Biography

Theophalus Curtis Ratliff

Demopolis, Ala., with a population of about 8,000, sits in Marengo County, in the west central part of the state, referred to as the "Black Belt Region" and the upper coastal plain area. Tuscaloosa is north, Mobile to the south, Montgomery is East. The county population is roughly 24,000, with an estimated 70,000 within a 30-mile radius. Theo Ratliff's hometown is located at the confluence of the Tombigbee and Black Warrior rivers, serving as the gateway for low-cost barge service to Tennessee, mid-America and world ports.

The town was established in 1817, settled by political exiles who had been banished from France by King Louis XVIII following the abdication of Napoleon Bonaparte. Beef cattle, dairying and the lumber industry eventually replaced the area's dependence on cotton as the primary sources of income. But the pride of Demopolis, other than the rising star of Ratliff, has been "Christmas On The River," a weeklong festival that has been in place since 1972, including the lighting of love trees, candlelight tours, fireworks and a championship barbecue cook-off. That celebration drew approximately 40,000 visitors last year.

This is the town in which Theo Ratliff grew up, with brothers Thaddius and Timothy, raised in a single-parent household by their mother, Camillia. Thaddius, 29, is a chemist; Timothy, 25, is a financial consultant. Camillia is the director for programs for senior citizens in 10 of the 67 counties in Alabama. Theo's father, Ralph Hunter, is not in the picture.

This is the town that is planning a "Theo Ratliff Day" this summer, getting clearance from Mayor Austin Caldwell.

"I didn't feel any different than anybody with two parents," Theo recalled. "My mother was basically my father, also. She had to tell us about manly things, she had to make sure we learned how to grow up and be successful. We grew up a very close-knit family. We were always together, always supported each other."

The town was small. Everyone knew everyone. That was good for Theo, because he knew if he did anything out of line, word would quickly get back to his mother.

"That's where I got the discipline I have," Theo said. "We knew we couldn't do whatever we wanted. You don't understand why at the time, but as you get older, as you look back, you realize why it was that way."

Theo had seen his mother battle back from a broken kneecap and a torn anterior cruciate ligament, suffered in a softball accident.

Coincidentally, the surgery was done by Dr. James Andrews, the nationally respected specialist frequently sought out by professional athletes, including Theo.

When it was time for Theo to leave Demopolis High, Camillia let him make his own choice. She liked the recruiting presentation Dees had made, but she would not direct her son. She remembers Dees, now out of coaching and living in Georgia, telling her what it would be like.

"I told Theo I don't decide schools or careers, but that whatever he decided I would live with," she said. "You prepare your children for life, that's what parents are for."

Dees saw Theo as a sleeper.

Bennie Dees saw it, and he knew. In a stuffy gym in a tiny Alabama town smoldering in the summer heat, Dees marveled at the kid, a string bean with high pockets and willowy arms, with huge hands that could palm a basketball but had never touched a barbell.

The kid was raw, a teenager still, with limited offensive skills. But he had the gift, the instinctive and unteachable gift. And when Dees saw him play, he instantly, desperately, wanted the kid to play for him at the University of Wyoming.

"He was a big ol' skinny kid that could run like a deer and jump out of the gym," said Dees, now retired from coaching and tending to his cows in Georgia.

"He could do three things - run like the wind, jump and use great timing," Dees said. "He got a little better, a little better, a little better. We took chances on kids with potential. I had no idea he'd be an NBA All-Star."

"And, boy, could he block shots."

Dees had no idea that the kid would sprout three more inches to reach 6-foot-10 or that, once in college, he would fall in love with the weight room and vigorously sculpt his body. He had no idea that the kid would block so many shots, set so many school records that stand more than five years later.

Camillia wondered whether Laramie, Wyo., might provide culture shock for her son, but if he was prepared for it, so was she.

"It wasn't [culture shock]," Theo said. "Laramie was small, too, the same type town as Demopolis, except there were less black people. But as I became popular for basketball, it was the way it was at home.

"Joby Wright told me all the time, 'You don't know how good you can be.' He told me I had a special gift. He'd push me. The more I was around him, the more knowledge I got. And then I spent time around him and his family, with his kids, and the more I realized I needed to be around when I had kids."

With his wife, Kristina, Theo has two daughters: Yasmeen, 2, and Alexis Florence, approaching 10 months. He has another daughter, Stacia, 4, from a previous relationship.

"I said to Theo at the beginning of this season, 'I think this is your year to go to the All-Star Game,' " Camillia said. "God has a plan for Theo. I believe he's at the point he's supposed to be. Faith without work is dead."


The combination of faith, love and work that Camillia Ratliff imparted to her children was equally carried out by Luke Hallmark, Theo's only coach from the seventh grade on. When Theo moved to the high school, so did Hallmark, becoming the junior varsity coach. When Theo began his junior year, Hallmark became the varsity coach.

"I don't know what kind of influence I had, other than trying to instill good work habits, things the kids weren't always crazy about," said Hallmark, now superintendent of education in Marengo County. "I worked on rebounding and blocking out with Theo, I didn't work on shot-blocking.

That was innate. "When I first had him in seventh grade, he had a small upper torso, long legs and arms. He looked like a deer on ice, the way he would be sliding around. By the time he was a senior, he had a little nasty in him. I first saw it when he was a junior, when we were playing a team from Tuscaloosa that had a big man. There was a play when Theo caught the ball, took two or three steps and slammed on their guy. I had never seen anything like it. He was a completely different player after that.

"He blocked everything that came in the gym. But we didn't showcase him. We believed in a team effort.

"Sometimes we got the most out of him by getting mad at him. We'd tell him he wasn't blocking out, he'd block out a tree. If he was dragging at practice, we'd ask him who he thought he was fooling. He'd work like crazy. We'd tell him he couldn't make a pivot move, he'd go down the other end of the court and work on it. I wouldn't let him know I was watching."

Demopolis was 19-6 during Theo's junior season, climbing to 25-4 the following season. But there would be no state championship, losing to the eventual winner Tuskegee on the road.

"But that's all right," Hallmark said, laughing. "Charles Barkley [from Leeds, Ala.] didn't win the state in high school, either."


Theo Ratliff completed his college career with 1,142 points and 655 rebounds, hoping he would be included in the first round of the NBA draft. He hired Joel Bell as his agent, and let Bell do the research and groundwork.

"The day of the draft, no one really knew where Theo would be going," Bell said. "But I had a commitment from Detroit that would be the No. 18 pick. When I know something like that, normally I tell my client.

"Theo and his family were having a party at a hotel in Demopolis, and for the only time ever in my career I decided not to say anything. He wasn't expecting it, so it would be a good experience. I gave the hotel phone number to the Pistons and waited.

"One of their assistant coaches called him as soon as the pick was made, and then I called. I'll never forget - I couldn't get through. The phone lines in Demopolis were jammed. I think I talked to him at 1 in the morning. That was the first time I could get a line."

That's Demopolis.

This is Theo Ratliff, NBA All-Star.

Background

Theo Ratliff has established himself as one of the NBA's premier shotblockers. After ranking 19th in the NBA in shotblocking in his first two seasons at 1.55 and 1.46 bpg, he climbed to fourth in the league in rejections in 1997-98, swatting away 3.15 shots per game in a season split between Detroit and Philadelphia. He ranked third in the NBA in shotblocking in 1998-99 at 2.98 bpg as the Sixers made the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons, and was fourth at 3.00 bpg in 1999-2000.

The 18th player picked in the 1995 NBA Draft, Ratliff played both forward and center for the Pistons as a rookie and averaged one block for every 11.2 minutes of action. He led the team in blocks for the second year in a row in 1996-97, when he started half of the 76 games he played.

The Philadelphia 76ers, seeking a defensive presence in the middle, obtained Ratliff from Detroit along with Aaron McKie and a first-round pick on December 18, 1997 in exchange for Jerry Stackhouse, Eric Montross and a second-round pick. Ratliff averaged 3.50 bpg as a Sixer to finish the season with a 3.15 average, fourth in the NBA.

He was the only player to start all 50 games for the Sixers in 1998-99 and led the team in rebounding at 8.1 rpg (20th in the NBA) as well as shotblocking, and was third in scoring at 11.2 ppg. Although he missed 25 games due to a stress fracture of his left ankle, he again led the Sixers in shotblocking in 1999-2000 and was the team's third-leading rebounder and fourth-leading scorer.