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LEBRON
MANIA
1.
Cable station to televise several home games.
2. Over 1000 students pack out gym to watch unofficial preseason
scrimmage at Brunswick HS
3. First game of season ends at half time when transformer blows
out, leaving TV viewers and players in dark.
4. U.S. Olympic Selection committee talks of inviting Lebron to
Olympic team.
5. New York Times features Lebron on front page of sports (Thurs.,
Dec. 5th)
6. Oak Hill-St. V. game to be televised nationally on ESPN 2, Walton
and Vitale to announce.
7. Front page story on USA Today (Wed. Dec. 12)
8. Cover Story on ESPN Magazine
9. Ranked #23 in the nation, LeBron & Co. put on a
"show" and soundly defeat #1 Oak Hill by 20 in front of a
nationally televised audience. In spite of immense pressure, Lebron
has a monster game.
10. Jerome Bettis of the Pittsburgh Steelers stops by to see LeBron
play on Sunday, Dec. 15th. . . even though he just got through playing a
football game himself about two hours earlier.
11. LeBron's mom secures a loan and buys him a HUMMER 2. With
it's custom options, it's estimated value is around $100,000.
12. National TV watches him again on ESPN as they defeat #5 in
the country Mater Dei. He has a subpar performance and they still
controlled the game from start to finish. Limo's pick them up
at the airport. Dinner is with TV"s famous "Erkel".
13. The famous David Thompson, who starred at N.C. State ,the
Denver Nuggets, and the Seattle Supersonics, helps us in providing the
chapel message that St. V. holds when there is a Sunday game.
David is in the basketball Hall of Fame and was known as "The
Skywalker" for his ridiculous jumping ability. He was gracious
in answering our request to have him share the story of his life and his
relationship with Christ. To the team, this was the highlight of the
weekend.
14. The next day, St. V. blows out powerful J.R. Reynolds HS.
in front of 15,000 plus in Greensboro.
15. LeBron answers critics who question his outside shot by
hitting a school record 12 three's against Mentor HS, on his way to 50
pts., while sitting out the last 7 minutes of the game.
16. JERSEY GATE . LeBron accepts the gift of
two "throwback" jerseys (Unseld and Sayers) at a Warrensville
Hts. store, which he later returns, resulting initially in the suspension
of his high school career. The penalty is later amended through the
courts to a forfeit (Buchtel) and a suspension from two additional games.
17. He comes back from his first suspended game with a
52 point outburst in Trenton, N.J., in St. V's blowout win against then #7
in the country Los Angeles Westchester HS.
18. One of the game referees asks LeBron to have his
picture taken of the two of them after the game. The spontaneous act
costs the veteran referee national scrutiny and possible punishment.
19.
Game vs. Dayton Kettering Alter is requested by ESPN to be
broadcast. Stung by criticism about "exploiting LeBron",
St. V let's ESPN's own words burn itself. St. V. chooses permission
for the game to be televised.
19. The game vs. Toledo Scott, that he is supposed to sit out,
is snowed out. St. V. scrambles to schedule another game in one day
so that LeBron does not have to sit out the first game of the state
playoffs.
20. Akron Firestone plays the makeup game on one
day's notice . . . and loses by 60, even without LeBron.
21. The Ohio State tournament sets new attendance
records for the games St. V. plays in the state finals.
22. LeBron and teammates are held to 14 points in the first
half of the state championship game . . . and still win.
23. LeBron wins the slam dunk contest at the McDonalds
All-American game.
24. LeBron
passes up numerous uncontested baskets to set up teammates for dunks, on
his way to 27 pts., 7 rebs. and 7 assists and the MVP at the McDonald's
All-American game.
25. Courtside guests include the great John Wooden,
"Jay-Z", Maurice Clarrett, and Nike and Adidas reps.
26.
Allen Iverson's "I3"s
by Reebok were on the all the player's feet in the game.
27.
LeBron wins the MVP award at the EA Sports Roundball Classic.
28. He is
named winner of the Gatorade and Naismith National Player's of the Year
Awards..
29.
His "game" is criticized by Michael Jordan himself.
30. LeBron
wins the MVP award at Jordan's Capital Classic in D.C., with 34 pts., 12
rebs. and 6 assists.
31.
Jordan, Warren Sapp, and Carmelo Anthony are in the audience of over
18,000, among others.
32. The
shoe contract bid is rumored to have grown from 30 million (the talk
during the season) to about 50 million, according to the New York Times.
33. LeBron
is drafted by the USBL's, Brevard Blue Ducks, which just happens to be the
team that fellow Akronite and TEAM JAM member, Greg
Lewis, plays on.
34. Reebok
flies LeBron to Boston to pitch him, then Adidas flies him to L.A.,
followed by Nike flying him out to Oregon. Meanwhile, Adidas heats
up their pitch by displaying personal messages to LeBron on billboards all
over the Akron area.
35.
Reebok comes out of nowhere with an offer to sign LeBron . . . $75 million
. . . about $45 million more than what was realistically anticipated
36.
Upper Deck signs LeBron first, to a collectibles contract. One
million a year for five years plus a one million dollar signing bonus, the
two nights before the lottery. Not a bad graduation gift.
37.
Nike must not have wanted LeBron to go without at graduation. The
day before the Lottery, Nike signs LeBron to a seven year deal that some
estimate to be valued around $100 million.
38.
Unbelievably, Cleveland ends up with the first pick in the 2003 NBA
draft. They plan on selecting LeBron. Immediately, season and
single game tickets become the hottest ticket in Cleveland.
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MAKE IT
THREE IN A ROW
LeBron
picked up his third MVP in three All-Star game appearances, with
his 34 point, 12 rebound, 6 assist performance, all as MICHAEL
watched LeBron basically start his professional career on the
same floor that he had just finished his own. The 34
points were second most in the game's history, second only to
Louis Bollock's 40 in 1995. His appearance in
this year's game, brought over 18,000 fans, over double last
year's attendance.
The
only downside of the night came in the last two minutes when
LeBron couldn't rally his team to victory. He missed his
last three shots . . . one of them an airball. Though he
finished the night with 13 for 30 from the field, he hit 3 of
his 5 three point shots in the first half, on his way to 17
points.
The
crowd was impatient early as it took a while for L.J. to warm
up. But when he did, it came in his typical explosive
flourish. The explosion included seven straight points, on
a pair of dunks and a 3-pointer. His highlights included a
one-handed windmill on a breakaway and a perfect, no-look,
looping shovel pass to Brandon Foust on a fast break.
The
kid really knows how to entertain, and he has done so on every
stage that he has been commanded to perform. Say
what you want about weaknesses you might see in his game on any
one particular night, and you are right, he's not perfect every
night. But his "imperfect" game is still the best
on the floor, against the best in the country, every time.
EA SPORTS ROUNDBALL CLASSIC
LeBron was named MVP
again. His 28 points lead the West and his last basket, a driving
layup, was the game winner with 25 seconds left.
MCDONALD'S
ALL-AMERICAN ALL-STAR GAME
(this link includes pictures and, by far, the best coverage to any article
on LeBron)
LeBron
gave the record crowd of 18,728 what they were looking for EARLY
with a dunk and flashy passes, then set them on fire with a span of great
plays in less than 30 seconds to seal the victory for the East,
122-107. His performance earned him the MVP award, but that was just
a formality after his spree that included a breakaway dunk, a block, a
layup, a steal, a spectacular pass, and an ally-oop one hander.
If there was any
doubt before, that series made it official, meet the new King of
basketball, King James.
LeBron finished the game with 27 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists (which
should have been 12 if the layups were converted), 2 blocks and a
steal. His 27 points should have been 37 as well with all the
layups and dunks he passed up to set up teammates in the first half.
Michael Jordan's McDonald's game record of 32pts. stayed in tact, but only
because "Bron" chose to do so. Incredibly, he still took
24 shots (0-5 from three), mostly because of his great versatility to run
the floor, play defense, penetrate, and rebound. Afterward, he
completed the dream weekend by expressing his pleasure in the win and
giving honor to God for his talent and
opportunity.
THE
WEEK
Wednesday
Wins his THIRD Mr. Basketball award in Ohio (for all divisions)
Friday
Scores 19 in a blow out 30 pt. win over Canton South in the State Semis.
Saturday
Scores 25 in leading his team to the state championship over Kettering
Alter - 40-36.
The State Championship also earns them the USA Today National
Championship
Sunday
Visits kids at the Ronald McDonald House in Akron
Monday
Wins the McDonald All American game dunk contest
Wednesday
Wins the MVP award at the McDonald All American game before a record crowd
and National TV
THE
PREVIEW
LeBron arrived home
with the rest of the St. Vincent-St. Mary team at 11 am Sunday morning to
a welcome home celebration at the St.Vincent - St. Mary HS gym, and then
had to turn around immediately and put on his McDonald's Basketball
uniform for a visit with the rest of the East Squad at the local Akron
Children's Hospital. He was pictured the following day in the Akron
Beacon Journal with a number of the children at the hospital.
On Monday, he was back up in Cleveland for the McDonald's
Slam Dunk contest, which he won, narrowly defeating Von Wafer
(Heritage Christian of Cleveland, Texas) 250 - 246. Before a packed,
standing room only crowd at Cleveland State's old Woodling Gym, LeBron
nailed all of his attempted dunks. That proved to be the difference
as the most spectacular dunk of the day by one of his competitors, Shannon
Brown (Maywood, Illinois), was wasted because he missed two
attempts at another dunk in the championship round. Even
this contest was controversial because the fans didn't understand the
rules.
The contest was attended by many NBA scouts and high profile guests from
the world of sports. It was judged by a pannell that included DeJuan
Wagner, Larry Nance and Michael Vick among others. It will also be
broadcast on Friday, April 4th on ESPN2, at 7pm.
STATE
CHAMPS . . . NATIONAL CHAMPS
St. V
won the semifinal game with a relative blowout vs. a Canton South
powerhouse who has been to three regionals in a row and tallied a 65-6
record. Canton South is coached by the great Henry Cobb, a friend of
TEAM JAM, who had the great Robbie Eggers/Landon Hackim teams up at
Cuyahoga Falls. Knowing that their finals opponent, Dayton Kettering
Alter, had lost to St. V. by 33 back in February, it appeared that South
might have been their last challenge.
But
legendary coach, Joe Petrocelli, of Alter, had the horses, the previous
experience, and the wisdom to turn things around for them in the
championship. They handled the press (though with the benefit
of some long back court counts from the refs), played a deliberate
offense, and sent St. V. to the foul line rather than give up inside
buckets. All-State, 6'4" wing, Doug Penno, hit key shots all
game, and their 6'9" senior center was a deterrent on defense and a
constant threat on offense. But mostly, Alter just did not turn the
ball over, collapsed the middle on defense, and made St. V's shooters feel
the nerves and pressure of having to make every shot.
After
a 19-14 halftime deficit, in which LeBron had 12 of the 14, St. V. did
their normal third quarter spurt that had annihilated opponents all
season. By the time the fourth quarter started, the momentum had
changed and so had the lead. Sian Cotton was grabbing offensive
rebounds, Romeo Travis came alive with a couple of transition and inside
buckets, and LeBron kept penetrating. After three quarters, the
score was still a tight, but relieving, 27-25, scoring about as much in
the third quarter as they had in the whole first half.
In the
fourth quarter it was all St. V. Outscoring Alter in the first five
minutes 13-5, it was now St. V.'s turn to kill the clock. Missed
free throws by St. V, and a three and a three point play in the last
minute by Alter, made it look closer than it was. Out of St.
V's 40 points, LeBron had 25 points and 11 rebounds. Romeo had 8
points.
What a
ride! Undefeated against the toughest schedule in the nation,
including 6 of the nation's top 25 teams (and now we don't recognize Clair
Muscaro's forfeit on paper anymore than he recognized their win on the
court). They played on everyone else's home town or on a
neutral court in the big games, including J.R. Reynolds IN N.C., Mater Dei
IN L.A., Brookhaven IN Columbus, and Westchester IN Trenton (neutral
court).
GAME
3 - ST.
V. 75 - CHICAGO JULIAN 50
Once
again, St. V.'s relentless defense created an insurmountable lead early,
and LeBron surprised everyone by playing a game that was more reminiscent
of Bill Russell than Michael Jordan. Taking only 3 shots in
the first half, LeBron piled up 6 assists, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocked
shots in that half alone, stopping anything that got through St. V's
suffocating press. His outlet passes either created easy fastbreaks
or he brought the ball up himself and set up Dru or Corey (19 pts) for
three's and Romeo for layups.
GAME
2 - St. V 101 - George Jr. 40
This
game was unbelievable. Beginning the game with a relentless, full
court press, St. V was ahead 13-0 only 1:49 into the game and Lebron
hadn't even touched the ball yet. It was 31-8 after one and St. V.
had already scored more points by the beginning of the third quarter than
they had in their overtime loss against George Jr. last year.
This
is a different team, a different attitude, a different purpose and a
different Lebron than last year. Even when up by over 35 at half
time, this year's version of the fighting Irish, never let up. There
were plenty of highlights, 7 "threes" by Corey Jones in the
first half and enough dunks by Lebron and Romeo to keep the TV cameras
happy, but the real story of the game was there defense, their intensity
and the post game comments. Wait til you see these videos later this
week.
This
apparently is what Wellston was spared the night before when the lights
went out at halftime.
GAME
1 - St. V. 45 - Wellston 10 (Halftime)
First
it was ESPN announcing that they would televise nationally the Dec. 12th
Oak Hill - St. V. game. Then it was the school announcing that they
would televise the home games on local cable. Bizarre Event #3
took place during the season opener Saturday night on St. V's home floor
against southern Ohio's Wellston High School. There was less than a
minute left in the half with the score 45-10 when a transformer blew and
all the lights went out in the gym and the city block surrounding St.
Vincent-St. Mary High School. Romeo and Lebron the way in the
scoring column, but the defensive pressure by Dru, Corey, Brandon, and
Willie was relentless.
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