Best Prep Athlete Ever?
ESPN's Page 2 has an interesting story and poll up, wherein they present a list of the 10 best high school athletes ever. It's a pretty good read, just to hear about some of the ludicrous things that have happened, like Lisa Leslie scoring 101 points in a basketball game...in just the first half! For my money, it's hard to beat Jim Ryun, and I'm not just saying that because he's a Kansas boy. As a former miler myself, the most amazing thing is that he was doing this in an era that was so different from today's track and field environment. Just think about his shoes, or the cinder tracks he was running on. If he had a chance to run in today's shoes and on today's tracks, he would probably shave four or five seconds off of his time. Not to mention the training advances...
Most people have stories about an athlete that dominated their high school sports scene back in the day. It's amazing how many of those kids don't make it far enough to gain notoriety. That's not to say they weren't successful athletes, or didn't find some other path to success. For one reason or another, though, a lot of kids don't continue to dominate as they get older. A lot of times, it's because they just get to a point where the overall competition level is so high, and they struggle.
The guy at my high school was a basketball player named Chauncy McBride. He was awesome. About 6'5", thin as a rail, with dreadlocks and that great name. Chauncy McBride. Don't know what happened to him after school, but he was a real joy to watch throw it down. The fact that a guy with his skills and body couldn't make it was a real indication of just how good the average college basketball player is, not to mention the stars.
Out of all the LeBron James hype, the thing I marvel at is: How does a kid that young get to be that good?
12:27:21 PM 
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