AI Autobiography
Avery Iverson Autobiography - "My Heart Has No Fear"
(I) Born into poverty
Allen's mother, Ann Iverson, was born in the Hartford ghetto to four brothers.At the age of fifteen, she was drafted into the church's high school girls' basketball team, but was unexpectedly told at a routine physical exam: she was pregnant! This forced her to come to Hampton, Virginia to live with her grandmother, as her mother had passed away when she was 12 years old. Ann recalls, "It was pouring rain that day, and the moment she left me, I felt like the sky was falling. I stood in the rain and cried out 'God! Why did you do this? How could you!'" Ann knew who the father of the unborn child was; he was Aaron Bruton, a classmate of hers in Hartford.
Brunton had said he loved her very much. Like many young men, Bruton was unprepared for the responsibility of being a "father. Years later, in an interview with the Philadelphia Daily News, he said, "I wanted to go to the Hamptons to see Ann, but I was only 15 years old. Soon she fell in love with someone else, and so did I. And we lost the chance to live together."
On July 7, 1975, Allen Iverson came into the world. Ann recalls, "At that time, friends around me told me to pray it was a boy so I would have something to fall back on in the future. When the doctor held Aaron to me, I excitedly exclaimed, 'God, it's a boy!' For the first time in my life, I picked up a doll other than Barbie and realized that his arms were so much longer than Barbie's, and a thought flashed through my mind, 'I should have this little guy learn how to play basketball.'"
Shortly after little Iverson was born, Ann took him back to Hartford to meet his father. It didn't take long for her to realize that the environment here was not conducive to young Iverson's development, "Violence and drugs were everywhere, and I told myself I would never come back." At the age of 3, little Iverson and his mother left Bruton. Not long ago, Ann said, "I knew the dire situation we would face, but I don't blame Bruton, ever. I also cautioned Iverson not to blame his biological father. I feel a million pangs of regret for Bruton because he can't share in what Aaron has accomplished today, and he and Aaron will have to be on the same page."
Ann is all that remains of Allen's early childhood memories, an unbreakable bond of love between mother and son, "She's the person I look up to the most," said Allen Iverson, who has his mother's portrait tattooed on his chest, "I don't look up to any stars, she's my idol. She always reminded me that I would eventually make something of myself. I believe her. Some mothers in that predicament might have given up long ago, but she rose to the occasion. I'm really glad I'm Ann's son. "
It wasn't long before Ann met her new boyfriend, Michael Freeman, and moved in with him in the inexpensive Steward Gardens apartments, which were located on the easternmost edge of a small town called Newstead, Virginia. Upon arriving, Ann found it to be worse than Hartford, with drug deals and gunfights seen in broad daylight. When Ann was 18, she received $3,818 in hospital reimbursement to her mother, but that didn't last long. Ann and Freeman then had two more daughters -- Brandi, born in 1979, and Liza, born in 1991 (it was because of Liza's condition that Iverson made up his mind to join the NBA in 1996).
Their family's situation became increasingly dire, and Ann had to work around to stay afloat: as a secretary, driving a forklift and welding. Iverson recalls, "Ann would do whatever job she could to earn money, but the house was still a mess, with no electricity, no water, no food, and the downspouts were constantly bursting, leaving the house full of dirty water, and the two younger sisters wore galoshes all day long." Freeman, who had another job but was fired after a traffic accident in 1988, did want to afford the family, except that he was in and out of jail far too often.In 1991, he was arrested for carrying an overdose of drugs, and he argued in court, "I didn't have a Cadillac car, I didn't have a diamond ring, I didn't buy any luxuries, I was just trying to pay off my debts and just try to support my family." He was ultimately sentenced to 22 months in prison, and then an additional 23 months for a parole violation.
During that time, Iverson was incredibly angry at Freeman for what he did, but now forgives him: "He was just trying to support his family. He hadn't hurt anyone, like him, and would never have gone on a robbery because then he would have lost the family. I've seen him cry alone in secret, and he doesn't want to live his life that way." In fact, more importantly to Iverson, Freeman was his basketball inspiration.
At 15, Iverson had to quit school after his biological father abandoned them and his adoptive father went to prison. "When you're the oldest man in the family, and your mother isn't much older than you, and you have two young sisters, and the house is dark and damp, you know what you're supposed to do." Life on the outside wasn't easy for young Iverson either; the ghetto had rules of the game that the upper class would never understand. Some of Iverson's friends had dealt drugs, some had been in jail, and some had joined gangs, but he always managed to stay away from those law-breaking incidents because he knew that maybe one day he could make it on his own.
In an armed fight, Iverson lost eight friends at once, including Tony, who was his closest friend. Through gritted teeth, he told his mother, "Mom, I'm never going to be poor again!" So he set out on a plan to help his family out of their predicament, and that was basketball! In an interview, Iverson told what he was thinking at the time, "I had to succeed for my whole family. People around me told me that the chances of going to the NBA were one in a million, and I answered them by saying, 'Even if I fail, I have to try, my family needs me to do it.' I painted a picture of a good life for us, and I'm not going back to that cheap apartment with dirty water all over it."
(B) Coming into his own
Allen Iverson's mother, Ann, always loved basketball, but not Allen. She recalled, "I remember the first time I took him to basketball lessons, when he was 9 years old, crying and screaming that he just didn't want to go because it was something I was forcing him to do."
Iverson's preferred sport was rugby - a more rugged sport. "I really didn't want it a hundred times back then
I thought basketball was too 'gentle' and my mom even bought me back my valuable Jordans and she ordered me and said, 'These are your basketball shoes and you have to go to basketball practice today. ' I said, 'Oh, I hate basketball!' I cried as she dragged me to the basketball court, where I was surprised to find all my football teammates on the basketball court! When I got home that day, I was very happy and said, 'Thank you, Mom!' I've been playing basketball ever since."
Still, Iverson said, "I always had football on my mind. In the beginning I had no thoughts of playing in the NBA at all, my goal was to be a professional football player."
It takes some people a long time to find their own sport, others do it right away, and Iverson was the latter, and despite being short for basketball, he quickly fell in love with the game and began to get noticed.
Back then, Iverson attended Aberdeen Elementary School in Hampton, Virginia, where he played at nearby Anderson Park. "There, I used to watch my uncle and his friends play, which was really cool! I had to go to practice as soon as school was out or the field would be overrun by my uncle and his friends by the time the sun went down." Iverson would love to join his uncle and their games, but was always turned down, "I guess because they didn't think I was skilled enough or tall enough."
That all changed completely when Iverson was in 9th grade. Local rumors had long been swirling that the talented basketball teenager dribbled like a gust of wind and that he was unbeatable when he wanted to score. Allen Iverson became a local household name. "Back then, every coach wanted to recruit me to his team, so they threatened each other that Allen was already on his team. It was such a good feeling that even opponents would say hello to me on the court because I could be their teammate."
Soon, Iverson was able to play inside a basketball gym: he joined Beiser High School (the same school where her mother was when she was pregnant with him). Here, Iverson became a double star in basketball and football, a guard on the basketball court and an outside pitcher on the football field, and even led the school's football team, undefeated as a quarterback in 1991, to the team's first sectional title in 15 years. Dennis Kozlowski, the football coach at the time, said, "I was thinking at the time that if he became a professional football player, he would be an absolute star." Gary Moore, Iverson's current assistant, agrees, "Don't look for Aaron to be successful in basketball, but football is a better fit for him. Really, I'm not alone in that opinion."
Still, everyone knows that Iverson made his choice, and that was basketball.
In the summer of 1991, after leading his varsity rugby team to the semifinals of the National Under-17 League, he dove headfirst onto the basketball court. Regarding this experience, Berry, the basketball coach at Beiser High School, said at the time, "It was Iverson's dream to become a professional basketball player. If man can stand on the moon, why can't Iverson play in the NBA?To me, any dream can come true, and I believe he is capable of miracles." Meanwhile, universities such as Duke and Kentucky were beginning to pay close attention to Iverson's performance.
In 1992, Iverson sat out the football team's preseason warm-ups, and it was assumed that he was going to specialize in basketball. But he did not give up football, in the following game, Iverson shining, he led the team to win the state championship, but also elected that year's Virginia Class AAA football "most valuable player", and was selected to the best lineup. To this day, he holds several state records in the event. As a result of his performance, Iverson has been approached by colleges and universities in Florida, North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia.
Basketball was Iverson's true love. Just three days after leading his team to a football championship, he stepped back onto the basketball court and scored 37 points in his first high school tournament game in a solo victory over his rivals. What followed was a fantastic 1992-93 season: he averaged 31.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 9.2 assists per game! This season, Iverson totaled 948 points, rewriting the record set by Moses Malone 20 years ago. And Moses Malone joined the NBA straight from high school and eventually stepped into the ranks of the 50 superstars. At this point, his basketball coach is unusually calm: "I know his ability, but this achievement is not enough, he has to face more difficult training and competition."
Despite Iverson's success on the court, his family's situation was deteriorating. Ann did everything she could to earn money, but with her stepfather Freeman in prison and two younger sisters, the family was always struggling to make ends meet, and Iverson had to go home a lot to take care of his sisters, and Coach Burley drove himself to pick up Iverson from school every morning in order to be able to make sure that he wasn't late. Burley recalled, "There were several times when I realized that Iverson hadn't come home for the night, and he couldn't stand the way the house looked. He used to tell me helplessly that it wasn't what he expected. But that was the reality."
Teachers, coaches and neighbors often picked up the Iversons' slack, allowing them to at least eke out a living. To them, Iverson is still full of gratitude: "Without their help, there would be no Allen Iverson today. They are the people I trust the most. I believe that even if I die one day, they will take care of my family because they will always be my strongest support."
Burley is certainly one of Iverson's most trusted people, and his wife, Jenny, is also Iverson's English teacher. "I treated him with my heart from the beginning and never wanted to cheat him because only a heart can realize how Iverson feels." Burley said, "We trusted each other. He looks up to those who genuinely support and help him the most, and he can be your most loyal friend. The more you give to him, the more you will receive in return."
In 2001, when Iverson received that year's Most Valuable Player trophy from NBA president David Stern, he invited the Burleys to the 76ers' coaching staff to share the honor. "When he was in high school, we would go to a bar called 'Hardee's' when we had something to talk about. He told me when he got his MVP trophy that he still wanted to go there. We talked about many, many things that day, and I asked him what he needed most from me, and the answer he gave me was 'one thing, and that's always support.'"
Shortly afterward, a sudden accident changed 17-year-old Iverson's life.
It was Valentine's Day 1993. With one game left in the regular season of the high school tournament, Iverson was exhausted from the pressures of life and the tournament, and he needed to relax, so he and some friends went to a bowling alley called "The Loop". The disaster struck suddenly, and Iverson's life seemed to have come to an end.
(c) Trouble
Iverson grew up in a place where there was a lot of violence and drugs, and a lot of his friends were involved, but he always managed to stay out of big trouble. This, of course, refers to February 14, 1993, just before Valentine's Day.
This incident changed Iverson's life. Before that night, Iverson was considered a talented player in Virginia and
was seen as a model of a man who changed his destiny through his own efforts: as a quarterback, he led his football team to a state championship; as a point guard, he led his basketball team to a sectional title and a trip to the state finals.
But because of that night, Iverson went to prison.
That night, Iverson and three friends got into an argument with a group of white teenagers at the Loop bowling alley, which quickly escalated into a brawl involving more than 50 people. The chairs at the bowling alley were used as weapons by both sides. While Iverson won the sectional championship two days later with a 69-67 victory over Hampton, securing a berth in the Class AAA tournament, Hampton police became fully involved in the brawl, which resulted in serious injuries to three people. It was confirmed by four injured bystanders that some black high school students were indeed involved.
A week after the incident, Iverson was named to DE magazine's first-team All-American High School Basketball team after averaging 31.1 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists per game. But only two days later, on Feb. 23, Iverson was arrested in connection with the alleged brawl. However, Beiser High School still allowed him to play, and he led his team to a victory over Morley High School, led by Joe Smith (a 1995 NBA first-round rookie). Since then, Iverson has been even more courageous, and 14 weeks after leading his football team to the state Class AAA tournament championship, he did the same on the basketball court.
As the joy quieted, however, the public focused its attention on the brawl. Despite the fact that Iverson was not in the video of the incident, despite his repeated claims that he left the dugout before the incident began, and despite the fact that the injured Barbara could not identify her killer, two eyewitnesses confirmed that it was Iverson who manipulated a chair and injured Barbara. "Jesus Christ, everyone in the dugout knows me, how could I hurt someone with a chair in public and not care? They're just crazy, how could I attack a little girl, I'd rather they accused me of hitting a man." Iverson defended helplessly.
The case sparked a big debate about racism in the Hamptons involving 130,000 people. Local columnist David wrote, "Only the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. has caused such a massive pandemonium about race before this." The debate centered on the fact that four black teenagers were arrested, but not a single white person, after a brawl that involved more than 50 people. The coordinator of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People argued, "It's so strange that the police singled out a couple of black teenagers out of a large number of participants, and household names at that."
Because of the chaos, a Virginia court convicted the four of negligent assault, but the plaintiffs cited Civil War-era legal provisions that said Iverson and the others should have been convicted of "mobbing to the point of maiming". Ironically, this provision was originally created to protect blacks from whites. It was widely believed by the black public that the white teenagers would not have been sentenced to jail, and it was assumed that the trial judge was a friend of the plaintiffs. However, it was testified in court that a group of white teenagers encountered Iverson's group as they were leaving the ballpark, and that Iverson aggressively provoked them, and that the white teenagers said they didn't want to get into trouble, but Simon, a friend of Iverson's, rushed up to them. A ballroom worker identified Iverson as the one who hit himself with a chair, and several other blacks confirmed that Iverson was one of the perpetrators. "All I had to do was sit in the defense chair and listen to them lie. I mean, the second I walked into the dugout, I was associated with those dozens of people." However, Iverson's defense pales in the face of the overwhelming evidence.
Also, Iverson's star status helped. As one of the five MVPs at the NIKE camp, he received free airfare from NIKE so that he could attend the camp in a timely manner, but this gave the public the extremely bad impression that Iverson had no regard for the law, and even a sense of being above it. Therefore, the prosecution quoted the NIKE advertising slogan "JUSTDOIT" to bring the jury to find Iverson guilty.
In the end, Iverson, who was 17 years old and had no prior criminal record, was convicted on September 8, 1993, of mobbing and maiming. The presiding judge announced a sentence of 15 years in prison, with 10 years suspended. The sentence shattered all of Iverson's dreams, but the resilient man didn't give up: "No water, electricity, no food, all of that I can live with, but I can't accept the trumped-up charges, and I'm not going to stop there." At the farm, he did well, recalls Billy, a guard at the time, "He was clearly different from the other inmates, he knew what he had to do. A lot of people thought he got an unfair trial, including me, but he never complained about anything." And Iverson knew at the farm, "There are a lot of colleges that won't accept me anymore, but that's fine, so I know exactly how to succeed."
Fortunately, three lawyers accepted his appeal case, and finally Magistrate Douglas granted leniency: no organized competition until after high school. In addition, there was another person who saw something different in Iverson, Sue Lampert, who offered to serve as Iverson's tutor without pay. With her help, Iverson didn't pull classes, which, she recalls, "was worse than jail time, and fortunately he was able to keep coming to class. He was given a lot of talent, and everyone knew him as a great athlete, but he was actually an artist, a writer, and a thinker."
Two years after his parole, the Virginia court dropped all charges for lack of evidence, and there will be no record of the incident in his file. Coach Dennis said, "If there were 100 kids with the same talent as Iverson and they were put on the same path as Iverson, I don't believe anyone would have made it through, and Iverson's resilience is admirable."
"I've seen the dark side of life and I'm not ashamed of it, which tells me to take chances and that a lot of things are fleeting. I also learned that I have to believe in myself at all times and fight my fate." Iverson said.
Soon, one man brought a ray of light into Iverson's dark life, John Thompson, the coach of the Georgetown University basketball team.
(4) Life's Turnaround
In Game 2 of the 2000-01 Finals, the 76ers, led by Iverson, lost to the Lakers. The day before the game was his 26th birthday, but he wasn't able to celebrate with a victory. In an interview, Iverson hugged his two children: daughter Tina, 5, and son Deuce, 2. "My two little kids, they're very naughty. I love them, I want them to have a better time than I did back in the day, and I also want them to have a will of steel, just like I did, to get through the hard things in life." That's what Iverson hopes for his children.
Life has given Iverson too many tests. When he was a starter at Georgetown, his mother and sister were still living in their original ramshackle house. "When you achieve something, it also means more responsibility and pressure. My family is the thing I cherish the most, I love them and I have to work hard for them." Iverson said. Family always seemed to haunt him, with his biological father leaving him and his adoptive father being sentenced to prison, he became the only man in his family. Then he went to prison for a while before going to Georgetown University, where his mother and two sisters have been living in cheap apartments in the Hamptons, and his sister Lisa's illness is on the verge of bankrupting the family.
In 1995, Iverson had another responsibility. Daughter Tina was born, and he became a father. All of this prompted the idea of joining the NBA early: "My family means everything to me, and I can't watch it go down the drain. I have to save it, and I cherish my family."
At Georgetown, Iverson experienced the joy of being with his peers for the first time in his life, but he knew it was time to say goodbye, and that he had to put his family responsibilities first.The NBA's commercial exploitation lured many players to join the ranks of the millionaires sooner rather than later, and by the time Iverson entered his sophomore year, rumors were swirling that he was going to be drafted in the NBA. But before that, Georgetown hadn't had a single player join the NBA before graduation, including 1985 first-rounder Patrick Ewing, 1987 fourth-rounder Reggie Williams, 1991 fourth-rounder Mutombo and 1992 top pick Alonzo Mourning.
Coach Thompson knows that Iverson has that ability, but doesn't want him to go pro too soon. "If Iverson was going to go to the NBA, he would have asked my permission. But right now we haven't made a decision, so I really don't know how you media know about it." Thompson believes that the media hype will increase the pressure on Iverson: "It's very unfair to Iverson, a kid who should be enjoying a good college life, but has to face such a difficult situation." Now, Iverson's friends, flatterers and the media are urging the young man: join the NBA, where there are more rewards. Thompson saw all this and decided to protect Iverson, saying, "I'm sure Iverson's decision won't surprise me, there's nothing to worry about. If Iverson wants to go, it will be after I agree. Maybe tomorrow I'll tell him it's time, maybe next year."
But while Thompson was noncommittal, Iverson seemed to have made up his mind long ago.In April 1996, Iverson drove a $130,000 Mercedes. Because it was grossly out of line with his financial situation, Iverson was investigated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. "He (the car salesman) said he would loan it to me and I would only drive it between home and school. I think he just allowed me to borrow it for a longer period of time." Iverson explained.
Fortunately, the businessman's speculative behavior did not affect Iverson's performance on the court at all. On the contrary, he became more mature. If he participates in the draft, he may get a high ranking, or even become a rookie first-round pick. In this regard, Iverson is very confident: "Now I am more resilient than before, low-level mistakes rarely occur, leading the whole team has become my role. In Coach Thompson's opinion, to make it to the NBA, I have to be the best I can be at the point guard position. I am constantly working on that." As a sophomore, he averaged 24.7 points, 5.0 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game. That performance earned him another selection as the East Region's best and a first-team All-America selection. The Georgetown team also made the All-America Elite 8, only to lose to a Massachusetts team led by Camby, the best player of the year, and fail to advance to the Final Four.
At this point, if Iverson still has to think about joining the NBA, he should go back to his ramshackle home in the Hamptons, look at an ailing Lisa and think about his 1-year-old. The time had come to use his talent to create wealth and realize his dream.On May 1, 1996, Iverson and Georgetown University held a news conference. "After consulting with my coaches and considering my family situation, I decided to enter the NBA draft early. As much as I want to finish school, I have to leave college early in order to take care of my sick sister and to repay my parents." Iverson announced his decision. Thompson was sorry about this, but he strongly supported Iverson: "It's stupid to change an adult's mind, and I'm not going to stop him. But if you asked me right now, 'Should he stay?' I would say, absolutely he should; and if you asked me, did he make the right decision? I would also say, absolutely right."
When it comes to the reasons for ending their education early, both Iverson and Thompson point the finger at the NCAA system. It doesn't allow players to get jobs to earn money and doesn't give financial support to needy players. Thompson argued, "The NCAA system is just too old. Even though Georgetown has a complete health care system, there was nothing we could do for Iverson's sister." Iverson was equally adamant: "If it wasn't for family reasons, I would have stayed. I've learned a lot here, especially with a coach like Thompson, who has taught me a lot, half on the court and half off, including today's decision."
In fact, the road ahead is even more treacherous for Iverson, with the NBA being more than just basketball or a business full of brass tacks. Iverson will become rich, but with that comes temptation, fraud and slander. In this regard, Thompson is not without concern: "I have full confidence in his game, but I don't know how he will spend his time off the court."
Despite playing at Georgetown for only two years, Iverson's accomplishments have been eye-popping: 24 points per game, 926 points in a single season and 124 steals, all team records; 213 total steals, No. 3; 1,539 total points, No. 10; and 307 total assists, No. 12.To put it into perspective, he's done all this in half the time of others!
Meanwhile, a new challenge awaits him. "I love Georgetown, I love the NCAA. if I had limited ability, I wouldn't have made this decision; but as we all know, I'm absolutely fine with it. I'm ready." That was Iverson's declaration to the NBA.
V) The battle for the top spot
After deciding to enter the 1996 NBA Draft, Iverson's primary goal was to become the top rookie pick.
NBA rules state that any team that didn't make the playoffs the previous season gets a draft pick, and then a lottery is held to determine the top three picks.In 1996, there was only one lottery spot left because of the two newcomers to the NBA, the Toronto Raptors and the Vancouver Grizzlies (now the Memphis Grizzlies), and in the end the Philadelphia 76ers were fortunate enough to get the first pick.
Why Iverson and the other rookies valued the position of the first pick so much is because the higher the ranking, the more you can get a big deal, and most importantly, the first pick can sign a huge three-year, $9.39 million deal in one fell swoop!
Iverson said confidently: "I'm sure I'll be picked first because I'm the best! Of course, everyone thinks they're the best rookie. Plus, I don't want to be too far from home, and Philadelphia would be nice."
As far as Philadelphia fans are concerned, they want Iverson, too, because Philadelphia Flanova has played Georgetown before and fans are familiar with Iverson. But the 76ers are a team in transition. The team president, Pat Cross, the physical trainer from the 1983 championship team, appointed a new team manager, Brad Greenberg, who in turn appointed a new team head coach, Johnny Davis, and the three rookies were unusually cautious about the draft. Greenberg said, "We'll listen to multiple opinions before we can make the right choice."
It just so happens that several of the 1996 rookies were superb, including Camby, Marbury, Ray Allen, Raheem, Anthony Walker and Kobe Bryant, in addition to Iverson, making it arguably the strongest rookie roster since 1984, when the top five included Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Sam Perkins, Charles Barkley and other future NBA stars.
In the 1995 draft, the 76ers selected point guard Stackhouse, and given the team's personnel situation, their greatest need was for a center and an organizational guard, but since the 1996 rookie class didn't have a power center in the general mold of O'Neal, the team focused on an organizational guard, and to be precise, the 76ers would make the final choice between Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury to make the final choice.
Stephon Marbury, from Georgia Tech (the alma mater of famed NBA organizational guards Mark Pace, Kenny Anderson and Best), was a third-team All-American at age 19 and was the fifth player in Atlantic Division history to be named to the college first team. He averaged 4.5 assists per game, though less than Iverson's 4.7, though at 6-foot-88, he had an advantage over the 6-foot-83 Iverson. Marbury said: "can not say that I am definitely more suitable for the 76ers, I prefer not to compare with Iverson, but I know I can give the 76ers Stackhouse and Coleman to create better offensive opportunities, and, if I want or need, I can also quickly advance. I think organizational guards are born, and it's hard to make them with hard work, and I was born into organizational guard material."
In comparison, Iverson is more of a scorer than an organizer, except that the league hasn't had a very prominent point guard like him at just 1.83 meters tall. Iverson on his own the same self-confidence: "my height so that I can only consider playing organization guard, I believe that my talent, I can score, but also must be able to play a good organization guard position. Steph is a great player and has a great future ahead of him, and so do I. We can both be successful with the 76ers. We can all succeed with the 76ers, but who will they want? I don't know, I just know I want to be there."
Another concern for the 76ers is the new player's relationship with starters such as Stackhouse and Coleman, the former a player who needs an absolute shot and the latter more of a troublemaker. Iverson understands that this is the focus of the problem, and he made a smart response: "In Georgetown, Coach Thompson asked me to score, and I had to do it without fail, but if you think I'm still desperate to score when I get to Philadelphia, that's a big mistake. Coleman needs shooting opportunities, Stackhouse is an even greater scorer, and I'm sure my assists will make new history. The NBA is actually a better fit for a player like me because I love the one-on-one challenge."
With the draft just three weeks away, the 76ers are still hesitant. Said Greenberg: "They're all good players, and we're going to have to analyze them thoroughly to determine who's the best. You know, what you can do in the NCAA, you can't necessarily do in the NBA. Whoever it is, we want him to do better in the NBA."
But even though the draft is still going on, Iverson has already gotten his first payoff for joining the NBA: Coach Thompson at Georgetown University managed to help Iverson sign with famed agent David Falk, who is the agent for such stars as Jordan, Ewing, Mutombo and Mourning. And the first thing Falk did was to help Iverson sign a huge advertising deal with Reebok. It can be said that before the draft, Iverson's "market" has flourished.