- <span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">Allen Iverson</span> -How Far He Has Come <u>CHILDHOOD</u> You can say that it has been a long and tough road for Allen Iverson. As a young child, life was hell for him. Growing up in the dangerous neighborhoods where violence occured on a daily basis, having to deal with finance issues as a kid, and most importantly, not being able to have two parents. Ann Iverson, (Allen's mother) started dating Allen Broughton in 7th grade, whom she met in 5th grade (he was Allen's biological father). Once the Iversons moved, Ann and Allen stopped seeing each other. She soon met Michael Freeman, who was in and out of jail because he kept serving time for dealing drugs on the streets. That really affected AI's life, and the pressure was all on his mother to keep food on the table for her kids, and also try to pay the bills. Actually, if it wasnt for his mother, Allen would most likely not be playing basketball today. He hated basketball as a child, and always played football, because it was a rougher sport. But his mother convinced him to play basketball, and that is what saved his life. <u>HIGH SCHOOL</u> Iverson went on to go to Bethel High School in Virginia. As a freshman at Bethel, Iverson played wide reciever on the football team, and was timed running a 4.7 forty-yard dash. In his sopohmore year, he moved to quarterback, but he also played safety and returned kicks. He still played basketball, and he averaged 27 PPG for the Bethel basketball team, leading the team to a 15-8 season. It was a tough summer in the year of 1992 for AI, eight friends of his died, all being killed by gunshots. <u>COLLEGE</u> After High School, Iverson chose to play for legendary college basketball coach John Thompson at Georgetown University. He would play only two seasons there, before heading off to the NBA, instead the NFL. You'd think Georgetown would be the wrong choice for AI, as G'Town is more known for developing big men rather than their guards. Thompson has turned many of his big men into stars later in the NBA, such as Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, and Dikembe Mutombo. In his 1st game as a Hoya, Iverson registered 36 pts and dished 5 assists. Iverson averaged 21.5 ppg in his freshman year, and when the Hoyas were soon 7-1, the media started to become fascinated on how big of an impact Iverson has made on the team in just his freshman year. Georgetown went on to finish the season a respectable 18-8. In his sophomore year, the Hoyas improved increasingly, and he now developed the crossover that he brought to the NBA. But soon they fell to UMass in a tournament game, where the Hoyas lost, 86-62. It would finish Allen's sophomore season, but the real question still popped up. 'Will he stay or will he go?' <u>NBA</u> Turns out he decided to go. The Philadelphia 76ers were coming off a terrible season, going 22-60 in the 1995-1996 season. That summer the NBA draft was coming up, and many college/high school prospects were predicted to be drafted at various picks. Many prospects such as High School phenom Kobe Bryant, Iverson's Big East rival Ray Allen from UConn, Georgia Tech's PG Stephon Marbury, and defensive big man Marcus Camby from UMass were entering the draft. It turned out to be one of the most talented drafts in NBA draft history. "With the number one pick, the Philadelphia 76ers choose Allen Iverson from Georgetown University." Those are the words spoken by David Stern's mouth, who is the NBA's commisioner. As Iverson went on to play for Philly, and was eventually named Rookie Of the Year in 1997, the Sixers still struggled to make the playoffs. The successfull highlight that stands out in AI's career with Philly is when they cruised through their post-season run to face the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2001 NBA Finals, facing the deadly combo of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. Sixers won game one, behind a few clutch shots from AI, but went on to lose the next 4, and eventually, losing the series. Ever since, AI has been struggling to achieve that kind of success as his 'supporting casts' have been changed over and over again each season. Currently, at the season's end, the Sixers won't make the playoffs. It will be interesting to see which 'supporting cast' AI has to adapt to next season going into the off-season for Philadelphia.
Yeah, I wrote a paper on AI for school. This one is nice though. I would have liked to see more on the game today for AI, and a mention of Dikembe Mutombo, as that was the only chance of winning it all recently.
