Being in Cleveland last week for the King City Classic camp for high school prospects gave me a front-row seat for LeBron James’ decision to leave the Cavaliers for the Miami Heat.
Staying with friends in James’ hometown of Akron provided a double-barrel view of northeast Ohio’s grief.
It was wall-to-wall anxiety and then anger upon arriving on Wednesday and leaving on Saturday. Cavalier owner Dan Gilbert’s public criticism of James’ “cowardly betrayal” could have served as a description of many fans who vented on television and radio.
James’ jerseys were burned in Cleveland AND Akron.
On the night of what ESPN called “The Decision,” one Cleveland newscast abandoned any pretense of objectivity and ripped James repeatedly. The sports anchor read angry e-mails from viewers.
A radio host called James an egomaniac and a bad tipper (supposedly leaving $60 on a $2,000 bill, the host said).
After the tumultuous Kentucky season of 2009-10, the LeBron-a-thon seemed a fitting way to usher in some vacation time. I’ll be back on Aug. 2.
A self-titled “Super Soph” camp took over the Wolstein Center after the King City Classic ended on Friday.
The “Super Soph” Camp was for selected players in the high school class of 2013. Recruiting analysts Brick Oettinger of Prep Stars and Van Coleman of Hoop Masters said the 30 or so players represented a cross section of promising players but should not be considered the top prospects in the class. It was too early to know what players should be regarded the best, they said.
Among the players in the ‘Super Soph” camp were Tanveer Bhullar, a 7-2 native of India who is attending the Kiski prep school in Saltsburg, Pa. Internet reports have linked him to Kentucky, but the recruiting analysts wondered how Bhullar’s massive bulk would mesh with John Calipari’s high-octane Dribble-Drive style.
Other campers included Torren Jones, a 6-4 wing from Chandler, Ariz., center Kennedy Meeks of Charlotte, N.C., (no relation to Jodie Meeks) and wing Bo Ziegler, the son of Central Michigan Coach Ernie Ziegler.
UK’s been recruiting him hard, said Amir Williams, a Michigan center, as he talked to Jerry Tipton and other reporters at the King City Classic camp in Cleveland.
Campers at the King City Classic were divided into eight teams with college names. In the tournament ending the event, “Kentucky” beat “Syracuse” in the championship game Friday.
Julian Royal, a 6-8 forward from Alpharetta, Ga., scored 12 second-half points to lead Kentucky’s comeback victory. The team also included guard Shannon Scott, who has committed to Ohio State, and Kansas-bound forward Zach Peters.
Jakarr Sampson stood out in Cleveland at the King City Classic. Not necessarily because he played better than the other campers at this Nike sponsored event for elite high school players. But because he remains an admirer of LeBron James.
After James announced Thursday night that he would leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and play for the Miami Heat, this city turned against its former favorite son. Dan Gilbert, the owner of the Cavs, called James’ decision to leave “a cowardly betrayal.” Fans burned James’ jersey here and in his nearby hometown of Akron.
“C’mon now, that’s crazy,” Sampson said on Friday, the last day of this camp named for James, heretofore known by the nickname King James. “He brought Cleveland back. They used to be terrible. Tickets used to be $5.”
When a wiseacre reporter noted that ticket prices might return to $5 next season, Sampson laughed and nodded in agreement.
Still, Sampson, who attends the same St. Vincent-St. Mary’s High School in Akron that produced James, said he still thought highly of LeBron.
“Everybody’s upset,” said Sampson, a 6-foot-7 wing who will be a senior next season. “My whole thing is there’s no reason to hate him. He’s real good player. He just wants to win. Who can blame him?”
Sampson considers himself more than a fan of James’. He’s been to the basketball superstar’s home more than once.
“We built a real good relationship,” the high school player said. “. . . He’s a real cool dude.”
Sampson acknowledged that James could have handled the announcement better. James went on ESPN, which staged an hour-long special entitled “The Decision,” to say he would leave. The show also came in the middle of the King City Classic, which has been an annual tribune to James as well as a camp for college recruiters to evaluate prospects.
Nike huge seven banners of NBA stars at one end of Cleveland State’s Wolstein Center, which has been home to the King City Classic. Three of the banners were of James.
“He probably could have waited till the camp ended,” Sampson said of James’ announcement.
Sampson, a top 100 prospect going into the summer according to the Prep Stars recruiting service, said he was considering such schools as Ohio State, Michigan State, Dayton, Xavier, Southern Cal, St. John’s, Miami and Louisville.
Perry Ellis, a 6-8 forrward from Wichita Heights, Kan., counts Kentucky among the long list of suitors. He’s been hearing from colleges since the eighth grade.
“Back then, I thought, ‘What’s going on?’ ” Ellis said after his second game Thursday at the King City Classic camp in Cleveland. “I didn’t know. That’s a lot of pressure. Everybody wanting autographs. Now I understand that’s how it is.”
Ellis said he received his first college scholarship offer as a ninth grader: from Kansas. He decided to wait and see how the process unfolded.
Now he hears from Kansas, Kansas State, Memphis, Oklahoma, Wake Forest, Stanford and North Carolina as well as UK.
Kentucky Coach John Calipari called the parents of big man prospect Kyle Wiltjer last week to express recruiting interest in their son.
Wiltjer is playing in the King City Classic camp in Cleveland. His father, Greg Wiltjer, played for Oregon State
“He called to stay they’ve followed by progress,” the younger Wiltjer said. “They have a lot of one-and-dones. They have to wait (to express interest).”
Wiltjer credited his father with helping develop his game.
“Since the fifth grade,” he said. “He had me do what he called the George Mikan drill: Left- and right-handed hooks. I was thinking, ‘Why am I doing this?’ But it paid off.
“He loves the old-fashioned hook shot. No one is really ready for it. No one can really block it, so I’m picking up on it.”
Wiltjer, a high school senior in 2010-11, added UK to a long list of schools that includes Gonzaga, Kansas, California, Stanford, Arizona, Arizona State, Texas and Wake Forest.
“If any school wants to come in, they’re welcome,” Wiltjer said. He’s from Portland, Ore.
Kentucky is recruiting Rodney Purvis, a high school sophomore-to-be considered “the next John Wall.”
Of course, that’s lofty praise, but there’s reason to believe it’s valid. Like Wall, who became the first Kentucky player to be the overall No. 1 pick in an NBA Draft last month, Purvis is a 6-foot-4 point guard.
Like Wall, Purvis is from Raleigh, N.C. Purvis, who is playing in the King City Classic in Cleveland, acknowledged the comparisons to Wall.
“It’s humbling,” he said. “Because John Wall is — what? — the No. 1 draft pick in the country. So there’s really no comparison to me. . . . I don’t even feed into it.”
Purvis and Wall are friends who have played one-on-one many times.
“Probably over a hundred,” Purvis said before adding with a smile, “and I lost every single time.”
Purvis listed such schools as UK, Louisville, Wake Forest, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Xavier and the school that makes him a fan, North Carolina.
Jerry Tipton of the Lexington Herald- Leader has covered Kentucky basketball since the 1981-82 season. That time includes five coaches, five Final Fours, four athletic directors, two interim athletic directors and many memories. Before coming to Lexington, Tipton worked eight years for the Huntington (W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch. He covered Marshall’s basketball team for two seasons before coming to the Herald-Leader.
