Just a Junior

The "Basketball for Thought" is a commentary by Kris Gardner.

April 2002

I finally had the chance to see LeBron James play basketball. If you haven't heard of him (where have you been?), he's the high school phenom who many basketball people believe could play in the NBA right now!

LeBron is currently a junior at St. Vincent - St. Mary's High School in Ohio; and, his basketball skills had been described to me in almost legendary terms.

Opinions from basketball people whom I have very high respect have raved about the young man's talents for more than a year now. I had never been afforded the opportunity to see LeBron play ball before; so, I couldn't form my own conclusions about him.

Well, LeBron was recently near the Houston area competing in a big-time AAU event; so, I had my chance to see him.

I saw him play; and, I can safely say LeBron James is truly a spectacularly gifted basketball player!

Let me underscore "basketball player" because at 6'7" and about 225 pounds, LeBron is much more than an athlete who dunks a basketball with ease. While a lot of high school kids can dunk, very few of them can actually play basketball.

LeBron is one of those rare diamonds. He can do it all on the basketball court! His court vision is exceptional. His leadership skills are exemplary. His basketball fundamentals are great, too. In short, his basketball IQ grades out to the level of genius.

LeBron James is a member of basketball's version of Mensa!

I'll just describe the greatness he displayed last weekend at Clear Lake High School: his plane lands at the airport at roughly 7:45 pm for a game scheduled to begin at 9:40. He arrives at the gym. Kids and adults began murmuring "he's here! That's LeBron!"

LeBron warms up; then puts on a dunking display during the lay-up line. While most of the kids "oohed and aahed" at each of his dunks, I wasn't impressed because I wanted to see more than just a kid flying through the air with the greatest of ease.

Game time.

Tip-off; and LeBron proceeded to put on a show / basketball clinic.

He scored from the outside on deep three pointers; played solid defense; ran his team's offense; directed his teammates' positions on defense; played passing lanes; knocked down a twenty foot turnaround shot (with a defender's hand in his face) while falling out of bounds; threw down a vicious dunk (after he yelled "trailer, trailer" -- like players are supposed to do on a fast break) over a kid after leaping from about 10 to 12 feet from the basket. LeBron accomplished all of that (and more) in the first half alone!

The second half started; and, he continued to impress me and everyone else in attendance. After a team turnover, he ran down the sideline around a referee, and swatted a lay-up attempt off the backboard.

Later, LeBron blocked another lay-up attempt off the backboard with both of his hands. In other words, he caught the ball against the glass! The crowd went nuts!

After the game, none of us had any doubts about the kids' tremendous ability nor whether he could play in the NBA. Many of us feel

LeBron could play in the league right now.

Saturday morning, he displayed his point guard skills and let his teammates get involved and score. He broke pressure defenses with ease. He wasn't flashy at all except for a between the legs dunk he did with the game winding down which he made look frighteningly easy.

If it seems as if I'm gushing about this kid, it's because I am. He is indeed the Real Deal. He wouldn't dominate the NBA right now; but, he definitely could hold his own. I'm not advocating he challenge the NBA's rules about high schoolers being ineligible to play in the league; but, he'd probably win the case.

LeBron James is one of the most gifted basketball players I've ever seen; and, realize the basic fact that he'll be a senior a high school in the fall. Amazing! All of his talent; and, he's just a junior in high school. WOW!