That 6-foot guard from Georgetown that wore No. 3, a ball and a dream — and a pencil and a composition notebook, too.
How did a young kid born and raised in the Midwestern United States, with family ties primarily to Missouri, Kansas, Louisiana and Illinois, develop into a rabid and diehard Philadelphia 76ers fan one might ask? Well, the answer to that question is a rather simple one.
It all started with a love for the game of basketball that was passed down from generations of my family before me having played the game. That led to there always being games on the TV. When watching games and the highlights on SportsCenter there was one player and one team that captured the heart of that young pre-school aged kid from Missouri, and it was a 6-foot guard from Georgetown that wore No. 3 and played for the Philadelphia 76ers — better known as Allen Iverson.
I’d stay up as late as my parents would allow — and often times even after — to make sure I’d catch the games. Then again wake up early in the morning before school to catch the highlights. I began playing in YMCA and other youth basketball leagues donning the No. 3, rocking cornrows, a Reebok headband, fingerbands, and Iverson’s signature shoes — the Questions and later the Answers — paying homage to my idol. I’d dribble in my driveway and give my own color and play-by-play commentary.
Iverson’s got it, he crosses over, 3-2-1, he shoots and he hits it! Sixers win! Sixers win!
The love I had for Iverson and the Sixers grew into a deep love and appreciation for the game. From playing it, studying it, obsessing about it, writing my own pre- and postgame previews. Stats and scores with a pencil and a composition notebook that turned into multiple composition and spiral notebooks filled with analysis, thoughts, rankings, records, scores, you name it — all compiled by an elementary school kid.
Oftentimes my parents, family and friends would roll me out to quiz me on different topics. It would range from draft picks, jersey numbers, colleges that different players attended, different stats, to list championship teams and years in order from far before I was ever born, to rattling off different basketball-related terminology. It became sort of a party trick. To me it was just recalling things that I love and had studied and obsessed about since I could remember. Now that love over the years has only extended over and through into the newer era of the sport, basketball, and Sixers world. From Iverson to Joel Embiid and all those in between (shoutout Arsalan Kazemi).
Many kids when they’re asked what they want to be when they grow up often change their minds or develop new likes and hobbies. I made the decision early in my life that all I ever wanted to be when I grew up was a basketball player and a sports analyst with dreams of being on TV and traveling the world covering my favorite teams and sports. I never wavered. I think it’s safe to say I trusted the Process. I got the opportunity to play the game I loved for a long time, go to college and study communications journalism/mass media and sports management in an attempt to further pursue my dreams as a sports journalist and analyst. Over the years I have done freelance sports analysis, draft scouting, appeared on many podcasts, contributed to different sports media outlets and publications — and now it’s time for me to do things a little differently and formally.
I am excited to join Liberty Ballers covering the 76ers and the NBA and to work alongside so many other great and talented sports minds, journalist, analyst, basketball junkies, basketball sickos, or whatever else you want to refer to us as. We don’t mind. I look forward to further interacting and engaging with all the Sixers and NBA fans alike and I am thrilled for the opportunity and to continue to grow in this profession. Go Sixers.
Ring that bell, brother.