Joe DeRozan

For most of the fall, Joe has been working with Coach Amos, the coach of MBA's 7th grade team, in individual workouts, with his buddy, Pike.  Coach Amos had been working with JP and Jack, Pike's older brother.  Normally, he doesn't work with boys as young as Joe and Pike - who are 9 - but he made an exception because, I think, he already was working with their older brother.  

As it turns out, Coach Amos has really enjoyed working with Joe and Pike, because they're so competitive, in general and with each other.  They're best friends at this point, have played sports together for years - basketball, soccer, and baseball - and they love to get after it.  They listen and they're coachable.  I think it's been refreshing, too, for Coach Amos to give lessons to younger boys.  Less baggage than with teenagers, I suspect.  

Right now, with J.P. playing middle school basketball, Joe is the only one with games on Saturdays.  Yesterday, for example, Joe had a game at Ensworth at 11 a.m. and at St. Paul's Christian School at 3 p.m. His team won both games against lesser opponents.  I almost skipped the afternoon game to watch Alabama - UGA in the SEC title game but, at the last minute, I decided to go.  

Had I stayed at home, I would have missed a play by Joe that I'll always remember.

Early in the second half, I was sitting in the nearly empty bleachers at St. Paul's, between Jude and Oliver Davis, in a cluster of parents of our team's players.  From the start, the game was a laugher.  Our boys were playing a type of half court trap, which really just meant they were picking up the other team's ball handler at half court and trying to double team him.  It worked and our boys jumped out to an early lead.

Going right to left, in front of us, Joe took an outlet pass, probably from Cole, and started a fast break by dribbling up the left side of the court, closest to us.  Near the left sideline, he angled a bit toward the middle of the court as he drew even with the top of the key.  He had a player open ahead of him, on the left side of the basket, which would have been the safer, and more obvious, pass to make.

Instead, Joe saw Pike streaking down the right side of the course ahead of him.  There was traffic in the lane, with two or three players running through, their backs to Joe.  Dribbling with his head up the entire time, Joe pulled up suddenly, and with his right hand, threw a long bounce pass through the lane.  Not a player saw it coming except for Pike, who caught it in stride and hit the layup.

In the bleachers, the parents on both teams paused, the collectively, gasped and said, "Whoa!"  We looked at each other, stunned, and Oliver, Allan, and I fist bumped, smiling from ear to ear, as Joe ran back up the court, grinning triumphantly and twirling his right index finger in the air.  

That one play spoke volumes about Joe as a basketball player and, really, as a kid.  Confident, creative, joyful, and enthusiastic.  And, most importantly, not afraid.  Never afraid.

I call him Joe DeRozan because he's developed a midrange game as knockdown shooter on 9 foot goals the 9 year olds play on.  In fact, he hit a nice turnaround jumper in the lane during the game that he was particularly proud of because he's been working on it.

But on that pass, the one I'll always remember, Joe looked like Magic Johnson, my all time favorite player.

Indeed, it was a little bit of magic, and I was there to see it.