Just in case you missed his national TV debut on ESPN last month, Lebron James and his team will be taking on Mater Dei on ESPN2 at 9:30 eastern Jan 4.
mater dei... home of daryl strawberry's son, an all-american high school basketball player...should be a good match-up.
I've seen alot of articles and a couple of TV segments about his son, but they mostly just talked about him trying to live through his dad's screwups. I'm interested in seeing how well he plays.
So far, it's been a fun, fast-paced game. But Jeebus, the ESPN2 guys are just turning this broadcast into a coffee chat. Why does LeBron James has to cover his tattoes?
nope, it is a school rule...flyer fan is correct. by the way, congrats on the victory against marq. today!
I had a pretty good sports week, actually. On Sunday Dayton played well at Duke, losing by eleven but they were only down six points with 3:08 left. Last night, of course, OSU brought home the title. Today Dayton knocked off Marquette in another OT game [I might have to stop watching sports for a while to catch my breath]. And the Blue Jackets took five of six possible points this week. Not a bad sports week.
So the school wont let him show his tats, but they let him wear an NBA head band and plaster his name on the back of his jersey in 1000 pt font. Not to mention the 50 adidas logos on their uni's. They're a disgrace to catholic HS. The kid is a sensational talent - but the whole situation gives me the creeps.
SportsCenter had video footage of his new ride. It's silver with chrome wheels. Typical ghetto style. Anyhoo.... Anyone see the latest Cribs? Shaq has a maroon H2 with 26 inch rims on it. DAMN!
I'm not sold on Lebron James. Guys who play his sort of slashing style are a dime a dozen in the NBA and, now, around the world. The guy has just developed at a young age, that's all. It's very possible that he has reached his physical maturation level early and has a huge leg up on the competition. Once he goes up against men next year I think he's in for a heap of trouble. Could be the biggest bust ever. Also, he appears to have a good head on his shoulder but from what I've seen and heard from/about his mother, she is one of those arrogant people who has $$$ in her eyes. It's not just the ridiculous car she bought with a loan for her 18 year old HS son. That's ridiculous enough. What, she couldn't wait a few more months until the kid gets drafted? He HAD to have this insane ride RIGHT NOW? Seems like she's on the road to ruining this kid with her big ego and may take him down with her. If the guy ends up like Willis Mcgahee she will look like a damn fool and those who have witnessed her arrogance would relish the chance to see her fall. I've heard she berates the parents and relatives of opposing teams and just, in general, walks around with a chip on her shoulder. That attitude won't fly in the NBA and might actually get her son taught a few painful lessons on the court by prideful professionals.
But how will he impress the scouts? Now, don't all the adidas goodies he's received for free jeopardize his amateur status. Then again, pretty much every blue chip high schooler gets free shoes. While I'm all about protecting amteurism in high school sports, it just seems so disingenuous when everyone else is cashing in on this phenom.
I don't see why this is big news. The whole circus surrounding him has been ridiculous since day one. Hell, the kid drove an Escalade before he got the H2.
Actually it was an Explorer that belonged to his mom's "boyfreind and financial advisor" who is currently doing time for real estate fraud. Gloria James does not have a job and they live in Federal housing. They live on foodstamps and ADC. Go to eBay; do a search for LeBron James and ne prepared to be shocked. Living in the same county as these people, I have watched over the last couple years as a fine program at St V St M has been subverted by greed and ridden this kids' back to trips all over the country, national TV, adidas team sponsorship, the whole glory deal. The sad thing is they had a good team without him. This should have been a very special season for Coach Joyce, whose son is a Senior and a fine player in his own right. Now they have nothing, particularly after they forfeit all games played after he acquired this car. And reportedly he's had it for weeks. And it really IS over. No bank on Earth loaned her $60k without a job. This was a "private" loan. OHSAA Commissioner Mascaro has asked the school to provide him with "paperwork" on the loan. I can't wait to see what they come up with. Gloria thought the rules didn't apply to her, just like when she marches onto the court during time outs and yells at referees. Just like her son did on Saturday at Warrensville Heights when, taken out after his third foul, he strolled to the wall behind the basket, threw a towel and sat down by himself. Coach Joyce didn't say boo. Any other program on the planet, this kid is done. So don't judge him too harshly - he's come by all of this honestly.
Even knowing that her son would be a millionaire in a few months time? I'd make that loan in a second. Or do banks have to follow federally-mandated minimums for loan applicants?
From what I understand, the loan wasn't illegal, but his amateur status was compromised since the collateral was essentially Lebron's basketball skills.
I'd like that in baby's mama blue please. St. V's is a crazy school. One of my sister's went there, the whole school protested when they fired an assistant football coach for crying out loud. My sister is flat out crazy, thanks to her St. Vincent St. Mary's education. I'd say "Go Walsh", but they let chicks into their school. They're all Protestants, I tell ya!
Wrong. Any other program in the country that has a money making talent like him would have done just the exact same thing. They have done what is in the best interest of the school. They play a schedule of out of state teams. They play their games mostly at the University of Akron and some at Clevelend's Gund arena. all their games are either on ESPN2 or on pay-per-view in northern Ohio. This kid - and his mother - can do whatever they damned well please and it would be the same wherever he went. He's that big. Akron St. Vincent/St. Mary's is bigger than OHAA right now. They don't need state sanctioned rules and they certainly don't need a state tournement. Those are just games that lose money as far as they're concerned. I just don't see why people are so hard on the kid and his family. He's not going to college. Why does it matter what he does with the money he's going to get? It's not like they recruited him with the lure of the Hummer. He earned that once he got there. Go ahead, OHAA, kick the school out. it'll be a huge mistake and a media nightmare. Besides, all that will do is make him a bigger story and you all bigger whiners about not having what this kid can have - and more importantly not being able to govern him. Not one person on these boards can at all relate to the talent and power that this kid possesses. He takes advantage of a couple gifts and he's a bad guy and his mother is even worse. Why? Because he's starting to cash in on what he earned because he's tired of everyone but him making money off what he rightfully has done? Well good for him. There's not a basketball coach in the country that wouldn't want this kid on his high school basketball team - even with all the druthers that come with.
The only problem I can see is that he hasn't really earned anyhting yet. It's all been about natural talent - the danger being that he won't know how to work for ir once he reaches the NBA level.
I understand what you're saying, and there's no question at all that there's truth in it (some of the details need punching up, like that they play at CSU Convo Center) but it misses what I personally think is the point: There are rules to High School basketball, just as there are rules to everything. You have to live by rules. I have to live by rules. We all do. What these people are doing, apparently, is deciding that they are BIGGER than rules. Yes, lots of other people are making money off the kid, and more plan on doing the same very soon. But in the meantime, if he did what it appears he's done, he's done irreperable harm to his teammates at the very least. I remember the coach in Columbus, Chuck Kemper, who threw Lawrence Funderburke off his team because of his attitude that he was bigger than the team. It's not unheard of. All it takes is some guts and a sense of what your job really is. Yes, LBJ is about to cash in big. He needs SVSM like he needs a hole in the head. A year from now he'll have the cash to but a hundred H2's. But because he didn't think his teammates were worth having to wait three months for really ntight wheels, he's shown just exactly what he thinks of everybody but himself. YOU go ahead and think he's the victim here.