AKRON, Ohio – As LeBron James approached Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time NBA scoring record, my memory of the former Cavs star went into overdrive.One day many years ago, I was driving through Akron with Melva Hardison. For the last 20-some years, this African-American lady has been my mom – ever since she learned that Mary Pluto died of a heart attack in 1984.“She used to do my hair,” said Melva. “She did a lot of people’s hair in that house.
When LeBron received the 2009 NBA MVP Award, he mentioned Pam and Frank Walker, adding. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”They met LeBron when he was 8 years old, playing for the South Side Rangers youth football team. Their son, Frankie Walker was on the team. Frank Walker was one of the coaches.
The Walkers knew LeBron was a good athlete, but had no clue what was to come. They saw a friend of their son’s who could use some help, so they stepped in. From that point on, LeBron remained a B student. He thrived. He saw Frank Walker Sr. working at the Urban League. He saw Pam Walker serving as an Akron-based congressional aid for Tom Sawyer, Sherrod Brown and later Betty Sutton.Keith Dambrot had a major influence on LeBron James at St. Vincent-St. Mary.
“Coach Dambrot liked me and knew how to use little guards,” Joyce III told me. “So I said I wanted to play for him.” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst told me this story. Windhorst and I wrote two books about LeBron – The Franchise and LeBron James: Making of an MVP. Windhorst was at LeBron’s first high school game at Cuyahoga Falls. It was in a half-empty gym. No hype. This was 1999.
Gloria James was so special to her son. LeBron said she was more than mother – a brother, a sister, an aunt ... everything.In the summer after LeBron’s freshman year, Dambrot called me. I had resisted writing about James during that first season because of the hype building around him. Maybe it was a grumpy old man’s bias.
I heard LeBron and his friends were playing in an open gym at St. Vincent-St. Mary. I stopped by. He was now 6-foot-6. He’d grown four inches since enrolling in high school. By LeBron's senior year, he was often having formal press conferences in front of huge media gatherings.During LeBron’s sophomore season, Dambrot allowed me to spend two weeks with the team – complete access. I went to practices. I was in the locker room before and after games, including halftime.