LeBron James

■2001 soars

In the spring of 2001, as usual at the end of each football season, the "USA Today" newspaper selected the All-American high school star team ( USA Today) also published their annual selected list on time. One line reads: "LeBron James, 6-6, SVSM HS(OH), Sophomore"

Sophomore? Did I read that wrong? Selected as a first-team All-American as a sophomore in high school? Why? Why? Anyway, I thought, this may be the result of reporters like USA Today getting carried away. But not long after, last summer I changed my mind and started paying close attention to this kid.

In the summer of 2001 in New Jersey, at the well-known Adidas ABCD Camp, LeBron James' team was going to meet the team of another high school star, Lenny Cooke. Lenny Cooke, who is from New York City and is 6-6 tall, is regarded as the top star of wing guard/small forward. The result was unexpected. LeBron James scored 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting, handed out 14 assists, and turned the game around with a 30-foot three-pointer at the same time as the gun sounded. What about Cooke? Sorry, he only scored 9 points under James' defense.

In star basketball camps like ABCD Camp, everyone hopes that famous basketball schools will notice them. Therefore, rather than saying that James’ 25 points and winning three-pointers are eye-catching, it is better to say that his 14 assists are more eye-catching. Surprising.

An unnamed NBA team executive said after the ABCD Camp: "If you gave me a first-round pick now, I would select him without hesitation. I know he only has 16 years old, but he is at least as good as Duke's Jason Williams, and his talent is more attractive than China's 7-6 center Yao Ming."

In a few months, LeBron James was worth more. Cyclonus not only became a well-known future star in the United States from a red man in Ohio, but also once again caused experts across the United States to discuss the restrictions on players who dropped out of school in the NBA. In the eyes of many people, he is the next Kobe, maybe even the next MJ. Although they knew there were too many "Next MJ" jokes ahead of them, they still had to make such comments and expectations when facing the talented James.

■Born into poverty

LeBron James was born in West Akron, a poor town in northern Ohio. This town with 217,000 residents was famous for its oak production in the past. But in recent years it has been far worse than before. Gloria James, a 33-year-old mother, became pregnant with LeBron when she was less than 20 years old. Eddie Jackson, a 35-year-old man who lives with Gloria, organizes concerts for a living. He is not LeBron's biological father, but his father in name only, but there is no legal name because he and Gloria are not married. In terms of life, James' family's financial situation is not well-off.

LeBron has loved playing basketball since he was a child, but his height was not outstanding. He was only 173 centimeters until the 8th grade (sophomore year). Although that year he was famous for leading the local AAU team to the national finals. West Akron is famous around the world, but on the vast basketball map of the United States, LeBron James is still an unfamiliar name and has not attracted too many people's attention.

When he was 11 years old, he became friends with Dru Joyce Jr., who was the same age and on the same team. Junior played point guard, and his father, Dru Joyce Sr., was the team coach. James then began to grow taller and became best friends with the other three people on the team. Before entering high school, they made a unanimous decision: the four of them would go to the same school, continue to play together, and jokingly called themselves the "Fab Four" (imitating the Fab Five at the University of Michigan). Of course, the best place to go is St. Vincent-St. Mary High School where Senior serves as an assistant coach. This is a Catholic school in North Maple City.

Star sneak report: LeBron James (middle) hoopjunkie

■Towards high school

When he entered SVSM High School, he had suddenly grown to about 6 feet 5 inches. , for a basketball player, it is a height that is very suitable for all-round development. After the training of his freshman year of high school, James would not have imagined what his sophomore year would be like for him.

In his sophomore year, SVSM High School won 27 games and easily won the state championship.

As the season progresses, James has become the most famous high school player in Ohio. The Ohio high school championship game held at the Schottenstein Center (19,500 people), home of Ohio State University, was sold out for the first time in history. For unknown reasons He, everyone wants to see James! Of course, SVSM High School also successfully won the championship and won the state championship. By the way, in order to cope with the fans, the Ohio High School Athletic Association decided to move the game to the larger NBA Cavaliers stadium Gund Arena this year (20,562 people full) to avoid too many fans.

After winning the state championship, sophomore LeBron James once again made a splash at the above-mentioned ABCD Camp, becoming a well-known figure in the United States, and becoming the first sophomore in history to be selected for Ohio State. Mr. Basketball player. The most direct impact is that James' every move attracts public attention. I want to watch a movie, but people around me keep whispering: "Look, that's LeBron James!" It's a lot of pressure to want to make a move, and you can't give up all the time, otherwise the news will make a big fuss.

The most ridiculous thing is that because James attracted so much attention, two local newspapers, the Akron Beacon-Journal and the Cleveland Plain Dealer, simply assigned a reporter each to focus on James' every game and daily life. , and launched James’ special topic on the website, posting the latest news on it every day. James began to feel tremendous pressure. He once said: "Sometimes it feels like the whole world is pressing on my shoulders. My life is being spread out in the sun and being examined with a magnifying glass."

In fact, this is There's nothing you can do about it. Times have changed. Basketball stars become famous early in junior high school or in their first or second year of high school. Moreover, competition in the modern media is fierce, so the ability to press and mark people is naturally better than in the past.

In his sophomore year of high school, James was able to play basketball and also participated in the school's American football team. He was a wide receiver and his grades were quite good. His reason for playing American football is that he has always liked football. Although his main area of ??development is basketball, he does not want to miss the opportunity to play American football.

As he enters his senior year of high school, James’ momentum is already extraordinary. In order to cope with the fans, SVSM High School not only moved its home court to the home court of Akron University. Akron University's home court is not big, with only 5,500 people at full capacity, but SVSM averages 4,800 people per game. This number is more than twice as much as when the Akron University team plays its own home game. I really don't know the face of the Akron University team. Put it there. The most amazing thing is that SVSM High School is so creative that it imitated professional basketball and launched 10-game home season tickets for US$125, and it is said that they are selling well. James's supreme charm is evident. According to SVSM's own calculations, James earns US$40,000 (NT$1.4 million) in box office revenue for the school per game, and the school provides scholarships in return.

The craziness is not over yet. Since the start of the senior season, Sports Illustrated, NBC... and countless other national media have requested to come to SVSM High School for an exclusive interview with James. The well-known high school basketball schools in the United States also want to compete with SVSM to see who James is. Finally, SVSM's schedule was sorted out, and it was like the schedule of the top five high schools in the country. There were so many strong schools on the schedule.

So far, James' senior season is still in progress. He has grown to 6 feet 7 inches and 225 pounds, averaging 29.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. Frankly, not very scary. But if you know his style of play, you won't be surprised as to why his statistics are "so bad."

■Genius

SVSM coaches and teammates all described playing with James as the most enjoyable thing. Not to mention his scoring ability, he can score every ball by himself. If you do it, no one will have any objections. But James enjoys assisting, and more importantly, his passing vision and ability are better than ordinary point guards.

How good is James, who has been described by many football critics as "the best high school player in American history"? Quoting the comments of American experts and team coaches may be more objective.

—"He's a once-in-a-lifetime player," said SVSM opponent West Jesuit High School coach Frank Lupica.

—Sporting News columnist Mike DeCourcy described LeBron James as "having the mind of Magic Johnson and the body of Jordan."

—Howard Garfunkel, the director of the famous Five-Star Basketball Camp in the United States, said somewhat conservatively that in the more than 30 years he has been running basketball camps, James is, if not the best, the best. One of the best players (including Jordan, Mourning, Ewing, Marbury, etc.). Garfunkel also gave an example. Five-star basketball camps have always been divided into age groups. Last summer, a player in the top group suddenly withdrew, so he decided to replace him with James. As a result, James not only won the championship and MVP in his age group, but also won the MVP award. The top group won the championship and MVP. This is the first time in the history of a five-star basketball camp. No player has ever done it before.

—Lao Jianghu Garfunkel also said that 15-year-old LeBron James is enough to start in many prestigious schools in the first level of the NCAA.

Overall, LeBron James’s body (6 feet 7 inches, 225 pounds) is the best basketball player’s body. Judging by NBA conditions, he can play from No. 1 to No. 3. The problem is, in the NCAA, you can play from No. 1 to No. 4. His elasticity, explosive power, coordination, and speed are all excellent, and it is said that his hands are extremely large, which is very helpful for controlling the ball. The most frightening thing is that he is not a fierce and aggressive player, nor is he a dominating player. He has a strong desire and ability to pass and assist. During the game, he does not force shots and is willing to create opportunities for his teammates.

Because of this, although James' offensive and defensive statistics are not as good as other high school stars who often average 30 points and 20 rebounds, it is still a waste for him to stay in high school and play. Because of this, the next question arises.

Star early report: LeBron James (Part 2) hoopjunkie

■Long wait

LeBron’s mother Gloria said in an interview that she would not rule it out Let LeBron announce his abandonment of school in his senior year of high school and go directly to the NBA. After learning that the NBA prohibits players from dropping out of high school before graduating from high school in the same grade, the James family changed their tune and said they would not rule out filing a lawsuit against the NBA to fight for LeBron's opportunity to enter the NBA early.

A modern "Haywood lawsuit" (Spencer Haywood incident: the SuperSonics sued the NBA for prohibiting Spencer Haywood from dropping out of school to join, and the Sonics won the lawsuit, which led to the birth of the modern player dropout regulations) is about to start, but After all, James' family knew that it was not easy to compete with the NBA, so they had to let LeBron finish high school. LeBron himself also hopes to enter the profession as soon as possible, but the idea of ????abandoning school is not particularly strong. He still seems to enjoy getting along with friends, dating girls, etc., which is what all teenagers want to do and should do.

James has not ruled out the possibility of going to college, and has even listed several schools that he is interested in including UNC, Duke, Louisville, Ohio State and Florida. However, everyone knows that the chance of LeBron James staying in college is close to zero.

Basketball insiders estimate that there is currently at least $36 million waiting for James to sign, of which $16 million is his rookie contract for the first three years in the NBA plus a fourth-year option, and the other $20 million is The fierce competition among major sneaker manufacturers such as Adidas, NIKE, and And1 to compete for James has reached its climax.

Judging from the current situation, James is already in the possession of Adidas. He chose to participate in the Adidas ABCD Camp in the past two years instead of appearing in the NIKE All-American Camp, and he has already become very familiar with the head of Adidas, Sonny Vaccaro. Vaccaro is smart enough to sponsor SVSM High School’s jerseys and equipment without saying a word. He understands that once a child’s brand loyalty is established, people will come easily.

This Vaccaro is none other than the man who signed Jordan for NIKE in 1984. Vaccaro later left in anger to join Adidas, and signed two big players, Kobe and McGrady. It can be said that Vaccaro has a unique eye and a unique eye for talent. Vaccaro said that with his years of experience in the entertainment industry, he could tell within five minutes whether a child had star potential, and he knew within a few minutes of observation that James was the next generation's superstar. Based on the price Adidas paid to sign McGrady for six years and 12 million in 1997, coupled with the intensity of the competition for LeBron James, if Adidas can successfully sign James in the future, the total price of 20 million should not be able to escape.

Nevertheless, before the end of the SVSM High School season on March 23, 2003, all LeBron James and his family, and even all NBA teams or NCAA universities can do, is "wait" .

Although his father Eddie Jackson expresses his dissatisfaction, tennis players Hingis and Kunikova, and baseball player A-Rod all "come out to make money" at a young age. He doesn't understand why basketball has such inexplicable restrictions. Although Jackson repeatedly emphasized that if James' knee was destroyed or had a car accident in more than a year, his life would be ruined, but I'm sorry, people have to bow their heads under the roof. This is the rule of basketball.

Before that, James still has a lot to wait, maybe he will win two more state championships and humiliate a few nationally famous stars in the basketball camp; before that, we also There is still a long time to get to know him.

Remember, it’s not MJ, it’s LJ