It was perhaps the greatest sports writing gaffe in the history of sports writing — or gaffes, for that matter — but in my defense I didn’t know what I was witnessing.
LeBron James has been compared to Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson among others, but drawing parallels between the greatest player on the planet and Ashland University’s all-time scoring leader was a stretch.
I know that now.
Before I go any further, I should provide some historical background.
It was Dec. 30, 1999 and I was covering the championship game of the Black River Holiday Tournament between Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary and Mapleton.
A gangly freshman — who happened to be celebrating his 15th birthday that day — had just led SVSM to a 99-38 win over the Mounties in a game that was every bit as one-sided as the final score indicated and SVSM coach Keith Dambrot couldn’t stop raving about him outside the locker room afterward.
“He is special,” Dambrot said over and over. “He is as good at his age as anyone I have ever seen.”
And Dambrot had been around. Before becoming the Fighting Irish’s head coach, he was a rising star at the collegiate level. He spent two star-crossed seasons at Ashland University, where his best player during the 1989-90 campaign was a sharp-shooter from Lorain named LeBron Gladden. A three-time Division II All-American, Gladden is still AU’s career scoring king.
At the time, the comparison seemed like a no-brainer. Keith Dambrot was back in Ashland County and his best player was again named LeBron. It all made perfect sense. So that was the lead to my story the following day. It was probably the first, last and only time LeBron James and LeBron Gladden appeared in the same sentence together.
Less than three months later, I covered James again in the Division III district semifinals at Wooster High School. He scored 15 of his 23 points in the third quarter of a 63-46 win over Hillsdale. The Irish would finish the season 27-0 and win the first of three state titles in James’ four seasons.
By the time I covered James again, he was on his way to becoming LeBron James the superstar. The Irish again beat Hillsdale, this time in the Division III regional semifinals at the Canton Memorial Fieldhouse, and what struck me most about James was how much bigger he was physically and how measured he was during his postgame interview. He was respectful of his opponent. He didn’t say anything inflammatory. He was different.
SVSM would win a second state title in 2001 before moving up to Division II the following season. By then, LeBron was everywhere. Dru Joyce had taken over for Dambrot and the Irish were playing games all over the country. It wouldn’t be long before he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated and ESPN The Magazine.
The Irish fell to St. Bernhard Roger Bacon in the Division II state championship game. What I remember most about that game is LeBron congratulating each of the Roger Bacon players after the loss. He would cap one of the greatest high school careers in history with his third state title the following March. He finished with 2,646 career points, but he could have scored so many more.
Even the most casual basketball fan knows the rest of LeBron’s story. He was the No. 1 draft pick by the Cavaliers in 2003. He led the Cavs to the 2007 NBA Finals only to be swept by San Antonio. The Decision came in July of 2010 and, after leading the Miami Heat to four consecutive NBA Finals and two championships, came The Return in 2014. Two consecutive Finals appearances and a world championship followed, bringing us to the emotional celebration Wednesday afternoon in Cleveland.
LeBron’s language may have been colorful at times, but his message was sincere.
As a long-suffering Cleveland sports fan, Wednesday’s celebration was long overdue. What made it more memorable was the fact it was delivered by a player so many of us have had the privilege to watch grow up in front of our eyes.
