It figured to be a moment of LeBronmania at its best.
LeBron James–the Sports Illustrated cover boy regarded as the country’s top high school basketball player and possibly the No. 1 choice in the upcoming NBA draft if he weren’t just finishing his junior year–got the ball on a breakaway and drove toward the basket.
All that stood in the way of a thunderous dunk that would bring down an almost packed house Saturday night at Julian was a senior-to-be at Grant named C.J. Walleck.
The 6-foot-8-inch James took off almost 15 feet from the hoop, soaring well above the rim as he cradled the ball in one hand. Walleck, who seemed frozen by this almost surreal display of athleticism, stood near the basket as James sailed into him.
The contact undercut James, and he landed hard on his back. James who was playing for the Northeast Ohio Shooting Stars in the Mac Irvin Summer Basketball Classic, lay on his stomach for several minutes in extreme pain as the crowd fell silent and a handful of players and fans rushed toward him.
James, who had injured his left wrist in the fall, was taken to an office just off the gym floor. About 15 minutes later, a Chicago Fire Department ambulance arrived to take him to Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park.
A Fire Department emergency technician, who declined to give his name, said the wrist was “graphically distorted.” An emergency room nurse said James had broken the wrist and had been taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
The party, literally, was over. The game ended with 11:19 to play and the Shooting Stars leading the Rising Stars of north suburban Chicago 53-22.
Almost all of a crowd of more than 1,000 spectators, most of whom had come to watch James, streamed out of the gym. That crowd had included at various times NBA players Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles of the Clippers and Eddy Curry of the Bulls, along with an assortment of player agents, street agents, NBA scouts and media members.
Marshall girls coach Dorothy Gaters also was in the house.
“I want to see him before I have to pay more than $5 to do it,” she said, laughing.
What she and the rest saw in James’ tournament opener against Team Minnesota was an understated performance in which he mainly displayed a stunning variety of no-look bullet passes. James had 17 points and 10 assists, his final dish leading to the winning basket in a 68-64 victory.
Afterward, fans swarmed around James seeking autographs on everything from T-shirts to dollar bills. He honored almost all requests, also posing for pictures and signing a woman’s pink gym shoes.
James was more scoring-minded about 90 minutes later against the Rising Stars, piling up 13 points by halftime and four more before he was injured.
Rising Stars coach Mike Weinstein said the game was called in part because of some threatening remarks from spectators aimed at Walleck.
“LeBron went up, and C.J. just got caught in a bad situation,” Weinstein said. “It wasn’t intentional. The kid felt horrible. The last thing he wanted to do was injure the No. 1 player in America. He was thrilled to be on the same court with him.”
Walleck, who apologized to James while James was still lying on the floor, said he was taken aback when James launched his dunk attempt from such long range.
“I’m not the kind of player who tries to take a player out,” Walleck said. “I was going to jump, but he was so far out I tried to take a charge and he jumped so high he flew right over me.”
