AKRON, Ohio – Make way for the LeBron James Circus. The big show has finally come to town.
The high school phenom and his St. Vincent-St. Mary teammates flew into Philadelphia late yesterday afternoon. The nation’s top-ranked prep hoopsters will play No. 7 Westchester (Calif.) tonight in Trenton as part of the Isles Prime Time Shootout.
It will be James’ only appearance in the tri-state area this season and his first time taking the court since coming off his now-infamous suspension.
The 18-year-old should feel right at home. Approximately 380 Fighting Irish fans will make the trip from Akron to Trenton’s Sovereign Bank Arena. And while about two-thirds are flying or driving to New Jersey, 110 raucous supporters will caravan on two buses set to depart Akron at 7 a.m.
For this group, it’s all about that old adage: Getting there is half the fun.
“They say there’s nothing like an Irish bus trip,” said Tim Rickus, an SVSM alum (Class of ’80) and the school’s athletic business manager. “A seven-hour trip, you watch a couple movies, you have a few laughs, play a few games of cards. Just being around the same people, it’s a lot of fun.”
If you think it sounds crazy to trek seven hours (440 miles) for a high school game, then you don’t know the Irish alumni. Not only are they 19,000 strong, but they have more pride in their alma mater than Raiders fans do for the Silver and Black.
Even the man in charge of the Shootout, Isles president Martin Johnson, is an alum. Class of ’77, if you’re keeping score.
“It’s a tremendous amount of support,” Rickus said. “A lot of times it’s the same people who keep coming back and you just build great friendships.”
Yesterday’s snowstorm delayed the team’s flight for roughly two hours. In the interim, players and coaches sat around in the Cleveland-Hopkins Airport keeping busy. The freshmen played the card game Euchre. Other players slept. Some listened to their Walkmans or read newspapers.
Meanwhile, wide-eyed onlookers and passers-by caught glimpses of the hottest team in the country.
“People kind of know who we are,” head coach Dru Joyce II said. “Not just [LeBron]. It’s Northeast Ohio, so they know who the team is.”
This past week didn’t exactly make them inconspicuous. In the last seven days, James has lost his eligibility, been cast as a handout-hungry monster, declared his innocence and been reinstated, all under the eye of the national media.
In between, the Irish won a game without their star last Sunday, and Joyce closed practice to outsiders and issued a player ban on speaking to the press.
Weren’t things like this at your high school?
“It’s been crazy around here,” said Katie Thomas, an SVSM student. “Everyone’s just wanting LeBron to play and they’re all hoping that he does and he can. And we’re all excited now that he can.”
Join the club. This is James’ stage tonight, even as Joyce attempts to keep his team’s focus on the opponent and away from the hype, New York glitz and everything else.
“We’re here for one reason: to play a game,” the coach said. “We’re not there to sample the New York nightlife, the Trenton nightlife, the Philadelphia nightlife. We’re there to play a basketball game. That’s what it’s about.”
For the team, it is. For the rest of Trenton, it’s about seeing the circus and, after all the waiting, the star of the show.
Prime Time performers
LeBron James returns to action tonight when his St. Vincent-St. Mary team faces Westchester (Calif.) at the Prime Time Shootout in Trenton. Game time is 7:30 p.m., and it will be televised on New Jersey cable station CN8.
Here’s a look at how James measures up to Westchester star Trevor Ariza, perhaps the best player he’s faced this season:
LeBron James Trevor Ariza
St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron) High School Westchester (Los Angeles)
Forward Position Forward
6-8, 240 Height, Weight 6-8, 200
None College choice UCLA
No. 1 Rivalshoops.com Ranking No. 14
14-1 Team Record 21-2
No. 1 Team National Ranking No. 7
Dru Joyce III, Romeo Travis Other Key Teammates Scott Cutley, Ashanti Cook