Leo Barbee Jr., the grandfather of Lawrence High boys basketball player John Barbee II, has been to every one of his grandson’s games except two he missed due to illness.

Leo will be on hand to see his grandson take on Free State tonight for Senior Night, and a third generation of the family will be in attendance as well for just the second time to see the LHS guard play.

Capt. John Barbee, who is a United States Army operations officer and a 1986 Lawrence High alumnus, will get to see his son play at LHS for the first time tonight. John originally surprised his son by returning home to watch his son and the Lions win Tuesday at Shawnee Mission East.

“Due to my schedule and my military obligations on the East Coast, just being able to fly in for Senior Night and be able to be able to watch him play that last game before Senior Night was something I looked forward to. He didn’t know I was coming, so I surprised him that night,” the U.S. Army officer and proud father said. “He played really well that night. It was a good win.”

John Barbee II, nicknamed J-2, filled the stat sheet in the Lions’ comeback win over the Lancers as he scored 10 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished four assists.

“(My dad) was on my mind a little bit, but I mean I was focused on the game,” J-2 said. “It was good to see him before.”

The 6-foot 2-inch guard is excited for his father to be in attendance again for Senior Night, but realizes that he cannot overlook the opponent.

“It will be hard to focus with Senior Night and all the emotions in the air that night, but it will be good to just focus on Free State,” the LHS senior said.

Along with crediting Lions’ coach Mike Lewis for helping serve as a father figure to J-2, John also said Leo has been a great mentor for his son. Leo has been a pastor of Victory Bible Church in Lawrence for 31 years and has been J-2’s top supporter.

“His granddad, my father, is his No. 1 fan,” John said. “… Just through his guidance the way that they’ve raised us, being a pastor here in Lawrence since ’76 and his influence. The way J-2 is is being a gentleman and respectful all started with my dad right here.”

J-2 is still able to Skype, text, call and email regularly with his dad, and even visit him as well. John is stationed in Fort George G. Meade in Maryland, so the father and son have been able to spend some time together in the Washington D.C. area. While John enjoys spending time with J-2 in Lawrence and Washington, he wants to go somewhere special after his son graduates from LHS.

“Hopefully over the summer, due to my military contacts and being able to travel overseas quite easily, after his senior year and (before) his freshman year in college, we’ll probably take a trip to Europe and do some father/son stuff and bond before he gets to his college days,” John said.

John was first mobilized to nearby Fort Riley in 2003, but was then deployed to Iraq in 2008 and to Guantanamo Bay in 2010.

“Even though the war has drawn down and we’re bringing soldiers home, as a military police officer, our duties are still to train the Iraqi forces, the Afghan forces. We have PSD missions worldwide,” John said. “Our duties haven’t slowed down. Our tempo has actually picked up because of the war kind of slowing down because of our special skill set.”

Picking up the tempo is what J-2 and the Lions are hoping to do tonight against Free State. LHS grinded out a 39-33 victory over the Firebirds on Dec. 19 at FSHS, but the Lions are aiming to dictate the pace more in the second matchup.

“We’re hoping to get up and down the floor a little bit quicker and if they show a zone, we’ll work with that better than we did last time,” J-2 said.

J-2 is one of six seniors on the Lawrence High roster. Despite junior Justin Roberts and senior Anthony Bonner usually earning the majority of the opponent’s defensive attention, Lewis said that J-2 is a key part to the Lions’ success not only with his offensive and defensive intangibles, but with his unique leadership.

“He leads by his actions. He’s not a real vocal person,” Lewis said. “He leads by having a really, really good motor during the game, really competing on defense, really working on rebounds and just being a high-energy guy. That’s how he leads is just by the way he plays and handles himself.”

Other than possibly eating dinner and hanging out before and after tonight’s game, J-2 does not have anything in particular planned with his dad while he is in town, but time together is all that the Barbee family needs.

“I tell people that love is spelled t-i-m-e,” Leo said. “Time, and that’s spending time with them.”