As Saturday morning approached the noon hour with the temperature pushing 90 degrees, Cherashore Park at 10th and Olney Streets in Philadelphia was packed with young kids running basketball drills under the direction of three NBA players: Mustafa Shakur, Hakim Warrick and the Sixers Andre Iguodala.
Shakur, who grew up in Philadelphia and attended Friends Central, as did Warrick, hosted the inaugural event, dubbed Part of the Solution Community Day. Iguodala was on hand to support Shakur, who he considers to be his best friend from college, despite being Arizona teammates for just one season.
Iguodala addressed the campers and shared his journey to NBA stardom. He began by telling the children that his last name was Nigerian. He said his father was Nigerian and he believes thats where he got his amazing athleticism from.
He encouraged the children to read because he believed reading has helped him mature.
And he insisted they have fun now, before paying bills and taking care of their future children becomes the priority.
Iguodala rarely shows easiness in public. He is always professional and makes himself available to speak with the media because he understands the obligation. But to hear him be so thoughtful in his message to a group of youngsters reminded that often there is more to a person than meets the eye.
I had a great senior season in high school. From there I got a chance to get a scholarship to the University of Arizona. It just so happened that I played really well there. Coach Lute Olson took my athletic skills and the mental and he put them together, Iguodala explained. And that is what you need in the NBA. In the NBA everybody is fast, everybody can shoot, everybody can dribble, but its about matching the skills with fundamental side and thats where the drills come in.
NBA
I saw some of you doing the defensive slide drills and learning how to pivot the right way, Iguodala continued. And learning how to rebound and step pivot to make the outlet to the point guard -- those are the small things that go a long way in the NBA. You see a lot of guys in the NBA who are really talented but never reach their peek. It is more mental then anything playing in the NBA and coach Olson did that for me and then I had an opportunity to get drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2004.
Stressing hard work and attention to detail are probably themes many children in attendance Saturday hear routinely, but often a heros words ring louder. The reverence the crowd had for No. 9 was obvious and Iguodala handled that with genuine care.
As Iguodala continued telling of his basketball journey, and explained how when he came into the league he got to play with Allen Iverson. Simply to rouse a reaction out of the crowd, Iguodala asked if anyone knew of Iverson.
Hands went up and the roar was raucous, indicating that the former Sixer and future Hall of Famer is still an icon despite his NBA days seemingly over.
If we were playing the Lakers or the worst team in the league he always played his hardest, Iguodala told of Iverson. He was going to score 40 points or whatever he wanted to do. No matter what anyone else ever said about him I knew he was a great teammate and a great person and a great basketball player. I learned a lot from him.
Iguodala stressed that one can learn different things from different teammates, and when looking for someone to model yourself after, dont limit oneself to talented players but also good people.
Aaron McKie is the type of guy I could learn a lot from. Hes from Philadelphia. He always did the right thing, smart guy, spoke well and thats the kind of guy I want to be like, Iguodala said. That is kind of my story, not being known to working my way up to where I wanted to be.Whatever it is that you want to do you can do that but you have to think it first and understand it is going to take hard work to get there and any of you guys can achieve that goal.
He ended his speech with have fun and enjoy the moment. In that moment the Sixers star was not just giving advice but living it, too.
E-mail Dei Lynam at dlynam@comcastsportsnet.com