The Jump:

Sebastian Telfair and the High Stakes Business of High School Ball

February 16, 2005

Ian O'Connor

Sebastian Telfair hit Dwight Howard with a first-quarter blitz of hesitation drives and jump shots. "He's quicker than Isiah Thomas," Theus said as he watched behind the baseline. "Quicker than anyone in the NBA?" I asked. "As quick," Theus answered. "It's like he's in fast-forward. You can't teach hesitation like that, dipping your shoulder... Only the man upstairs can take credit for that."

Telfair completed a 3-point play with 34.2 seconds left to give Lincoln a 20-15 lead. Early in the second quarter, Telfair threw a no-look pass to Antonio Pena for a basket, then hit him again with one of his Linda Blairs to put Lincoln up by 8 and to leave the fans and the NBA executives buzzing in expectation of more.

"No way I'd put Jameer Nelson ahead of Telfair; Jameer doesn't have quickness like that," said John Nash, the Portland GM. "I have Telfair way ahead of him. Sebastian's already better than Damon Stoudamire."

"I just saw Jameer Nelson," Randy Pfund, the Miami GM, told another executive, "and he's the best point guard in college and he can't hold a candle to this kid. Sebastian runs the pick and roll better than most point guards in the NBA."

Telfair's quickness and verve would leave Howard appearing dizzy, at least until the Southwest Atlanta Christian center threw him down on a wild and vain left-handed attempt with 2:30 left in the first half. Only 20 seconds later, Telfair struck back with a hanging layup to punctuate a crossover so nasty it caused his defender to fall. With 5.5 seconds left and the entire place expecting Telfair to shoot, the Lincoln point guard used another brilliant hesitation drive to draw the defense and kick out the ball to reserve Jamel Jackson, who drained a 3-pointer to send the Prime Time crowd into a tizzy.

"Watching Sebastian in this game," said Jeff Lenchiner, CEO of InsideHoops.com, "was like watching a character in a video game. He just hit a thrust button and launched himself into warp speed."

Just like in Los Angeles , Telfair needed only one half to dazzle the entire NBA with his explosiveness, creativity, and vision. A year after watching from the front row while his friend, LeBron, dropped 52 on Westchester High, Telfair was planting his flag in the Trenton soil, encouraging the sneaker guys in attendance to drool just as much as the scouts.

"He's the people's player at this tournament," said Nike's George Raveling. "He was sitting in the stands before the game, and the whole section was filled with people trying to get his autograph or to just see what he looks like."

"He has all that drama about him that makes him special," said Reebok's Chris Rivers. "We want him. We can't get any closer on him without living on Coney Island .... But it's a business decision, and Nike gets who they want 95 percent of the time.

"I'd be surprised if he didn't go pro now, and that's going to open up dreams for other guys. There's a smaller eighth- or ninth-grader who's going to say, 'Shit, if he can do it, I can do it."'

Telfair slowed down a touch in the third quarter as Howard moved his team into position to steal the game. With 1:56 left in the third, there was a moment of open-court truth that might have erased any doubt that Howard, and not UConn's Okafor, should be the first pick in the June draft. The Southwest Atlanta Christian center grabbed a rebound and started dribbling upcourt when Telfair came up to meet him inside the midcourt line.

With a simple change of gears and a subtle shift to his right, Howard kept his dribble and blew past the Lincoln point guard as if he weren't even there. The Warriors took their first lead in the fourth quarter, and Howard began to make his mark inside against the game Pena and the rugged reserve, Lawrence Alamilla, who hit their 6-foot-11 foe as much as possible to cover for their inability to see him eye to eye.

"We bodied him and collapsed on him," Alamilla said. "I took some elbows to the back, my face, my neck, and my arms, but I didn't back down. I was talking to him, saying, 'You're not going to the league. Stay here with me. You're not that good.' He didn't say anything, but his facial expression said it all."

As it did on Telfair's bold romp down the lane with 54 seconds to play and Southwest Atlanta Christian up by one. The Lincoln star took his dribble straight at Howard, launched himself into the air, switched the ball from his right hand to his left in a Jordanesque way, and made the acrobatic layup while Howard remained glued to the floor.

An exchange of free throws -- one for Lincoln, two for Southwest Atlanta Christian -- tied the score and set up the dramatic finish. Telfair smiled in anticipation of something he had never before experienced. Despite all the winning basketball he'd played in his life, Telfair's next buzzer-beater to give his team the victory would be his first.

But what about that smile? "It was like a dream," Telfair would say. "I knew a great moment was about to happen."

He was in the right corner, 20 feet from Theus, when that great moment left his hands from beyond the 3-point line with 5 seconds to play. The Southwest Atlanta Christian guards had made the lethal mistake of allowing Telfair to get the ball. Sebastian already had 27 points to go with his 9 assists. He had no time for his 10th assist, plenty of time for his 28th, 29th, and 30th points.

'Those are the moments that make you," Telfair would say. "You can't be scared of those moments."

Telfair hit the 3 and then watched Southwest Atlanta Christian hurry up an inbounds pass and a long and vain prayer. Telfair tilted his head forward, smiled, and gently wiggled his fingers as if telling his teammates to come smother him.

The Railsplitters mobbed Telfair before he went off in search of his mother, Erica, for the kind of postgame hug she hadn't received all season. Lincoln's last regular season game was the first attended by Erica, who felt so burned by the nondraftiing of Jamel Thomas that she refused to take part in the winter-long celebration of her Bassy's ball-playing gifts.

"I didn't even see the shot," Erica said. She was in the bathroom when she heard the building quake. "I came out and asked a lady which team won," Erica said. "She said, ' Lincoln .' And I said, 'Okay.'"

Okay it was. Outside the locker room, Telfair said he knew his shot was good the second he released it. Felled by David's stone, the vanquished Goliath, Dwight Howard, had become a true believer.

"I think he's top 10, top 20 for sure," Howard said of Telfair. "Man, I've seen Sebastian play, but I've never seen him play like that. I was like, 'Wow.'"

The Telfair family was feeling the same vibe in the bowels of the arena, between the court and the loading dock. Telfair, Danny Turner, and their mother huddled with Andy Miller for a 15-minute strategy session.

The Telfairs asked Miller for direction, and the agent-to-be asked for a week or two to come up with a plan. "At first, I thought he was a 3- or 4-year college player," Miller said. 'Now he's talked about as a possible lottery pick. It's amazing what momentum can do."

And what it can't. Erica emerged from this meeting hoping that her son had hit the lottery, but refusing to let herself believe it. The pot of gold had been within reach before, only to be yanked away like a carrot on a string. She wasn't about to get hurt again.

"It's a tough decision," Erica said, "but I believe it would be better for Sebastian to go to Louisville . Give him a chance to grow a little more. But if (the NBA) is the Lord's plan, what can I say?"

What could Theus say to his boss, Pitino, when he delivered the awful news that Telfair was so good at the Prime Time Shootout that there was virtually no chance he'd play for Louisville? Pitino had been talking by phone to his top recruit on a regular basis. He was feeling his own hopes dim with every call.

But the Prime Time performance was the clincher. Those 95-to-5 odds Pitino gave in December, when he was almost smug in his belief that Telfair would be his point guard, had turned all the way against him.

"Sebastian's going pro," Pitino said, "and we're resigned to that. I don't mean to sound corny, but you're in this business to see young people fulfill their dreams. So I still feel very good about Sebastian. He was worth the gamble, because no point guard had ever made the jump.

"We're not holding out hope now; I seriously do wish him the best. But until he has to declare, you never know what's going to happen. A turned ankle, a bad workout, whatever. I told Sebastian, 'Let's hope for the best. Let's hope you go in the lottery, but let's keep all our options open.'"

Reprinted from: The Jump: Sebastian Telfair and the High Stakes Business of High School Ball by Ian O'Connor © 2005 Ian O'Connor. Permission granted by Rodale, Inc., Emmaus , PA 18098 . Available wherever books are sold or directly from the publisher by calling (800) 848-4735 or visit their website at www.rodalestore.com

Author Ian O'Connor is a sports columnist for USA Today and the Journal News of New York . He has won numerous national writing honors, including the Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. O'Connor lives in New Jersey with his wife, Tracey, and son, Kyle.

Page 1» | Page 2 » | Page 3 » | Page 4