 |
 When
I returned home from the basketball capitals of the Adriatic, I
returned to the States with emphasis—to the proverbial American
heartland of downstate Illinois. I wanted to find out why Peoria
turned out so many guys who could break you down off the dribble,
and why the ability to cross it over, a.k.a. break ankles, had become
so prized a skill at the grassroots.I met a raft of fascinating basketball characters, from high-school coaching legend Wayne McClain and his son, Sergio; to Frank Williams, who would become Sergio’s teammate at the University of Illinois and be named the Big Ten’s Player of the Year in 2001; to Verdell Jones, Jr., quartermaster at Ft. Sooy. Williams might have bolted for the NBA following that season. Instead he decided to return to campus, where Sergio’s dad, the longtime coach at Peoria’s Manual High, had signed on as an Illini assistant. Here’s Verdell, native Peorian and founder of the crossover-dribbling academy Ft. Sooy—"For the sake of our youth." To read an excerpt from this chapter, about Illinois star Frank Williams and his way with the crossover, click here.  TEN:
EASTERN KANSAS |
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