What gives you that impression? Besides, if Nike and Addidas were riding my jock along with Michael Jordan and Shaq, then I would be pretty happy about that too. Not to mention that he is on Pay per view in Ohio, on ESPN twice, and the most hyped high schooler in the history of the game. And I forgot, he's a pretty badass basketball player.
this pretty much sums it up. 'And although I love the notion of no one getting rich off LeBron James until he turned professional, the only way that could have happened is if he simply played out his games in the same old gyms against the same old teams. Since no one opted for that, I'm having a hard time understanding why it's OK for everyone else to get rich off the interest in LeBron except LeBron'
This is exactly right. The school, shoe companies, ESPN, Sports Illustrated are all making money off the guy. But when the man himself wants to spend some money, suddenly everything comes into question. Plain silly. As long as his mom did everything legally, who cares if he drives a Hummer? More power to him! I wish I had that kind of money and/or cache.
Come on...the boy isn't stupid. He probably just took out a loan against his future earnings (which, oddly, is legal in high school basketball but NOT legal in college). He's already 18, so the second his high school basketball career is over, he can sign that shoe deal and pay off the loan. If he were REALLY going to accept a gift from a booster, don't you think he'd pick something a little more inconspicuous? what did Dejuan Wagner do in a high school game?
Big whoop. 100 points in a high school game has been done multiple times before Dejuan Wagner...Heck, Cheryl Miller scored 100 points in the first half of a high school game one time. The other team forefitted the game at halftime... Edit: to be exact, 12 people scored 100 in a game before Wagner (last paragraph in article). http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/college/recruiting/news/2001/01/16/wagner_100_ap/
FWIW, I had a problem with LeBron & his Hummer, but I'll admit that Bucher's right. If a bank is willing to give him a loan with deferred payments until, say, August, then why shouldn't he get what he wants? Why shouldn't he benefit? (Cat's right though, he could have waited until the season was over, but it's his life.) Honestly, I wonder if the powers that be who are "concerned" over this situation are just OSU alums or such who actually held out hope that 'Bron would be a Buckeye or whatever for a year at least. Think the NCAA could be involved, 'Bron could mean a lot of $$ for some school? I mean, if you were still wondering about what 'Bron was going to do, NBA or NCAA, getting the tricked out Hummer pretty much sealed the deal. Now, he just needs to stay healthy and keep working.
Yao gets similar media coverage, HE doesnt let it go to his head..I guess its just an American thing. were damned americans!!!
No. It is impressive. LeBron is a total team player. He gets others involved and is a much more developed player than previous kids who scored 100 in a game. For instance, Dajuan Wags scored 100 in a game, but did little else. Drilling 35-40 layups is not impressive. LeBron, on the other hand, hit 11 three pointers. 19-25 from the field. That is a very efficient way of getting 50 points. He also missed over a quarter of action because the coach sat him out. He doesnt look to score that much because thats not the type of player he is. Thats whats so special about him.
You know, I remember two guys who played south of Houston when I was playing, and this is the mid-80's, so TV did not really care about high school players too much. One was Alvin Franklin, who played at LaMarque, I think, and he routinely dropped 40 and 50 on people. He was supposed to be the next amazing player, take UH to a championship, etc. I don't think he ever even played pro ball. The other guy was named LaBradford Smith, and he had even more hype, national hype (think he played for Bay City). He could do everything. Pro scouts attended his high school games. Went to Louisville when that was a top-notch program, had so-so college career. Played for the Bullets for a few years I think, got posterized by Jordan a bunch. End of story. I am embarrassed to say I watched a Lebron game, and he didn't look that much better than LaBradford to me at the same age. Sorry, flame away at me if you want, but this poor kid's story is just way overblown now.
LaBradford Smith had all the tools to be a great basketball player, except one - the mentality. He lacked what it took mentally to become great. That happens to many many players. Hopefully James will not fall victim to it as well. I don't think the physical attributes, success at a young age, and the skills these two have in common should lump them together and, in turn, send James down the same path as Smith. Such hype and success and media coverage as a kid like that can't be a great motivator. But we shall see....time will tell.