girllovesthegame

The new kid was easy to spot. Even amid the turmoil of the first day of school, Eddie Gray spotted him across the teeming lobby of Garner High, just a few steps away from the main entrance, because the kid was a foot taller than everybody else.

And also because his adolescent expression was a mask of apathy and repressed anger that he had no idea what to do with -- a kid so troubled by circumstance that Gray immediately was intrigued by him.

"I'm Coach Gray, I teach history and coach the basketball team here," he said with a soft southern twang. "So where ya from?"

"Teaneck, New Jersey," David West replied. "And I don't like basketball anymore. I'm not playing, so don't ask me to."

"That's what you think," Gray said with a chuckle. "You're in North Carolina now, and we do it different than they do it in Jersey, and you're gonna love it here."

It was Aug. 29, 1996. The date is easy to remember for both of them, because it was West's 16th birthday.

And in the decade since that serendipitous moment, the skinny kid has grown into one of the most admired men in his field.

He went on to be the National Player of the Year at Xavier University, a first-round draft pick, the runner-up for the Most Improved Award and an NBA All-Star. And as West averaged career highs in points (20.6) and rebounds (8.9) this season, he helped the New Orleans Hornets to the second-best record in the Western Conference.

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I like West. Glad he didn't give up.

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Play Hornets' forum Jersey# game here!

Weasel

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Geaux Tigers

I think I read in another interview that he didn't get along with the coach...

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Diable

I didn't know he went to Garner until recently...but Garner HS is a lot more noted for their football teams.I think they used to be 3A and almost every year they would go to the state title game or the semis....They're always producing really nice college football prospects too

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