LeBron James building ties with Kentucky's John Wall: NBA Insider
By Brian Windhorst
December 13, 2009, 2:01AM
At the mere mention of
John Wall's name,
LeBron James' eyes soften as he tries to swallow a knowing smile.
"Yeah, I have a relationship with him," James said. "A really good relationship. With not only John, but his family. We talk all the time."
For the past eight years or so, James' cell phone contact list doubles as a who's who in international basketball. Say what you will, but there are simply only a few people surrounding the game who can get
Michael Jordan,
Dwyane Wade, Nike founder
Phil Knight, USA Basketball Chairman
Jerry Colangelo,
Warren Buffett,
Carmelo Anthony,
Jay-Z,
Kevin Durant, or famous behind scenes operator
William "Wes" Wesley on the phone within a few minutes.
You can now put Wall's name in there. The 19-year-old is, as they say, "next." A seemingly can't-miss budding superstar at the University of Kentucky. He is certainly on track to be the No. 1 overall draft pick next June. And with apologies to
Blake Griffin, had the NBA's age rule not been in effect, most around the NBA believe Wall would have been the top pick last June.
If he wasn't already there, the 6-4 ultra-quick point guard hit national consciousness last week, announcing his arrival with a 25-point, six-steal performance as Kentucky went on the road to beat Connecticut.
James met Wall a couple of years ago at the LeBron James Skills Academy in Akron, which is a star showcase that Nike runs at University of Akron every July. Not only is it a prime recruiting ground for the nation's top collegiate programs, but it's a golden meet-and-greet for James, who has been developing personal relationships with stars in the making by the gross.
It includes current top college players who serve as counselors and also get to know and even play with James.
Stephen Curry, who also was an "it" college guard, had a chance mingle and play with James at the camp.
Last year, James got plenty of attention for getting dunked on during a pick-up game there. But getting shown up every now and then is probably worth it for the chance to get to personally know a bunch of young stars. Especially if you also own and operate a marketing company that seeks to sign new rookies when they turn pro, as James does.
James also recruits incoming rookies for his agent,
Leon Rose. Last spring, his pitch helped Syracuse star
Jonny Flynn sign with Rose. When the time is proper, it is a fair guess that James makes the same type of call to Wall, though there are probably several agents working more complicated behind-the-scenes angles for a chance at Wall as well.
"[Wall] came to my All-American camps so I got an opportunity to watch him a lot," said James, accidentally referring to the top Nike camp by its old name, which is what it was called when he was in high school and held in Indianapolis. When James was attending, it held a bit of a seedy reputation as a hunting ground for agents, leading Nike to change its location and operation.
"He was the No. 1 player as a junior and a senior. You could see back then that he was very good."
There's another high-profile name in James' cell phone. It's
John Calipari, the new and already successful coach at Kentucky. James and Calipari have grown close over the last five years, a relationship that gained strength through intermediary friend Wesley.
In 2005, the Cavs talked unofficially to Calipari about their head coaching vacancy. A big reason was Wesley, who was unofficially consulting with Cavs owner
Dan Gilbert at the time.
In July, shortly after the camp in Akron, James flew to Lexington, Ky., and let Calipari show him the facilities. James joked about the meeting, calling it his "recruiting visit." Shortly thereafter, Calipari hired
Brandon Weems to be a graduate assistant. Weems is one of James' closest friends and a former high school teammate, who James calls a "little brother."
James has been closely associated with the Ohio State basketball program for the past three years. During
Greg Oden and
Mike Conley's year there, the Buckeyes started wearing James' personalized Nike gear. That's a distinction held by one other school right now: St. Vincent-St. Mary.
In October, before a preseason game at Value City Arena, Ohio State coach
Thad Matta and his entire team honored James at center court with an honorary jersey because of the support he's given the program. But James, who now occasionally wears Kentucky gear, is showing a growing affinity for the Wildcats.
While James always pulled for Calipari when he was at Memphis, it seems they are closer now than ever. After doing a strong job developing
Derrick Rose, the No. 1 pick in 2008, and
Tyreke Evans, picked No. 4 this year, Calipari is probably going to keep attracting great young stars while at a legacy school. Stars that will likely pass through Akron and get to know James along the way.
"Coach Cal is family; it's a big family that we have and we're going to stick with each other," James said. "Where ever Cal is, for the most part, I'm going to try to show my support to him. He's a great coach and a great friend. It's good that we can have that kind of relationship."