Lodged deep on some chromosome, as yet undiscovered by a white-coated scientist, rests the basketball gene.

And as a pair of Knoxville seniors has shown, it's definitely dominant.

When Bearden High School's Tony White Jr. and Catholic's Matt Parton begin play this week in the boys' state basketball tournament in Murfreesboro, they'll be carrying that gene with them.

The Irish will be making their third consecutive trip to the state tournament, although tonight's 9:45 EST game against Goodpasture is their first since moving into Class AA from Division II.

Bearden, which faces Memphis Raleigh Egypt at 3 p.m. Thursday at 3 p.m. in Class AAA, is back after a four-year absence.

That's the same length of time since the University of Tennessee's last trip to the NCAA tournament.

The No. 2 seeded Vols open tournament play Thursday as well, about 20 minutes before the Bulldogs will take the floor at Middle Tennessee State's Murphy Center.

Coincidence? Maybe not. White and Parton have the basketball gene.

The orange-tinted one.

Like Son, Like Father

Ralph Parton's name doesn't jump out of the UT record books. Then again, defensive players' names rarely do.

As a guard 1976-80, Parton made his reputation on the defensive end of the floor. He lettered in his final season and was a roommate of Bert Bertelkamp.

"I only averaged 9 points and 12 assists a game (in high school)," said Ralph Parton, a Kentucky native. "Coach (Don) DeVoe, he was a defensive stalwart. If you didn't play defense for him, you just didn't play."

Until this season, defense was where Matt Parton hung his hat, too.

As Catholic's starting point guard for the last four years, the younger Parton inherited his father's penchant for being pesky.

"He's a tremendous on-the-ball defender," Irish coach Mike Hutchens says. "I'm going to say he's the best on-the-ball perimeter defender in Knoxville."

This year, though, Parton has upped his scoring average to a team-best 16 points a game.

While he's improved his scoring output, Parton hasn't forgotten about defense.

The Irish are allowing their opponents about 43 points a game, thanks to their slow-it-down philosophy.

Against CAK earlier this season, Catholic passed the ball 51 times on a single possession -- and didn't even score.

"It seemed like forever, we had to take at least four or five minutes off the clock," Matt said. "I don't think a lot of people had seen something like that before."

For anyone who saw his father play, watching Tony White Jr. is dA(C)jA vu.

Simply put, The Wiz's kid is a whiz kid.

White, a Mr. Basketball finalist and son of former Vols great Tony White Sr., led Bearden with 22.3 points a game in the regular season.

The younger White matched his father's UT single-game record of 51 points earlier this year against rival Farragut.

The 5-foot-11 senior inherited his father's size and game.

"I see a lot of myself in him, the way he plays and how hard he plays and the determination to be a winner," says Tony Sr. "He really competes and loves to win. I do see a lot of myself in him."

White's slashing and scoring are all readily apparent in his son.

But the pupil hasn't surpassed the teacher yet, at least not in the driveway.

"I think I've beaten him three times," the younger White said. "He beat me six. I beat him towards the end, I think because he was getting kind of tired. They were all close games."

Common Thread

If there's a link between the Whites and the Partons, it's in the attitude.

Maybe the most-important quality the families share is their desire and expectation to win.

Ralph Parton was on a pair of SEC championship teams (one regular-season and one tournament) and went to the NCAA tournament three times in his four years.

"I've been raised to hate to lose," Matt Parton said. "We've been winning our whole life, competing and trying our best."

After a loss to Chattanooga Baylor last year in which he missed a potential game-winning free throw, Parton stayed in the gym until midnight, refusing to leave until he hit 100 free throws.

"I just wanted to win," Matt said. "I had the chance to help my team do it and didn't. It drove me for success and made me want to do the best for my team."

For the Whites, that meant scoring.

Tony Sr. holds two of Tennessee's three single-game scoring records including his 51 points against Auburn in 1987.

His 24.5 points per game as a senior is the best average not belonging to a player named Grunfeld or King.

He's passed that flair for finding the basket down to his oldest son.

"He's not only my father, he's a teacher," Tony Jr. said. "When you have someone like that, they can give you top of the line advice. He's been through it all, high school, college and professional. Not many kids have a chance to do that -- have a good coach and have a dad with that kind of experience."

That experience has paid dividends for Tony Jr.

"I think when you come from an athletic family, that success is to be expected," Bearden coach Mark Blevins said. "He's been one of the best to ever play here, for sure. Tony's a wonderful player but he's 10 times a better person."

Passing It On

Whether it's nature or nurture, the fact remains: Parton and White bear an amazing likeness to their basketball fathers.

"All those guys, their kids are winners and they're winners," Hutchens said. "It's rubbed off on their kids and our community."

It's not done yet, either.

There's Blake Jenkins, son of former UT player Fred Jenkins, who missed most of his freshman season with the Bulldogs because of a back injury.

And there's still one White remaining, in full possession of that basketball gene.

"His name is Rico. He'll be at Bearden in a couple of years," Tony Jr. joked. "There's still one more to worry about."