Maria Harper says returning to Don Bosco Prep carries special meaning as she watches her sons, Ron and Dylan Harper, continue their NBA careers with the Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs.
Speaking with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, Harper described the school as a foundational part of her family’s journey. “You come back to where your roots grew,” she said. “This is where they put their feet down, and this is where they grew up as young men, not just as basketball players.”
Harper’s own basketball background extends well beyond her role as the mother of two NBA players. She played collegiately at the University of New Orleans before beginning a coaching career that has lasted about 30 years, although 2025-26 was her first season away from the bench.
She said she would still welcome another coaching opportunity and specifically mentioned interest in coaching the Philippine national team. Harper immigrated from the Philippines to the United States at age seven and grew up in Paterson, New Jersey, where local coaches helped shape her connection to sports.
Her sons’ paths to the NBA were different. Ron, 25, appeared in 29 regular-season games for Boston in 2025-26, averaging 4.2 points and 1.7 rebounds in 11.0 minutes while shooting 35.0% from three-point range.
Dylan, meanwhile, produced 11.8 points, 3.9 assists and 3.4 rebounds in 69 games as a 19-year-old rookie for San Antonio. His role expanded during the Spurs’ run to the NBA Finals, as he averaged 14.1 points and 5.6 rebounds across 23 playoff games while shooting 51.5% from the field.
Maria Harper said neither son arrived at Don Bosco as a highly recruited middle-school prospect. Ron’s situation also influenced her own coaching decisions, as she left her position as DePaul’s head girls’ coach because her schedule would have prevented her from regularly watching him play high school basketball.
She later joined Don Bosco’s staff when Dylan entered the program, explaining that the family’s decision was driven by more than basketball. Harper pointed to the school’s Salesian foundation and its emphasis on “fellowship, service, education and community.”
That sense of family is also what she sees in her sons’ NBA organizations. Harper compared the environment at Don Bosco to San Antonio’s culture and said Boston provided the same level of inclusion, including during Ron’s time on a two-way contract.
“I feel like the most blessed human to have two sons playing in the NBA for two of the most storied organizations in basketball history,” Harper said.
The 2025-26 postseason created a demanding travel schedule. Harper initially attended more of Boston’s first-round series against Philadelphia because it was geographically easier to reach, then shifted her focus to San Antonio after the Celtics were eliminated.
She said she attended Games 2 and 4 of Dylan’s subsequent playoff series when possible before going to every game of the NBA Finals, where the Spurs lost 4-1 to the New York Knicks.
For Dylan, the postseason represented another step in adapting to a different basketball environment. Harper said her son had been the focal point at both Don Bosco and Rutgers, but entering a Spurs roster with established talent required him to earn his opportunities and learn to function within the team’s system.
“Nothing was given; everything was earned,” Harper said.
Her perspective on both sons has also changed. Harper said Ron’s more difficult path through the NBA is representative of the experience many professional athletes face, while Dylan’s rapid progression has followed a more traditional top-prospect trajectory.
Rather than offering tactical criticism, however, she is now trying to trust the foundation she helped establish. As both sons prepare for another season, Harper said she is learning to watch from the stands and enjoy the journey, even if the coach in her is still evaluating the action.
