I've always been curious about this, so I thought I'd ask the biggest Rockets fans I know. Does anyone know when/where his nickname originated? Did he have that nick while at U of H, or did he acquire it after he entered the NBA?
He got this at UofH, because he walked into Guy Lewis's office and asked him if he needed a center for his bball team...completely out of the blue, like a Dream. The other part of the story is when he first arrived at NYC (anyone correct me if i'm wrong) from Nigeria, he thought the weather was too cold and needed to live in a warmer climate. After asking around, he picked Houston, Texas. He should have gone to Rice, though. Heck, that's where he picked his girlfriend (mother of his 1st daughter).
In Hakeem's autobiography "Living the Dream," he recounts that he did, indeed, get the nickname at UH. When he first arrived, a friendly woman in the athletic office would greet him by saying, "Hey Hakeem, Jelly Bean!" The players picked up on that and started calling him "Jelly," which Hakeem found irritating. It was probably an alumnus or b-ball fans on campus that first came up with "The Dream," because Hakeem had simply fallen into the school's lap and he was rumored to have incredible potential. Hakeem loved that name right away. As for New York, Hakeem was indeed scheduled to visit many schools around the country seeking a scholarship. The scout that discovered him in Nigeria told Hakeem, "You'll definitely want to visit Houston. The coach there is very good and the weather is very warm." The first school Hakeem was scheduled to visit was in NY, I believe it was St. John's but I don't remember at the moment. Hakeem got off the plane excited to see the famous city and rushed outside. It was wintertime, and when he went through the door the wind hit him and chilled him to the bone in his little windbreaker. Hakeem literally turned right back around, went to the airline desk, and asked the lady, "When's the next flight to Houston?" He got on the very next flight and didn't leave Houston for another 20 years.
I never heard the secretary story, but I do remember one of the guys making a comment after trying to guard him in the post as saying he was like "trying to grab a handfull of jelly". it was our description for the dream shake before there was a dream shake. I think it was Gary Orsak or one of the twins that said it but it has been too long ago. I ran into him a few years ago and if he disliked the Jelly nickname, I guess he's over it now. He signed my kids UH hat "Jelly #35". Not too many of those signatures running around as he always signs with his 34 when he puts it as he was only 35 when we were on the road. I don't recall the dream origin, he was 'livin the dream" and it rhymed with Akeem. By definition, the american dream was everything he was about. It was probably Worrell or one of those type guys.
Just about all great players used to have a nicknames that were cool like dr j,iceman,clyde the glyde and so forth. Now its like a acronym like d-wade, t-mac and simple non creative stuff. What happened to Dr. Dunkenstein? World B Free? The Big Whopper?
What I really liked was how he overcame bad refs, cheating/cheap opponents (elbow to the face ftw), and others saying he's not taking it to the basket enough as a center and shoots too many fadeaways. Reminds me of an another Houston center....
Great Book and I have the Dream Video as well !! Awesome story ! Its too bad that he and Clyde couldnt win at UofH because they were the best team !
So Hakeem is Kobe's father also? Potential Rocket Profile: Kobe Bryant Allow me to derail a bit: any "Potential Rocket Profile" for this off season, Clutch?
