIonEER PRESS
Ahmad Withers, left (facing camera), and his brother Kasim, right,
entertain their brother Khalil, 4, left, and Ahmad's son, Shahied, 3,
before a Minneapolis Community College practice. Ahmad and Kasim, the
Marauders' starting guards, often take the young boys to school as
they care for them.
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