There was a basketball player in northeast Ohio who was making noise. The Kid from Akron, as he was known, appeared to be a surefire superstar. The 17-year-old junior was in February 2002. Mary High School was on the cover of a magazine. He was anointed "The Chosen One" and instantly, he became a household name.
We all know that he is one of the greatest players of all time. This is not that story. This is the story of the only team in the state of Ohio that can beat him for one day and one day only. The Chosen Ones is the story of the Ohio team that beat the Cleveland team in high school.
Bill Brewer, head coach of Division II Roger Bacon, a small Catholic high school outside Cincinnati, knew prior to the 2001-2002 season that he had a group with potential for a special run. The most notable move Brewer made was off the floor. The coach heard that a school with a young player named LeBron James might be moving to Division II. When the state confirmed the move, Brewer immediately called St.Vincent-St. Mary. The two-time defending state champion from Akron would have to be defeated by Brewer's team in order to get to where they wanted to go.
Bill realized St.Vincent-St.Vincent when he returned in April or May. He really wanted to play them early when Mary moved up to Division II. He worked hard to get that game in December. I didn't think anyone could be as big as he said. I think Bill said that he was not the next Michael. He is.
St. V. was going from D-III to D-II, and we had an open game, so Coach Brewer called them and said, within the first 20 minutes of the schedules coming out.
Beckham Wyrick thinks that it would be good to give us a look at LeBron in person. I think it was just to see how we would fare against them. I don't think many people outside of the locker room gave us a chance to compete in that game.
We all know that he was more talented than anyone else. He was not the whole team. St.Vincent-St. Mary was looking to win her third straight state championship.
Tony Meale is the author of The Chosen Ones. It was pretty much a circus with Mary playing. Imagine a high school basketball team with the best player in prep history. It seemed like every other play it was a chance for them to just take flight, as they would outscore teams, gamble on defense, and go for steals. The Lakers met the Globetrotters. It was a sight to behold. It was something we had never seen before. How are these kids still in high school?
Austin Carr, color commentator for the game, long time Cleveland Cavaliers TV analyst, said that they were the afternoon act of the country. They traveled around the country playing teams and winning. They were going to win the championship again and everybody was expecting that.
They were a tough team. They were the team to beat. I think that motivated us as a team from southwest Ohio.
St.Vincent-St. is owned by Roger Bacon. Mary met at Kent State University. They said that the goal was not to win the game. They wanted to prove to themselves that they were just as good as the supporting cast.
The refs were taking pictures and getting autographs when we played him. He was larger than life.
The players for Brewer met their initial goal for Game 1 of the game. They would be prepared to see it. Mary is in the playoffs again.
The guys left the locker room thinking they would have a great chance to win if they played them again.
The first game was very important for us. We lost, but we were able to get a feel for the team. And the environment. Being able to be around a large crowd was shocking to us.
It gave us confidence that we could beat them, because it got all the distraction out of the way.
I remember going up to a couple of their players after that game and saying, "Hey, see you again in March", but I don't know whether or not they took that seriously, but that was something that I looked forward to.
In February 2002, the 17 year-old was anointed The Chosen One, but little did he and his teammates know, as the veteran squad waited for a second shot at them. Mary.
The fact that he was on the cover as a junior in high school was pretty amazing. I was hoping that the cover of the magazine would be a curse for him, because I had heard about the curse.
To me, that is a lot to live up to. You could see that he was special after watching him play a few times. To see a young man that is big do the things he could do. It was amazing to me.
I remember thinking that professional athletes were the only ones put on that, and when we played a guy we knew very well, I thought he must be larger than life. I thought Michael Jordan was on that thing.
Wyrick said that being on that cover was useful for them. When we would get together at a teammate's house after a game, there could have been a Sports Illustrated cover dart board. Motivational factor at play.
The Ohio Division II state championship game was on March 22, 2002. The Roger Bacon team had been waiting for a second chance. Earlier that night, he made a guarantee that he wouldn't let his team lose the next day. It was on.
Hausfeld: We were all in a hotel room and they showed the press conference. We all lost it. We jumped up and down like high school kids and said there was no way we were going to lose.
Wyrick: We were already motivated enough, but whenLeBron made that guarantee, that put another layer on the cake.
There was a target on his back. Good players know good players. At the same time, we felt like we had a really good team and were going to be able to survive his onslaught of offense.
Hausfeld remembers that they had a chance to do something special. I knew we were going to win, and I knew we were going to talk about it for the rest of our lives.
There is a person sitting in a hotel. It was hard to sleep. I was playing the game in my head. I was imagining dunking the last second of the game. I visualized that.
The Value City Arena at Ohio State had an 11 a.m. tip. A sellout crowd of over 18,000 people attended. Brewer and his Roger Bacon squad were ready for anything. Mary would bring something.
Wyrick: When we all went out for the game, everyone was saying, "Hey, I got 34, I got 21, or I got this guy." and I called out, "Hey, I got The Chosen One."
On the first play of the game, the player guarding LeBron did something that no one saw. The urban legend has grown over time. Wyrick shivered when he saw James for the first time. The legend says that the future NBA superstar was so taken aback that he literally flopped back. The state championship had begun.
Wyrick: It was not malicious at all. I think it was just a season, a childhood, a goal being met, hard work being realized, and finally this one moment. It was a way for me to tell him that today is not going to be an easy day.
Hausfeld said that he shoved him right in the gut. We are not backing down. This is the state championship, and it will be hard today.
After a back-and-forth first half, the first possession of the third quarter was made by bacon. It was a play they had run hundreds of times and resulted in a Wyrick two-handed slam. The dunk was significant, but it wasn't the only one. After the slam, Wyrick made sure to mock him with the trademark Darius Miles celebration. Tone reset.
Some of the NBA guys were doing it and I had seen him doing it. I ran back down the court. Some of my teammates are smiling and shaking their heads if you watch the tape.
Saturday, March 12
Bucks at Warriors, 8:30 p.m. (on ABC)
Sunday, March 13
Knicks at Nets, 1:00 p.m. (on ABC)
Mavericks at Celtics, 3:30 p.m. (on ABC)
Lakers at Suns, 9:00 p.m. on ESPN
All times Eastern.
Roger Bacon went on a 13-0 run in the third quarter to change the course of the game.
He was coming. We wanted to stay calm and try to get through it.
There were 18,000 people there. I think it was a record at the time and just that sea of yellow, in our fan section, just going crazy and seeing your classmates and your parents up in the crowd and just realizing that there is a whole community behind you guys. The win became real for us when we saw it.
At the end of the third quarter, Dave Johnson found Wyrick for a baseline jumper and iced the game. The man was in control. Was it?
Neal: We were trying to pull away, andLeBron pulls up from just beyond half court and sinks it. It is one of those things where you are just thinking, oh, this is the way it is going to go down? You really worry about how that will play out when you lose the momentum like that.
Hausfeld: When that happened, we were like, that makes sense. We didn't think anything of it.
That is not a shot that he is going to make consistently. I was not worried about the shot. It did not change anything for us or the game.
Neither team flinched in the fourth quarter. With about 90 seconds left in the game, FrankPhillips was put on a poster that no one in the arena would ever forget, after a jump shot by King James.
He came in from the right wing. He was flying. Wow! The crowd went crazy.
Hausfeld: I knew as soon as he spun.
I think I took three charges on him at that time. I slid over when I caught him bull rushing. He went by one of our guys on the wing and I slid over to catch him. I looked up at him and he looked at me and said, "Yeah, you got dunked on."
At our banquet the year before, we blew up a big picture of Frank and his friends, and we gave it to him as a present.
Roger Bacon was leading by 3 when a timeout was called. The ball was going to the King. The fans in attendance knew that the ball was going to the player. Until it did.
He was going to try to make a play. Other than that, we could have guys that can be ready and ready to play. We were up to his mercy, other than that.
Wyrick was there to pick him up after he brought the ball down the court. He kicked it to Chad Mraz, who attempted a three. The ball is off the ground.
We now know that, throughout his illustrious career, he has given up the ball in big moments to make a better basketball play. It floored everyone.
A lot of people didn't realize that the best passer in the game is the one who shoots the ball, and we knew he was going to find the open man. He is very kind. We hugged the 3-point shooters because we didn't want them to tie it up.
That was the case. He always looks for a better shot. He always passes first. He made a good pass and it was a good shot from Mazar. He missed it.
Hausfeld was able to grab the rebound. The game rested on the shoulders of Roger Bacon. The kid who grew up on the street made three of four free throws, all but ending the game.
Hausfeld thought there were eight seconds left, but he knew we had won. It was amazing.
In the final seconds of the game,Phillips skied for a dunk at the buzzer, providing an exclamation point that will live in Roger Bacon folklore for the rest of time.
The night before, I pictured myself dunking the last second of the game, and I just couldn't believe that I actually got a chance to do that. I did not care that we were up. I knew that was going to be my last chance, dunking the ball in high school. I got a chance to dunk. I didn't know if I was going to get it.
Wyrick: We were just 12 players on the basketball court, but we weren't just winning that for ourselves. It was special for Cincinnati. At that point, it was bigger than just the game.
Hausfeld: We beat him. We defeated St.Vincent. We won the state title. It was my last high school game. It was something I will never forget.
In the immediate aftermath of the game, LeBron showed a level of humility and sportsmanship that was beyond his years. He had been defeated that day.
He was pretty cool. He came up to us and told us a good game. He was a good athlete.
He came over and showed a lot of class. He said, "Hey, you're a real good player for me." Good luck at Miami.
That was a great night. The team ate dinner at a restaurant after a tailgate in the parking lot. I don't think Bill ever got approval for that, but it was on the school credit card. We had a procession.
After returning for his senior year, he led his team to the top ranking in the country. He was the top pick in the NBA draft.
The best high school player in history had just been defeated by Roger Bacon. The bond created by the game is still going strong today.
At the time, it was a bond. I did not think it would be as strong as it is.
Neal: The fact that I can look at those guys 20 years later and still have relationships with them, and still know what they are doing, and know their kids names, and get updates about the lives they have built for themselves.
Meale: You are always a state champion. No one can ever take that from you. You know what you did was very special when you are the only team to ever do something.
After the greatest accomplishment of Bill Brewer's coaching career, he died of a heart attack in November 2007, leaving behind his wife and three daughters. He was young.
He was a great person. He cared about his family, he treated his basketball players like family, and he cared about his kids.
Neal is an unbelievable man, coach, father and husband. Bill showed me how important a tight-knit coaching staff was to our success.
He was our leader and one of the biggest regrets that I have is not being able to still talk to him. All of us got the best out of him.
Wyrick said that he taught everyone on the team what it meant to work hard and be accountable to their teammates. He was a man that I probably didn't appreciate as much as I should have. It took some time for me to understand the impact he had on my life.
Why should anyone care about a high school basketball game? Because of his St. During his high school career, the Mary team went 81-1 and won three state titles.
Neal said that the game matters because of the amazing talent of James. It allows our story to keep being told.
Hausfeld: I have three kids now, and I have told them, and they tell their friends, and it is one of those moments in life that is outside of getting married and having kids.
On Monday through Friday, host Pablo Torre brings you an inside look at the most interesting stories at ESPN, as told by the top reporters and Insiders on the planet. Listen.
Knowing that any team can be beaten is important.
Meale said, "Lebron James has gone on to become one of the best players in basketball history." The win changed a lot of things, including his decision on whether to return to high school or try to enter the NBA draft, and may have changed basketball.
In a 2011 interview with the sports network, he mentioned that the loss stung a decade later.
Neal: How lucky are we to be a part of that journey for him, if that means that we were a small part of the motivation that helped him become the best player on the planet?
The lesson from the victory is that we all work in teams, no matter what you do, and that is what I think.
I think it brings up two things. I think Roger Bacon had a better team than a player. They were brothers on and off the court. The team, the parents, and the fans were all involved. It was a great year.
Wyrick thinks that people in our community think it's likeHoosiers 2.0.
There are at least two or three players in the history of high school sports that have had a career like that. He was the one chosen to follow it up. They have a chance to tell their children and children in the future that they were the only team to beat James in high school.
The story is about Roger Bacon. It is first and foremost about the human spirit. It's about any team, anyone who dares to dream and anyone who chooses to chase greatness.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
