LeBron James dominating nation, creating expectations
By Class Coss
IV Leader Sports Editor, Jan. 30, 2003
FOR LOVE OF THE GAME COLUMN
The sky seems to be the only limit for 17 year-old basketball prodigy LeBron James.
They have already put the kid of the cover of ESPN the Magazine, offered him a shoe contract, and promised him the number one spot in the NBA draft. They televise his home games for 8 bucks a pop on pay-per-view. Worst of all, they found it appropriate to compare this baby of a talent to the likes of MJ, Kobe, AI, and Tracy.
And King James, as he likes to refer to himself, may be worthy of all the hype. I had the opportunity to watch a Fighting Irish (James’ team mascot) game courtesy of ESPN 2 and was in no way disappointed by the young man who critics claim has no true weakness. If I had to sum it up in one word, I would call it ridiculous.
It looked like 9 guys standing on the hardwood waiting to see what this man among boys was going to do next. Absolutely ridiculous. There was absolutely no stopping LeBron. Not only does he slash like McGrady and create like Kobe, but he also dishes like Magic and plays relentless D the way Phil Jackson would teach.
James is already considered better than both Kevin Garnett and Bryant were at his age, living little to no doubt that him and his 37-inch vertical are ready for the NBA.
Despite a somewhat troubled upbringing, LeBron continued to succeed on the hard wood and by his sophomore year he was already the nation’s top prep prospect. Actually, Mr. James is so good that Shaq flew to NC to watch a home contest and Jordan invited him to Chicago for a private scrimmage. Both observers were impressed. In fact his “Airness” even gave the phenom his digits. Yeah, LeBron not only wears number 23, but he has MJ’s cell number too. That’s big time, folks.
And since I am actually in no way qualified to judge basketball talent at any level, I’m not sure if all the attention is driving the kid to work harder and reach higher or setting the teenager up for failure. I do know, however, that LeBron James is hungry. Hungry the way Jordan once was way back when. You can tell just by the way he plays: all out. Sure, what high school player doesn’t play recklessly? Well, what amateur player on any level has NBA teams throwing in the towel to get him and has the entire basketball world tripping over their own anticipation? None.
Which leads me to my point. I have been an avid fan of high school basketball, specifically the IHSA, since I can remember. I’ve been to all but one state tournament since 1989, when my own school, Mendota, made the “elite-eight” for the first time. Since then I have been addicted. There is no better basketball than that which is played at the high school level. There is something magical about “America’s original March Madness.”
I’ve seen all sorts of talent come and go over the years, some NBA worthy and some not. There were some who I knew had it and others who’s talent I questioned.
That first year I went, I witnessed a young talent from Cairo. His name, Tyrone Nesby; I’ll never forget that name. He dominated the tournament like my six year-old eyes had never before scene. I remember thinking, “that guy is the real deal, he’ll be in the pros someday.” Sure enough, Nesby went on to start for the Nets throughout the nineties and still plays today. The only difference is this kid went to college.
Probably the next player with NBA potential written all over him was a stud from Warsaw. His name, Paul Pierce and he now plays for Iowa. He scored 50 points twice within the three games his team played. It was unreal. This kid would walk three feet over the timeline and sink half-court jumpers like it was his job. If pressured he would blow by a defender an dunk. It was that simple.
About 3 years back the best prep talent I ever witnessed in Illinois (didn’t get to see Isiah) took his team to Peoria. Darius Miles was unbelievable, and while critics suggested D-Miles to go to school, the high school senior turned down rides to Kentucky, Michigan, and Illinois among others. A few years later he shocks the league with his ability to invent and is eventually traded to Cleveland, the very place that James may end up, for one of the league’s finest point guards.
Then 2-years ago the came perhaps the best counter example for kids making the jump. Thornwood graduate Eddy Curry decided to skip college for a chance with the lowly Bulls. Talk about your all time backfires. Between few flashes of brilliance, Curry has seen more bench time than anything else and refuses to learn how to play defense. It’s no Bull that this youngster could have benefited from a few years at Duke.
When it comes right down to it, like anything else, it is all about the money. And if a player’s stock is as high as it will ever be, then he has to go pro and would be stupid not to. If LeBron James is going to be the number one pick, then there why wait. You can’t go any higher. What if James goes on to struggle at the collegiate level or is injured. Then he is out of that multi-million dollar signing bonus, and his mom is going to have a hell of a time paying the bank back for that new vehicle of she allegedly bought for her son.
Only time can tell if the time is right for the kid that writes his mother’s name on his kicks and cried in her arms when he broke his wrist a season ago. How quickly can this boy turn man? The eager nation will see soon enough.
Even if he fails, the kid still has MJ’s digits.