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At the time they might not have always enjoyed it, but northwest Ohio basketball fans got to watch LeBron James several times on his way to becoming the basketball player he is today.
Ottawa-Glandorf played James and his Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary teammates in Division II regional tournament games at the University of Toledo in 2002 and 2003.
If not for James, the Titans – who won the Division II state championship in 2004 – might have played in the state tournament three years in a row.
A year before the first O-G vs. St. Vincent-St. Mary matchup, Wayne Trace pushed LeBron and friends to the limit before losing 56-50 in a Division III state semifinal.
And, if not for a shot by Jamestown Greenview that beat LCC in the last 10 seconds of a D-III state semifinal, the Thunderbirds would have played against James in 2000, his freshman year of high school.
Former LCC coach Bob Seggerson had scouting reports on James but never got to use them.
“I really wanted to play against this kid,” Seggerson said. “I had gotten some scouting reports from the Akron area. I remember the two guys from Akron just raved about him. These were guys I respected. I couldn’t believe how they raved about him.”
Once he got his first look at James in a state semifinal game, he understood the excitement.
“The thing that really struck me was how far he could get on one move. He could pick up 10 or 12 feet with one move or one dribble,” Seggerson said.
James grew in height and in stature during his four years in high school. He was referred to as a 6-foot, 6-inch freshman in a story in The Lima News in 2000. By the time he was a sophomore, he was 6-7. And by the time he graduated, his roster height was 6 feet, 8 inches.
He scored 21 points, had 12 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 blocks and 4 dunks in a 77-58 win over Ottawa-Glandorf as a junior in 2002. As a senior, he had 25 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists in a 69-59 win over the Titans.
Wayne Trace came the closest to stopping St. Vincent-St. Mary of any northwest Ohio team. After falling behind by 10 points early, the Raiders cut the lead to one point with 6 ½ minutes to play and were down only two points, 52-50, and had the ball with 27 seconds to play before falling by six points.
By the time James was a sophomore, it was obvious he was going to be an NBA player. By his junior year, when he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated, it was clear he was going to be a very good NBA player.
But James’ ability and desire to involve his teammates might have obscured just how dominant he could have been. Looking back, there is little doubt James could have scored 40 to 50 points almost every game in high school if he had wanted to do that.
And he knew it. “On the court, I think I’m unstoppable. I’m the only person who should be able to stop me,” he said in 2002.
Ironically, the path to another championship for James this season is for him to dominate the basketball, not to share it. But even as a 16-year-old sophomore after that game against Wayne Trace, he sounded very much like he does now.
“I’m all about the team. My game is based on being unselfish,” he said. “I’m honored to get those awards but I just want to get another state championship, another banner for our gym, another ring.”
