Saturday, January 4, 2003 Updated: July 22, 5:53 PM ET
Pauley packed to see high school phenom
By John Gustafson ESPN The Magazine
LOS ANGELES -- During the West Coast portion of his national "Scholastic Fantastic" tour, LeBron James managed to do something Saturday that even UCLA struggles to do these days: Sell out Pauley Pavilion.
The four high school games that comprised the Dinos Pangos Dream Classic held in the "House That Wooden Built" had plenty to offer the avid prep fan.
First, Justin Hawkins, who is headed to Utah, led Mayfair past Kansas-bound Omar Wilkes' (son of former Bruin and Laker Jamaal) Loyola squad in the opener. Then super smooth junior, "Straight A's" Arron Afflalo dropped 42 for (Compton) Centennial before losing in double overtime to Carson and the L.A. area's best senior, Ekene Ibekwe.
The nightcap matchup featured two of the nation's top juniors in Brooklyn's (Lincoln) Sebastian Telfair and Oaktown's (Vallejo) DeMarcus Nelson.
LeBron James won't be doing this for his high school team anymore.
But the main reason the fans packed Pauley on a beautiful eighty-degree SoCal day was King James.
The word is out, to put it mildly, that James may be the best prep to ever come down the high school basketball pipe. Back home in Ohio, eight of the 6-foot-8-inch future No. 1 pick's games are on pay-per-view and James was so impressive in his national TV debut against Oak Hill on ESPN2 in December that the Worldwide Leader in Sports came back for second helpings Saturday night.
James has more than lived up to the hype, so much that it begs the questions: what took the national media so long to catch on and why do people still doubt the kid's skills? James has been killing opponents since he was a sophomore, absolutely owning guys on all levels.
Much was made of Carmelo Anthony's performance against James last year, but those is in attendance will tell you it was no contest -- James was clearly the best player on the floor. So-called experts wanted to take a flyer on the guy, a wait-until-I-see-it-with-my-own-eyes. Well, now, with LeBron's national tour in full force, his greatness is evident.
Before taking on Mater Dei Saturday, James, in his omnipresent two-tone paneled hat, sheepishly climbed the bleachers with his teammates looking like a regular kid, not the manchild whose mug graced the Dream Classic program and a set of trading cards handed out at the door. The thing is, James knows himself and his abilities better than anyone and he loves the stage. In pregame warmups, he thrilled the crowd with a one-handed jam off the glass. Even two of his attempted reverse jams that bounced off the iron were spectacular.
Once the game started, James had some trouble hitting his jumper, falling into the Mater Dei bench after shooting an air ball. He missed his first six shots before switching to a mid-range game and going five of eight in the second quarter.
But as in every LeBron game, there are flashes where it's clear he belongs on the next level. Like now. About midway through the first quarter, James received the ball out on the break with just one defender back on D. Then, just as the crowd anticipated another monster throwdown, LeBron dropped the ball off between his legs to teammate Romeo Travis for an easy two.
In addition to his physical attributes, it's James' passing that has many NBA scouts drooling. And it's a testament to both LeBron and his teammates that they remain undefeated despite the fact King James is tripled teamed almost every night out.
"I get quadruple-teamed in practice," said James following his team's 64-58 win. "Even Coach Dru (Joyce) tries to guard me. It doesn't bother me. I'm about team first."
St. Vincent-St. Mary is not exactly the Sacramento Kings, but they've managed to outplay and outshoot three of the nation's top 10-rated high school teams, including Mater Dei which features at least two future Division 1 players in Wesley Washington and D.J. Strawberry.
As for the sellout crowd, James sees nothing new in it. Pauley Pavilion is just a "different side of the atmosphere" according to LeBron whose squad recently defeated Brookhaven (OH) in front 22,000 back in Ohio.
"This is old," he said addressing the media with all the verve of Muhammad Ali. "This is real old. I've been doing this since the fifth grade. We went to Tennessee, Florida, Utah. We've been everywhere. If we go to Italy that will be something new."
As he closes in on David Stern calling his name, it's a wonder so many people doubted James ability. Yes, his shooting needs some work (he was 0-9 from three against Mater Dei), but just look at the overall game that included 21 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and three blocks.
Just think about it. The recruiting gurus, AAU and college coaches, and NBA scouts have been plenty prescient when it comes to high school kids with pro potential. Several prep-to-pros are not just solid NBA players, but among the league's elite. And with dollars tight, who but a player with Kobe or T-Mac skills would draw adidas and Nike into an all-out bidding war.
In fact, the NBA should probably thank the shoe companies for keeping James in school. LeBron, of course, would have been the number one pick in 2002. By continually vying for his services, Nike and adidas saved the League a big headache that would have resulted if James had attempted to enter the NBA draft before his high school class graduated.
As it turned out, James was not a trailblazer on that count, but does anyone doubt that the day will come when the next LeBron fights for the right to get paid despite their class standing. James' ascension is just the latest in ever-changing face of American basketball.
There are larger issues here like child labor laws and the future viability of big time college basketball. To that end, James seems blissfully unaware of his place in history. He says he's just a kid having fun. Just a kid about to get paid.
John Gustafson is a staff writer at ESPN The Magazine.
