AKRON, Ohio
- Dru Joyce II remembers talking to an 11-year-old
LeBron James about teamwork. Joyce II was coaching James, his son
Dru Joyce III, Sian Cotton and some others on a summer-league
team.
For obvious reasons, the LeBron James at 11 is not the same
LeBron James who was named the NBA's 2003-04 Rookie of the Year on
Tuesday.
"He really liked to shoot the ball - a lot," said
Joyce II, now laughing about it.
Joyce said James was taller and stronger than most kids at 11.
His ball-handling skills were not refined. He tended to turn his
back to a defender and bull his way as he dribbled to the basket,
muscling a shot up to the hoop.
His teammates stood around and watched.
It was not the kind of basketball that Joyce II taught.
"We were driving down East Avenue," said Joyce II.
"I started telling LeBron about passing the ball, how great
players make their teammates better. I talked about getting his
shots in the flow of the game."
James listened, but Joyce II had no idea how much was
understood. He figured this would be one of several conversations
on this subject before James would apply it.
He was only 11.
"That was the last time I ever had to talk about LeBron
shooting too much," said Joyce II. "He just got it. He
started passing the ball. It's hard to explain, but LeBron back
then is just like he is now when (Cavaliers coach) Paul Silas says
you only have to tell him things once."
Lee Cotton coached those summer teams with Joyce II. His son,
Sian, is now a defensive tackle at Ohio State. Sian Cotton and Dru
Joyce III played with James from the fifth grade through high
school. Willie McGee joined them in the seventh grade.
"LeBron quickly came to know that he needed a group of
core guys to help him," said Cotton. "We stressed he
couldn't do everything. He needed little Dru to hit that outside
shot. He needed big Sian to clear the lane, get some rebounds and
do the dirty work. LeBron liked that idea, being a part of the
team."
In the age of individuality where so many young players turn
basketball into a test of their manhood and an expression of their
ego, why was James able to see the important picture?
"LeBron is a basketball genius, there is no other way to
say it," said Keith Dambrot, now the head coach at Akron and
the coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary when James was a freshman and
sophomore. James has called Sian Cotton, Joyce III, McGee and
himself "The Fab Four."
Lee Cotton remembers how they "made a pact to go to the
same high school and stay together all four years."
Sounds good, but how often does that happen? Especially when a
player receives the acclaim that James did at St. Vincent-St.
Mary? Kids can transfer over a lack of shots or playing time.
Jealousy is inevitable.
They not only stayed together, but they also prospered -
winning three state titles and the USA Today mythical national
title in their senior year. That is a tribute to James, who was
"never a Me-Me-Me guy," according to Cotton.
Joyce II said, "We could have let him loose to average
50-60 points in high school, but that wasn't how we or LeBron
wanted to play the game."
Dambrot said: "LeBron would be content to get 18-20 points
in a blowout. He'd pass off to let the other kids score. He liked
to set up subs for baskets with his passing."
Former St. V-M assistant Steve Culp said: "Know what
sometimes was our biggest problem with LeBron? Getting him to
shoot more in some games. Think about it. He averaged 20 as a
rookie in the NBA. What would that translate to in high school?
Fifty points a game? Maybe 75?"
All his coaches said James could have scored 100 points in a
game, as Cavaliers teammate Dajuan Wagner did in high school. But
they saw no reason for that to happen, nor did James have any
interest in doing that. James averaged 31.6 points as a senior for
the Irish.
"A lot of guys talk team basketball," said Culp.
"LeBron really plays it."
FIRST COACHES HELPED
James was blessed because his first coaches (Joyce and Cotton)
stressed the game be played unselfishly. Both men displayed strong
character in terms of their family life and values. They began
coaching in the summer to be with their sons, and ended up with
one of the greatest high school players ever - but they had no
idea it would happen.
It's not like they recruited James. He was just a 10-year-old
friend of their sons who wanted to play basketball. Give James
credit for a willingness to accept guidance from two strong male
role models and for the loyalty of staying with his first friends
and coaches.
"Our guys didn't play a lot of street ball where they'd
pick up bad habits," said Joyce II. "They played a lot
against each other. LeBron and my son used to play one-on-one in
my driveway. They were so competitive, I had them stop after the
sixth grade. They were best friends, but they kept wanting to
fight each other after those games."
Joyce II and Cotton then handed off James and their sons to
Keith Dambrot at St. Vincent-St. Mary.
"By the time LeBron was in the ninth grade, I had pretty
much taught him all I could," said Joyce II. "Getting
Keith was important, because he had been a head coach in college
(at Ashland and Central Michigan). He helped LeBron grow to a new
level."
Dambrot used to coach youth basketball at the Jewish Community
Center in Akron, running clinics and having an open gym. He first
spotted James at the end of his seventh grade year, when Joyce II
brought his players to the JCC.
"He was tall, lanky and skilled," said Dambrot.
"But at first, I wasn't sure he was the best of the group.
About the third time I saw him play, I realized he was going to be
very, very good in high school and play in college."
Dambrot said James just kept improving. He listened. He wanted
to be coached. He put winning first. He was a good teammate.
"By the start of his sophomore year, I knew he'd play in
the NBA," said Dambrot. "But the middle of that
sophomore season, I knew he could just skip college and go right
to the pros. It wasn't just ability, it was his maturity."
NOBODY'S PERFECT
James wasn't perfect in high school, but in an age when
hyped-up athletes appear on the police blotter and too often
embarrass their schools and families, James was a solid student.
After Dambrot left St. V-M to become an assistant at Akron,
Joyce II took over as the head coach of the Irish for James' last
two years. He was assisted by Cotton and Culp.
It was a very stable situation.
Cotton and Joyce II were with James from the time he was 10
years old through high school. Culp was an assistant all four of
James' years at St.V-M.
So many gifted players jump from school to school and coach to
coach, never learning the game. They just play for themselves and
the attention they receive. James resisted this, and it really did
prepare him for the pros.
"LeBron never let what people said bother him," said
Culp. "People would tell him that he should score more
points, or he should do this or that. LeBron was confident enough
in himself and his game to ignore that. He knows how good he is,
he doesn't need people telling him that he's great all the
time."
James is now 19 and knocking on the door of NBA superstardom.
He is one of only three rookies to average at least 20 points,
five rebounds and five assists in the same season. The others are
Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan.
"He's never really been a prima donna," said Joyce
II. "As great as he's played this year with the Cavs, I'm
even more proud of how he's handled himself and worked to blend in
with his teammates. That's the kind of player I always wanted him
to become."
