Back to Main MenuCelebrationsFraud PreventionManage Your AdPlace an AdYes, LeBron James wanted it all, and he played like it. Not only were his overall skills continuing to improve, he was performing under a massive media microscope against fierce competition. Playing a schedule against some of the nation's top ranked high school teams, James and his St. Vincent St. Mary team took down one after another.The games would be close for a while, then James would take over driving to the basket, dunking on an overwhelmed opponent. cheap nike air max 90 He'd pass off to teammate Dru Joyce III for open 3 pointers. He'd find Romeo Travis under the basket, delivering passes leading to lay ups. He threw in long jumpers and short, silky bank shots.NBA scouts watched him in awe, wondering how an 18 year old with a man's body at 6 foot 8, 242 pounds could be so graceful, yet so powerful. The nation caught the LeBron James Show when ESPN2 broadcast two of his games, including a victory over previously undefeated Oak Hill Academy at the Cleveland State University Convocation Center. His St. Vincent St. Mary Fighting Irish ended up winning it along with its third Ohio State Championship in four years. Then USA Today indeed named them the nation's top team.Remember that these were not a group of high school All Americans recruited from across the country. They were mostly kids from Akron, none of them other than James even remotely regarded as a pro prospect. Only two of his teammates Dru Joyce III and Romeo Travis would play Division I college basketball. Both did for the University of Akron, and that's only because they were recruited by their former high school coach, Keith Dambrot, who had become an assistant at the school. Both also overachieved, starting for the school that became a Mid American Conference power. But neither had anything close to a pro career.The reason St. Vincent St. Mary had one of the greatest high school authentic jordans shoes teams in recent memory was because they had one of the best high school players ever in James.Off the court, there was controversy. James originally received a season long suspension by the Ohio High School Athletic Association for violating amateur status rules when he took two throwback jerseys. James thought it was a fair exchange for giving the store some autographed pictures. That probably was true as James memorabilia was bringing in big dollars on eBay and elsewhere.A high profile lawsuit filed for James by one of cheap Nike Air Max 95 Cleveland's top law firms convinced the court to cut the suspension to two games. The school hired personal security guards to protect James from the media and fans who wanted to reach him. Pros such as Shaquille O'Neal and Ron Harper then with the Los Angeles Lakers ventured the 60 miles from downtown Cleveland to Canton to watch James play a high school game. Attention was paid to the Hummer that James was driving, a gift from his mother. His stylish clothes and diamond earrings led to whispers, as it was obvious James was getting money from somewhere.SO HOW DID James and his loose knit family find a way to pay for these perks and trips to summer camps across the country? That's where Eddie Jackson came into the game. Jackson had an on and off relationship with Gloria James for several years, dating back even before James went to elementary school. If there was a father figure in the life of James, it was Jackson as James would tell the media years later. Jackson played a larger role in both of their lives following the unexpected death of Gloria's 42 year old mother Freda, when James was three years old. Jackson also helped the family during James' high school years.When family friend Chris Dennis began to preach the gospel of sending James to different summer camps and having his family along to meet shoe company executives, Jackson knew he needed to find some money. His belief in the importance of James' gaining national exposure led to Jackson thinking very big and he was not alone. Seeing the people already struggling to get the attention of the 16 year old James and the travel and expenses it would require, Jackson decided to find financing for what appeared a whirlwind two years. He had already been helping to support the family financially for several years. Jackson began a process to help the family cash in on some of James' future equity. According to court records, Jackson used a friend to meet with an Akron based entertainment agent, Joe Marsh, who was known for managing magician David Copperfield. Marsh met with Jackson and the family. In exchange for the promise of doing future business, including the rights to a potential documentary with James, Marsh agreed to give Jackson a $100,000 loan. He cheap air jordan 2014 wrote out the first installment, a $30,000 check, just days after James returned from the ABCD camp in New Jersey in the summer of 2001.Later, Marsh gave a $20,000 check to Jackson and $2,500 monthly installments to Gloria James, according to court records. Marsh believed the money was used to buy James and his mother new cars and to improve their living conditions on Akron's west side. The family also took out an insurance policy on James and his future earnings. The reason these transactions became public was because Marsh, spurned by the family when he tried to make the documentary during James' senior year, sued for $15 million and entered all the documents into the court record. After a drawn out process that took nearly two years, Marsh ended up just getting his money back, plus $22,000 in interest.James was never penalized by the Ohio High School Athletic Association for this, because Marsh didn't file the lawsuit until James had turned pro. But two years after striking the deal with Marsh, James became the center of national headlines when the Ohio High School Athletic Association looked into a Hummer H2 sports utility vehicle Gloria legally purchased for him. Since his mother bought it probably with help, as most banks and car dealers would give her a loan knowing that her son would soon be a millionaire pro there seemed to be no violation.Jackson also talked to agents hoping to represent James when he did turn pro. Instead of the agents making the calls to the prospect, it sometimes was Jackson who called them as he ramped up interest. Jackson focused on two of the NBA's power brokers: Aaron Goodwin and Bill Duffy. Former partners in Oakland but rivals by this time, both wholeheartedly pursued James, regularly attending his games and family functions such as dinners and informal gatherings to watch games and talk. Also in the bidding was mega agent Arn Tellem, who represented Kobe Bryant and was close to Sonny Vaccaro who had become a friend of the James family, in addition to trying to sell James on the merits of signing a shoe contract with adidas.There were whispers and eyebrows raised when Jackson seemed so prominent in these talks. In 1993, Jackson was arrested and sent to jail for selling cocaine. When he was released, he came back to help support the family. When James was in high school and traveling across the country, Jackson was involved in a federal mortgage fraud scheme. He and at least four associates were inflating the value of run down homes through shell companies and selling them. Prosecutors said the three year scam duped mortgage companies out of more than $500,000. One of the shell companies was part of the paperwork in the lawsuit with Marsh. Jackson was arrested in the summer of 2002 and later plead guilty to racketeering, money laundering and forgery charges and received three years in a federal prison. James was devastated by the news; he saw it as his father being sent away. When Jackson reported to federal prison during James' senior season at St. Vincent St. Mary, the 18 year old moved into Jackson's home in Akron and lived there until turning professional.While Jackson's methods could be called into question, his ability to support James and fund his trips proved to be invaluable to the overall process. Yes, James' game and ability was the fuel, but Jackson and Vaccaro helped drive and steer the national publicity machine adding to James' reputation and value in the eyes of the shoe companies. During one memorable stretch in the summer of 2002 after he'd broken his wrist, James showed his shoe free agent status by going to both the ABCD Camp in New Jersey and Nike's version, the All American Camp in Indianapolis. He couldn't play because of the injury, but still held press conferences. At the Nike event, he wore adidas shoes. At the adidas event, he wore Nikes. The message was clear. He wasn't committed to anyone, and the shoe companies better be ready to battle for him. Family and friends were with him for the entire excursion and were in first class accommodations. Jackson helped make it possible for James to get to big events, and even to see a specialist in Chicago several times after he broke his wrist in that summer game in 2002. Being at all the top level tournaments and camps kept James in the headlines and kept his stock rising. Having his family and friends there with him helped his comfort level."Everything Eddie did to get LeBron ready was brilliant," said Goodwin, the agent who eventually won James' services and negotiated his first endorsement contracts. "In a way, I'm saddened that he hasn't gotten more credit for it."In the language of the street and the men and women who operate on the grassroots basketball level, there are many like Jackson who have been a part of the rise of young athletes. Their tactics are questioned by those who don't know the inside game, but appreciated by many basketball insiders who understand that this is a game in which there are few clear rules."Eddie and Gloria did what they had to do, they played the roles they needed to play," said Chris Rivers, the adidas grassroots coordinator who has gone on to become the director of basketball marketing at Reebok. "All of us LeBron, Eddie, Gloria, Sonny, the other shoe people, the media we all live in a gray area."