JMU’s Bickerstaff no stranger to basketball
Fred Jeter | 12/7/2023, 6 p.m.
If the name Bickerstaff sounds familiar to basketball and/or movie fans, it should.
Forward T.J. Bickerstaff is James Madison University’s 6-foot-9 graduate student who helped the Dukes to a 6-0 start this hoops season.
His grandfather, Bernie Bickerstaff, posted 419 NBA head coaching victories in stints with Seattle, Denver, Washington, Charlotte and the Los Angeles Lakers.
T.J.’s uncle, J.B. Bickerstaff, is the current head coach of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers. Bernie Bickerstaff now is senior adviser for the Cavs.
T.J.’s father, Tim Bickerstaff, played and coached football at North Carolina Central University, and later coached at Durham High School in Durham, N.C.
His mother, actress Detra, has appeared in numerous movies and TV shows, including “Good Wood”, “Angels’ Wings” and “Unspoken Words.”
T.J. Bickerstaff grew up in Atlanta and played at Drexel, Pa., and Boston College before transferring this season to JMU.
