Sports
LeBron James "new" Michael Jordan?
Schoolboy Player LeBron James
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - LeBron James may still be years away from playing his first National Basketball Association game, but the hype surrounding the best schoolboy player since Michael Jordan has reached staggering proportions.
"He does a great job of deflecting all the attention," said Dru Joyce, who coaches James' Saint Vincent-Saint Mary High School team.
"He understands it is part and parcel of what he has done. And what he has done is worked hard and now the hard work is going to pay off. He wants to enjoy it."
The biggest question about the 18-year-old from Akron, Ohio at the moment seems to be "is LeBron James a basketball phenom or a media phenom"?
The 2.03 metre (6ft 8in) James seems to relish being the centre of attention and is not shy in front of the cameras.
Instead of running set plays or practising free throws before games, James' pre-game routine looks more like a slam dunk contest.
"They (fans) want to see a show," said James, following his scool's 64-58 win over Mater Dei High School of Los Angeles on Saturday.
And he gives it to them. But when James missed one dunk in Saturday's warmup, some in the Los Angeles crowd wasted no time letting him have it.
"They would boo me for missing a layup," said the possible top pick in next year's NBA draft. "I don't care what the crowd thinks or what you all think as long as my teammates know I was there for them in the long run. I do what it takes for my team to win."
No doubt there are some in America that see James as a saviour of sorts for US basketball.
National Basketball Association fans have seen an unprecedented number of international players not only being drafted in the first round, but also dominating on the floor, including China's Yao Ming in Houston and Germany's Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas.
James' coach is trying not let the hype get to the team, but sometimes it shows.
At the news conference following the Mater Dei game, the most controversial question came from a reporter asking if James' schoolwork had suffered because of the team's coast-to-coast travel schedule.
Joyce scolded the reporter while James shot back: "I haven't missed a day of school yet".
School might be a mute point if James makes it to the NBA. Two shoe companies, Nike and Adidas, are rumoured to be chasing him to sign an endorsement deal which could reach 20 million dollars.
He has been on the cover of Sports Illustrated in the US and his first nationally televised game in December drew 1.67 million viewers.
Fans in his hometown of Akron pay eight dollars a game on pay-per-view to watch the LeBron James roadshow as his team plays in five different states across the country in his senior year.
His high school is reported to have received a 15,000 dollar appearance fee for the sold-out game against Mater Dei for which organizers charged 25 dollars a ticket and 10 dollars for a programme.
If he feels he is being exploited, James isn't showing it.
"Right now we are the hottest team in America," said James, who travels with a security director and a 10-person entourage. "In the last three weeks we have beaten three teams ranked in the top ten in the country."
Mater Dei's D.J. Strawberry, the son of former major league baseball player Darryl Strawberry, said that once the hype gets going, it is difficult to reverse.
"There is always going to be cameras in his face, media in his face, autograph seekers in his face. You're not going to stop it," he said.
With potential millions in NBA dollars awaiting him, James is expected to bypass college to go straight into the NBA draft where he would be the No. 1 pick.