This is Part I of a two-part blog about the LeBron James Academy.
The mission of the LeBron James Nike Skills Academy was the same as the position academies: “positively impact the lives of elite players by providing superior instruction, personal mentorship, and a once in a lifetime experience.” The goal of the LeBron Academy is to build on the previous academies and teach players how to incorporate the skills they learned specifically for their position in to a team philosophy. Did they accomplish their goal? As former President George W. Bush said, “mission accomplished.” Although this time it is true!
Nike set the standard for youth basketball development and the LeBron James Skills Academy, and accompanying King City Classic, have been heralded as the premiere events of the summer. What made it such an incredible event was the fact that King James himself was so actively involved.
The reigning NBA MVP made a commitment to be an integral part of this event and he came through in a big way. It is universally accepted that LeBron has an undeniable work ethic, solid fundamentals and an obvious passion and true love for the game. He epitomizes everything positive about the greatest game on earth. And despite his astounding fame, fortune and world-renowned notoriety, he still made the time to give back and to help those aspiring to follow in his foot steps. I saw first hand, for three and half days, that LeBron is a class act and deserves every bit of the success he has achieved.
In addition to LeBron’s participation, Nike assembled an elite staff of coaches and skill instructors; including many of the games best teachers. The theme at the initial staff meeting was succinct:
· Have energy and enthusiasm at every workout; sweat with the players.
· Teach to your personality; don’t try to be someone you’re not. Be authentic.
· Keep the drills moving! Less talk, more action!
· It’s not how much you know; it’s how much you bring that counts! Bring your best every workout.
· Improvement is a constant, repetitive process. Do the little things to keep things fun!
There were 20 hand-selected college counselors on hand, including (in no particular order) Jordan Crawford (Xavier), Cole Aldrich (Kansas), Al-Farouq Aminu (Wake Forest), Devin Ebanks (West Virginia), Manny Harris (Michigan), Kalin Lucas (Michigan State), Kyle Singler (Duke), Greivis Vasquez (Maryland), and Willie Warren (Oklahoma).
All 80 players that were invited to the position specific academies were invited to the LeBron Academy. Some noteworthy attendees included Marquis Teague (Indianapolis, Ind.), Ray McCallum (Beverly Hills, Mich.), Austin Rivers (Winter Park, Fla.), Kendall Marshall (Dumfries, Va.), Andre Dawkins (Chesapeake, Va.), Perry Ellis (Wichita, Kan.), Justin Anderson (Rockville, Md. – Montrose!), and in my opinion the nation’s top two players – Michael Gilcrest (Elizabeth, N.J.) and Harrison Barnes (Ames, Iowa).
One of the first orders of business was an enthusiastic “media training” session given by ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla. Fran, a former big-time college coach, knows basketball and knows how important it is for aspiring players to deal with the media professionally; as “the media can be your best friend or your worst enemy.” With media around all week, he told them they were always being evaluated, so to be conscious of what they do both on and off the court. He also told them to be humble when accepting praise, make good eye contact, speak clearly, be engaging, and be appreciative of the reporter’s time.
The official banquet was held on Monday and was absolutely spectacular. The food, décor, and atmosphere were first class. There was a professional DJ spinning records the entire time and they showed numerous LeBron highlight clips and commercials (many of which haven’t been released yet). The highlight of the night was a live Q & A with King James and ESPN’s Jay Bilas.
Jay asked numerous questions as well as asked LeBron to say the first thing that popped into his mind when historic pictures of his career were put on the big screen; first Sports Illustrated cover (“I was just a kid”), shaking David Stern’s hand on draft night (“a dream come true”), holding up the 2009 MVP trophy (“hard work paid off”), and hearing the National Anthem upon receiving the Gold Medal in the 2009 Olympics in Beijing (“biggest accomplishment of my career”).
LeBron was funny, entertaining, but very truthful. Again, a total class act. Nike kept highlighting the fact that LeBron is extremely loyal. For example he still resides in Akron, where he grew up, and insisted the academy was held in his hometown. He even chose to have his MVP press conference at his old high school to show the world he hasn’t forgotten his roots. Nike presented him with a pair of one-of-kind LeBron 2009 MVP Air Force 1’s. In closing, LeBron told the players, “I am here for you guys, the players. You are the game’s future, so take that seriously. Represent yourselves to the fullest and honor the game. Heck, one of you might host a camp that my kid goes to one day!”
LeBron could have easily just “mailed it in” like a lot of big-time players do who hold camps. He could have made an appearance or two for the media’s sake, mumbled a few clichés, and then been whisked away. But that’s not the King. LeBron was very active every day of camp and laced them up and went hard in the drills with both the high school and college players. He played each night with the college players; some intense action! When he played he was sporting some custom made, probably one of a kind, LeBron VII’s — arguably the hottest shoes I have ever seen! And shoes weren’t the only custom-made thing he repped; he pulled up in a custom made L23 V12 white-on-white Benz. Damn!
While this was my third time meeting and seeing LeBron up close; I forgot how physically imposing he is. He is an absolute specimen. He has the perfect basketball physique. I closely followed his every move as I am always trying to learn from the great ones.
He had a very standard pre-workout routine (which I wrote down in my notes) he followed meticulously before every workout session. It included getting his ankles taped and having his trainer (Mike Mancias of the Cleveland Cavaliers) stretch him out thoroughly. Once he hit the court he was all business. Intently watching him in the drills, I noticed that everything he did was crisp and sharp. He did everything at game speed; never just went through the motions. Every pass, every shot, and even his footwork were perfect. LeBron has great work habits.
He had tremendous focus and an unbelievable level of concentration during each workout. He was also a great communicator. Despite balls bouncing, shoes squeaking and players competing in drills on two courts — you could always hear his voice. He was a presence. Mark my words; LeBron James is not a great player by accident. He was worked for it. He has earned it.
