So therefore the environment from the loving home of Mr. Walker made a huge impact on the young boy's life. Together with his newfound basketball friends they gained a lot of recognition and LeBron was outstanding as he showed a sixth sense for the basketball game soon. Besides that he was already six feet tall, although his was only in the eight grades. LeBron and his friends called themselves Northeast Ohio Shooting Stars and in 1997 they qualified for the Under/6th Grade AAU National Championships. After two more years they went even longer as they went all the way to the AAU Under/8th Grade final.
Now LeBron and his friends also joined Saint Vincent-Saint Mary High School, known for its academic excellence. There the freshman also made his basketball debut in the Fighting Irish starting backcourt Wearing Jordan's number 23.
The Fighting Irish posted a 27-0 record and took the state championship. LeBron was one of the team leaders in assists, steals and rebounds and he was just amazing considering his young age. His specialty was also to distribute the ball to his teammates and just make them better all the time. As LeBron grew in excellency regarding his skills in basketball, he also grow physically to 6-7. The rumor spread about him being phenomenal in basketball and 5000 fans came to see the Fighting Irish scheduled the game at the University of Akron's James A. Rhodes Arena in 2000-01 season. LeBron brought the Fighting Irish to win easily.
In January the Fighting Irish faced their toughest test against Oak Hill Academy. Though LeBron stole the show as usual and tried his very best, Oak Hill Academy won a 79-78 victory.
Anyhow, The Fighting Irish soon came back from the defeat, as they were all victorious for the rest of the regular season. As they were going for their second straight title at Ohio State´s Jerome Schottenstein Center there were seated 17,000 in public. Not unexpectedly, LeBron poured in 54 points in his teams two playoff wins.
During that year LeBron had an average of 25.3 points, 5.5 assists and 7.4 rebounds. He also became the first sophomore in Ohio who was voted as the state's Mr. Basketball.
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