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Hoops Hype: Believe It!

Aired December 13, 2002 - 11:35   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now to a man who's under a totally different kind of spotlight right now, Lebron James, the man we talked about moments ago, this high school phenom, who managed to get his game broadcast on ESPN last night. Now, when he plays his last high school game, which will probably be in March, Lebron James is likely to just waltz his way into NBA and endorsement deals worth in the neighborhood of some $35 million or so, that ain't a bad neighborhood to be in.
David Lee Morgan is a sports writer for the "Akron Beacon Journal." He's covered Lebron's high school career. He joins us now live from Detroit.

Good to see you this morning, Detroit.

I got to tell you something, as you know, I'm from Akron, and I've been keeping in touch with my brother Jerry and his boys back home, and they've been telling me for the last two years this guy was the truth. Last night, we all got to see for the first time across the nation that this guy really is everything he was said to be. Are you surprised at all about the way he's developed?

DAVID LEE MORGAN, "AKRON BEACON JOURNAL": No. You know what, Leon, first of all, thanks for having me. It's great talking with a fellow Akronite.

No, I'm not surprised. My biggest concern was, I was hoping that Lebron stepped up and had a good game because there were so many skeptics and critics out there, who I think were kind of waiting to say this guy can't be as good as advertised, and I thought it was just impressive that he had a slow start, but he was still able to kind of get his feel of the game, get back in the game, and show that, hey, this is what I can do. I can play at this level and I can play at the next level.

HARRIS: The thing is, one of the reasons why this was so controversial to have this game broadcast on ESPN because of the hype building up around a 17-year-old high schooler. The question is, when kids this early get this kind of attention, and we've seen what happens with a lot of athletes who have had things JUST handed to them all their lives and how they end up becoming, let's say, less than responsible citizens. What do we know about this kid? Can he emerge from it a regular, normal human being, as normal as an NBA star can be?

MORGAN: When you say normal, with all the hype he's gotten, I don't think you can be a normal 17-year-old kid when you're getting thousands of interview requests, or hundreds of requests during the season. What I think is, I think what makes him such a -- he's got that star quality, because he's able to handle all of the pressure, keep it in focus, and focus on the team. If you ever talk to him or listen to what he says about his game and how he wants to develop, it's always about me developing, and it's about developing my team, and I think it's amazing that he's able to develop his game physically, but also mentally. He's able to handle all the pressures, ought hype and yesterday after the game, if you talked to him, he said it's not pressure for me, because I'm just playing my game, I'm getting my team involved.

So I think the fact he's able to keep all of that in perspective, I think it's amazing. It shows the type of player he is mentally and you know just the fact that you know the sky is the limit for him as long as he works hard.

I also think it's important that he surrounds himself with people who are going to have his best interests you know at heart, and I think he has those people. And it's going to be so tough, because now there are so many people pulling him and want him to do this and that, and it's got to be distracting, but it's impressive he's able to stay focused and be able to do what he's doing on the court.

HARRIS: Living in the NBA as a 17-year-old is a whole different prospect. I spent some time following Jermaine O'Neal when the Portland Trailblazers picked him up straight out of high school, and I saw with him how difficult it is for a 17-year-old boy, essentially a boy, to all of a sudden have to live around men.

Do you think he's the kind of kid -- what's happened to him in his life to make him the kind of guy that can handle that transition?

MORGAN: Well, you know what, first of all, you're absolutely right. You're talking about a business. When you go into a training camp, you've got men fighting for their livelihood. And it's tough. You have a 12-team NBA roster, and really you only have two spots open every year. So it's tough.

But he's just one of those once in a lifetime type of players who's got all the skills physically, and I think he has the mental approach to be able to go into -- he's already played against NBA players already. I mean, so he can play at that level. It's just a matter of him being in that system and having people around him say, OK, this is what you need to do to get better at the next level, and just to, you know, impress upon him, because he's playing with high school kids now, so it's probably tough because he's not playing at the level he needs to play at once he gets there. But he gets there, he's going to have the people who are going to show him.

HARRIS: He's had a tough upbringing, and that may be what the doctor ordered to make him the kind of guy that can make this transition.

David Lee Morgan of the "Akron Beacon Journal," thanks for joining me this morning. Appreciate the time, and good luck, and stay warm up there. MORGAN: I appreciate it thanks a lot.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired December 13, 2002 - 11:35   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now to a man who's under a totally different kind of spotlight right now, Lebron James, the man we talked about moments ago, this high school phenom, who managed to get his game broadcast on ESPN last night. Now, when he plays his last high school game, which will probably be in March, Lebron James is likely to just waltz his way into NBA and endorsement deals worth in the neighborhood of some $35 million or so, that ain't a bad neighborhood to be in.
David Lee Morgan is a sports writer for the "Akron Beacon Journal." He's covered Lebron's high school career. He joins us now live from Detroit.

Good to see you this morning, Detroit.

I got to tell you something, as you know, I'm from Akron, and I've been keeping in touch with my brother Jerry and his boys back home, and they've been telling me for the last two years this guy was the truth. Last night, we all got to see for the first time across the nation that this guy really is everything he was said to be. Are you surprised at all about the way he's developed?

DAVID LEE MORGAN, "AKRON BEACON JOURNAL": No. You know what, Leon, first of all, thanks for having me. It's great talking with a fellow Akronite.

No, I'm not surprised. My biggest concern was, I was hoping that Lebron stepped up and had a good game because there were so many skeptics and critics out there, who I think were kind of waiting to say this guy can't be as good as advertised, and I thought it was just impressive that he had a slow start, but he was still able to kind of get his feel of the game, get back in the game, and show that, hey, this is what I can do. I can play at this level and I can play at the next level.

HARRIS: The thing is, one of the reasons why this was so controversial to have this game broadcast on ESPN because of the hype building up around a 17-year-old high schooler. The question is, when kids this early get this kind of attention, and we've seen what happens with a lot of athletes who have had things JUST handed to them all their lives and how they end up becoming, let's say, less than responsible citizens. What do we know about this kid? Can he emerge from it a regular, normal human being, as normal as an NBA star can be?

MORGAN: When you say normal, with all the hype he's gotten, I don't think you can be a normal 17-year-old kid when you're getting thousands of interview requests, or hundreds of requests during the season. What I think is, I think what makes him such a -- he's got that star quality, because he's able to handle all of the pressure, keep it in focus, and focus on the team. If you ever talk to him or listen to what he says about his game and how he wants to develop, it's always about me developing, and it's about developing my team, and I think it's amazing that he's able to develop his game physically, but also mentally. He's able to handle all the pressures, ought hype and yesterday after the game, if you talked to him, he said it's not pressure for me, because I'm just playing my game, I'm getting my team involved.

So I think the fact he's able to keep all of that in perspective, I think it's amazing. It shows the type of player he is mentally and you know just the fact that you know the sky is the limit for him as long as he works hard.

I also think it's important that he surrounds himself with people who are going to have his best interests you know at heart, and I think he has those people. And it's going to be so tough, because now there are so many people pulling him and want him to do this and that, and it's got to be distracting, but it's impressive he's able to stay focused and be able to do what he's doing on the court.

HARRIS: Living in the NBA as a 17-year-old is a whole different prospect. I spent some time following Jermaine O'Neal when the Portland Trailblazers picked him up straight out of high school, and I saw with him how difficult it is for a 17-year-old boy, essentially a boy, to all of a sudden have to live around men.

Do you think he's the kind of kid -- what's happened to him in his life to make him the kind of guy that can handle that transition?

MORGAN: Well, you know what, first of all, you're absolutely right. You're talking about a business. When you go into a training camp, you've got men fighting for their livelihood. And it's tough. You have a 12-team NBA roster, and really you only have two spots open every year. So it's tough.

But he's just one of those once in a lifetime type of players who's got all the skills physically, and I think he has the mental approach to be able to go into -- he's already played against NBA players already. I mean, so he can play at that level. It's just a matter of him being in that system and having people around him say, OK, this is what you need to do to get better at the next level, and just to, you know, impress upon him, because he's playing with high school kids now, so it's probably tough because he's not playing at the level he needs to play at once he gets there. But he gets there, he's going to have the people who are going to show him.

HARRIS: He's had a tough upbringing, and that may be what the doctor ordered to make him the kind of guy that can make this transition.

David Lee Morgan of the "Akron Beacon Journal," thanks for joining me this morning. Appreciate the time, and good luck, and stay warm up there. MORGAN: I appreciate it thanks a lot.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com