Just read an interesting little book about LeBron James and figured I'd share my dos pesos about it since, you know, tiz the season. King James: Believe The Hype Ryan Jones St. Martin's Press, 2003 203 pages, 25 smaller, b&w images $12.95 US Subject Matter: The book covers the early career of LeBron James, with the bulk of material detailing LeBron's incredible high school career and how the kid almost, and in some cases entirely single-handedly, changed everything in highschool basketball around the Country. The key points of the book zero in on the day to day development of James into a superstar before he even graduated. It chronicles his relationships with his coaches and more importantly the bonds he developed with fellow teammates from St. Vincent Saint Mary highschool. It also delves into some of the 'scandal' that followed LeBron around due to everyone and their dutch uncle wanting to get a piece of the kid. "Hummergate" (God I'm getting tired of everything being called "whatever-gate" these days), throw-back jerseyGATE, and even a few bits about former Cavs coach John Lucas and his dealings with LeBron. My favorite part of the work itself is when Ryan Jones gives recaps of LeBron's biggest games in highschool, as each game he played drew more and more spotlight and celebrity. The book does a solid job of re-calling James's biggest plays and best moves across his highschool, yea, highschool career. While maybe it doesn't intend to, the book winds up being a document in considering LeBron James as the best highschool basketball player in American History- or as Bill Walton would say- 'the history of the Western Hemisphere'. My overall take on the thing...: It's a bit hastily put together, and there are some gaps in the whole thing, but on the whole I thought it was a good read about one of my favorite subject matters. Jones does a great job, albeit seemingly a bit rushed, of getting inside what James was like as he went from 14-18, and from a virtual unknown to a house-hold name. I came away with a better sense of what James 'the young man' is all about, and in particular how he has always had a knack of taking 'controversy' and turning it into success on the court. The bigger the spotlight, the better he seems to play, and there's no lack of evidence for that here in the early days of his NBA career. Unfortunately, but somewhat understandably, the book stops short of covering any of James pro career with the Cavaliers, but it does do (once again) what I think is a solid job of detailing James's incredible and ground-breaking highschool career. Ironically enough, it's a rarity when a high school athelete warrants the writing of a book, and particularly one that not only chronicles the phenomena of the hype surrounding a highschool player- but also becomes part of that very hype it has chronicled. The hype that has gone along with LeBron and the way he has handled that hype is the keystone of the book itself and its main thrust. This aspect of the book is very well documented and covers all the perspectives of those who all 'gathered round the fire' of LeBron's rise to fame. Pictures... While they're smaller pics and black and white, there's some interesting ones in there, two in particular: 1) LeBron as a 16 year old. 2) LeBron as a seventeen year old with his shirt off. And this one just blows me away. He's 17, stands about 6'7", and is cut like a brick you-know-what house. I mean, dude looks like he's 25 and developed more fully than half the guys in the NBA- at 17. Unreal. If you want a book, or you know someone who wants a book that gets pretty deep into LeBron's highschool endeavors and really does a nice job laying out how he's become such an incredible young pro- this is a good pick. While it stops short of any of LeBron's professional or Olympic endeavors, it covers everything before quite well. Yo Dos Pesos, Chip D. Wood
This is a pretty nice review of the book. I was thinking about getting it. I have to do a report on anybody I wish so this might be a bok I could read for it.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting '[KBC:</div><div class="quote_post">']This is a pretty nice review of the book. I was thinking about getting it. I have to do a report on anybody I wish so this might be a bok I could read for it.</div> What, T.E. Lawrence not available? You wanna blow away a teacher, check that dude out . BUT, if you do choose LeBron as your subject matter, let me throw a quick story at you about this kid. The night of the 2003 draft lottery, the entire Cleveland area was buzzing. When that ping-pong ball dropped were it did, the entire city reacted as if we'd won a championship. Seriously, people were running out of bars and shouting about it in the streets. I know cause I was one of them. We're a desperate lot. Anyway, that night, Austin Carr was part of a lottery party being held at a place called 'Scorchers'. Austin, if ya don't know, is a Cleveland basketball legend, playing for the Cavaliers in the seventies, and at the time of the lottery party was the color commentator of the Cavaliers television broadcasting team (with Michael Reghi as the play by play). When it was realized that the Cavaliers had won the lottery, and the right to pick LeBron James, Carr actually began to weep with joy. It was all over the news that night, as the entire city celebrated the simple fact that we got to keep LeBron. Two days later, LeBron showed up at Gund arena to catch what I think was a Cleveland Rockers game. Guess what he was wearing...: A Cavaliers' Austin Carr throw-back jersey. How cool is that? It's one of the reasons people love LeBron so much- he respects the history of the game, and he showed that he appreciated Carr's reaction to the lottery 'victory'. Kid is as classy as he is talented. I'd still pick someone else to write a paper about, but in all honesty, I can see why someone would want to write more about this... LeBron kid . Chip D. Wood
