Sports: 'Cacophony of hype and hops'

'Cacophony of hype and hops'

LeBron James, a k a the next ''best ever'' high school player, has become ensnared in a whirlwind of publicity that is propelling him toward the NBA - and millions of dollars.

By PETE YOUNG, Times Staff Writer

It began, by and large, when he universally was crowned the nation's best high school basketball player -- the summer before his junior year.

Then came the cover of Sports Illustrated. Then the nationally televised games. Then it all blurred together: The cover of ESPN The Magazine, the Hummer H2 controversy, the media backlash, the retro jerseys scandal, loss of eligibility and reinstatement.

What in the name of Chuck Taylor is going on here?

LeBron James, in the span of about a year, has developed from local high school sensation in Akron, Ohio, to national lightning rod.

"His world is a cacophony of hype and hops," ESPN The Magazine said. "There's this boy/man/narcissist out there impersonating an NBA player, except he's 17 and still subject to a Catholic high school dress code."

Is he a spoiled child or the prodigy of prodigies? Fabulous phenom or future flame-out? Exploiting the system or exploited by it?

One thing is certain. The 6-foot-8, 240-pound, now-18-year-old superstar for St. Vincent-St. Mary's is scary-good. MJ and Tiger and Roy Jones Jr. level good, eventually perhaps.

"Talent-wise, he's got tons, there's no doubt about it," ESPN analyst Sean Elliott said. "I haven't seen everybody, but he's easily the best high school player I've ever seen."

The rest of the LeBron James phenomenon is up for debate.

Elliott, a former college and NBA star -- and heavily recruited prep star -- thinks the avalanche of attention is too much for a high school athlete.

"There's no way I could have been able to handle it," Elliott said. "For a high school kid to deal with everything he's had to deal with is very difficult."

Elliott also says we can get used to such things, because James broke through a threshold and is sure to have successors. The next prep star, or stars, can expect more of the same inundation from the media. Society wants it, Elliott said (as proven by the exorbitant ratings for James' games on ESPN2), so the media will supply it.

"It's been heading in this direction for several years. It was just a matter of who and when," Elliott said. "It's been a ratings boon, so that's why they do it. If people want to see him play, then their responsibility is to bring the game. It's basic economics, supply and demand.

"That doesn't mean it's the best thing to do, but I'm not blaming them for doing it. I think it can be harmful in the sense that, what message do you send to the kids? The academic All-Americans are being recruited by top schools, but they aren't on TV, aren't getting publicized."

Another issue is the coast-to-coast plane-hopping to tournaments and showcase games that James' team makes (along with many other high schools). Elliott would like tighter restrictions.

"To go on that many trips during the school year is tough on the kids academically," Elliott said. "Probably only LeBron is going to be an NBA star, so academics should be the school's main concern and they should cut down on the traveling."

The James phenomenon has spawned an outbreak of wannabe Dr. Phils. Seemingly everyone has advice for James. Most of them implore him to find trustworthy advisers with his best interests in mind.

Many have decried the crush of attention. Sports Illustrated got the James Express rolling with its cover story on Feb. 18, 2002, titled "The Chosen One." It defended the editorial decision in a recent story:

"There is nothing we can possibly do to him that outweighs the benefits of his precocity. ... What he gets back is something that's been the whole point of our American experience so far. He ... has the platform to provoke awe, the opportunity to explore the boundaries of his talent, to establish new thresholds of glory. Like any young person, of course, just more so. So, yeah, we put him on the cover."

Many even have weighed in with advice for his mother, Gloria, including Charles Barkley's mom, who publicly offered her a few words of wisdom. Gloria's ubiquitous presence -- she often speaks with James on the bench during games -- has been criticized, as well as her decision to take out a loan to buy the $50,000-plus H2.

Elliott's basketball pedigree seemingly would make him a good candidate to counsel James. However, his prep All-American experience in the 1980s was nothing like the media monster honing in on James.

"There might be too many things to say to him," Elliott said. "I don't know what I might tell him."

It is understood James will bypass college and go straight to the NBA and be the No. 1 selection in the draft.

"He can go to college on a scholarship, or he can immediately sign a $20-million clothing contract and then get paid millions more by the (team that drafts him)," Elliott said. "Which would you do?"

There are no assurances of professional greatness, however. For every prep prodigy such as Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Shaquille O'Neal, there are Chris Washburn and Stanley Roberts. For every Allen Iverson and Kevin Garnett there are wunderkinds who have had marginal careers such as Kenny Anderson and Billy Owens. For every Jason Kidd there is Randy Livingston, who was considered Kidd's equal in high school before getting sideswiped by injuries.

The ever-expanding saturation of sports coverage has put major team-sport athletes in the spotlight at younger ages, joining individual-sport stars like Jennifer Capriati and Sarah Hughes. James is the latest and greatest, and his behavior will be scrutinized.

Such as when he accepted the expensive retro jerseys without paying. He had to know it was a rules violation, and it left many wondering if the spotlight at such a young age can be harmful and impair his development -- or if it already had.

"If you give any guy 17, 18 years old the same opportunity, they'd make the same mistakes," Elliott said. "Just like figure skaters and gymnasts have made mistakes at young ages. He needs to find people he can trust and who can help. He knows a lot of people in the NBA already."

Thus, despite the unanimous chorus proclaiming James' abundant gifts, there are twists in the road to superstardom. Sports Illustrated recently wrote a piece on Kobe Bryant (Bryant was on his first SI cover when he was 19), detailing his blueprint from high school to NBA great. It read as a sort-of open letter to James.

"So there you have it, LeBron: the road map from phenom to superstar. You merely have to work harder and longer than anyone else, stay confident, marry a woman who makes you a better person, win over your critics and, somewhere along the way, learn to score like Wilt Chamberlain. No problem. Now get to it."