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| ALLEN
IVERSON |
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| PHILADELPHIA
76ERS |
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Height: 6-0
Weight: 165 lbs.
Pos: SG
Born: June 7, 1975, Hampton, Virginia
Drafted: 1996, 1st round, 1st pick by 76ers
College: Georgetown
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MORE ALLEN IVERSON `S OPTIONS |
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ALLEN IVERSON `S BIOGRAPHY |
It was 1975 and Ann Iverson was 15 years old,
unmarried and newly arrived with her family from Connecticut when she gave
birth in Hampton to her first child.
Allen
Iverson was nicknamed Bubbachuck, a combination of two uncles' names.
Iverson said his biological father rarely was in the picture during his
childhood. "You know, he called me a little bit this year (1996)," Iverson
said. "But, I mean, he can't take the place of Michael Freeman. Nobody ever
will. That's who I feel is my father. "Freeman said he was 18 and Bubbachuck
just a few months old when he and Ann Iverson began living together in 1975.
Freeman said he later became a welder for the Newport News Shipbuilding and
Dry Dock Co., and the father of Allen's sisters, Brandy and Iiesha. Ann
Iverson held various jobs after graduating from high school - one on an
assembly line at Avon Fashions, a clothes packaging and distribution factory
where she worked from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. At times she was unemployed. But
Allen
Iverson said he never has forgotten his mother's efforts. "She took care
of me for 20 years," he said. "I want to just do the same thing for her. "Freeman
said he and Ann Iverson began living apart when Allen was in junior high
school. Freeman said he helped support the family until he lost his job
after a car accident. "Then things got tough," he said. "There were times
when Allen never knew where his next meal was going to be," said Mike Bailey,
Allen
Iverson's basketball coach at Bethel High. "Here's a kid who couldn't
take a bath because he had no running water because it had been turned off.
Sometimes you had to go to five, six different places to find him," Bailey
said. "You couldn't phone some places because there were no phones. "My mom
struggled. My dad struggled. Everybody in my family struggled," Iverson said
recently. "It was nothing new, the lights being cut off or anything. I mean,
it was something I had been dealing with my whole life. "Unemployed, Freeman
said he "went the wrong way. I did what I had to do" to support the family.
"And some things, you know, I had to go against the law to do. "In February
1991, midway through Iverson's ninth grade year, Freeman was convicted in
Newport News, Va., of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and
given a 10 year prison sentence with five years suspended. "When I left my
son to go to prison I told him he's got to hold down the fort until I got
home," Freeman said.
Allen
Iverson was 15. "I said, Basketball is your family's way out. "Freeman
was paroled in December 1992. But he was arrested in Hampton in March 1994
on charges of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and possession
of a firearm. He was indicted for possession of cocaine; he pleaded guilty
and was given a suspended sentence. In November 1994, the suspended sentence
he received in 1991 was revoked and he was returned to prison. Freeman was
paroled again in January. "I feel all the jail time he did was for us,"
Allen
Iverson said. "He couldn't stand to look at us living like that. So he
went out and did what he had to do."
High school While Iverson was leading Bethel
to state football and basketball titles during his junior year, his
coaches became increasingly concerned about the company and late night
hours he was keeping. One night in January 1993,
Allen Iverson was at a party in a hotel where a man was shot to death.
On Valentine's Day in 1993, Iverson and friends involved in a gang fight
at a Hampton, Virginia, Bowling Alley. Iverson's crowd was loud and had to
be asked to quiet down several times, and eventually something of a
shouting duel began with another group of youths. A huge fight erupted,
pitting the local white kids against the blacks. It started as an argument
between Iverson and a white youth. Iverson insists he left when trouble
started. Another witness claimed to have seen him hit a white woman in the
head with a chair. Iverson was tried as an adult, and the trial became a
media circus. Iverson and three blacks were the only ones arrested and his
celebrity bore on the case. Iverson was convicted of maiming by mob, and
sentenced to five years in prison. Ann Iverson, meanwhile, began
optimistically mapping out her 18-year-old son's future. On Oct. 10, 1993
she visited Allen in prison, where he signed an affidavit giving her power
of attorney. "My name is
Allen Iverson," the affidavit read. "I am in need for my mother to
conduct any and all of my affairs and make any and all decisions for me .
"One of Ann Iverson's decisions was to visit Thompson in early December
1993. "She was the reason why I helped her child," Thompson said. Several
weeks later, Virginia's governor at the time, L. Douglas Wilder, granted
conditional clemency to Iverson, citing sufficient doubt about his guilt.
Allen Iverson was free after four months at the City Farm. In spring
1994, Thompson visited Iverson at Hampton's Richard M. Milburn High, which
caters to students who have dropped out of school or are at risk of doing
so. "I never discussed that bowling alley incident:, never asked him, What
really happened?' " Thompson said. "I told him I did not want to talk
about whether the judge was fair or not."
College At Georgetown, Iverson majored in fine arts. Iverson said he has
an interest in drawing, and friends say he is an outstanding caricaturist.
"I want to continue to draw," Iverson said. "Every talent God gave me, I
want to use it. I can't play basketball forever. "But his primary mission
at Georgetown seemed to be improving his basketball skills. Recalling his
first day on campus, Iverson said, "Alonzo Mourning an NBA star and
ex-Hoya was in the gym talking to Coach Thompson. I mean, I was excited
even before I got to Georgetown. But once I got there I was even more
excited. All I wanted to do was play basketball. "During his two seasons
with the Hoyas,
Allen Iverson averaged 23 points a game and twice was named Big East
Conference defensive player of the year. From his first game, the 6 foot,
165 pound Iverson was an electrifying presence on the court. He had
astonishing speed while dribbling and explosive jumping ability. Thompson
allowed and sometimes even asked Iverson to dominate games as few
Georgetown guards have. Some Thompson watchers were surprised by the
offensive freedom he gave Iverson. "You teach according to the student,"
Thompson explained. "Allen had talent - exceptional talent. So he was
permitted to have more leeway. You don't crush creativity. "Deciding to
Leave Evidently, Iverson also had a knack for blocking out distractions,
which seemed to be everywhere. At some games, he was taunted by opposing
fans who yelled "jailbird, jailbird" or waved bowling pins in the air. In
the midst of his freshman season, Ann Iverson used her power of attorney
to file suit - in Allen's name - against the lawyer who had defended him
free of charge in the bowling alley case, Herbert V. Kelley Sr. The
lawsuit alleged that Kelley had been negligent and that Iverson would
suffer "mortification, shame, vilification and financial loss" because of
the guilty verdict. The complaint sought $100 million in damages. Then
there was Freeman's incarceration. While
Allen Iverson was settling into his comfortable dormitory suite at
Copley Hall to begin his sophomore year last fall, his "dad" was living
just a few miles a way at the Fairfax County Correctional Field Unit, one
of several state facilities in which he was housed. Iverson said he didn't
visit Freeman in Fairfax because "I'd visited him in another prison and it
just hurt me so much. I'd given him the tennis shoes off my feet because
the sneakers he had, they were so bad, all messed up. So I went home
barefooted that day. "As the season progressed, and reporters began
wondering if Bubbachuck would become the first Georgetown player to enter
the NBA draft before his senior year, Thompson became increasingly aware
of the hardships in Iverson's life. In early April, shortly after the
Hoyas were eliminated from the NCAA tournament, Thompson invited Iverson
and his mother to a meeting at McDonough. The subject should Iverson leave
school to turn pro? Two of Thompson's most trusted confidants - Falk, his
Washington based agent, and Mary Fenlon, his long-time aide decamp, also
were invited.Falk has provided free counsel to Thompson's athletes for
more than 15 years and has represented virtually every Hoya who has played
in the NBA, including Mourning, Patrick Ewing and Dikembe Mutombo. "John
makes no bones of the fact he recommends us to his players," said Falk,
who also represents Michael Jordan, Iverson's childhood hero. Falk said he
"very, very aggressively" advised
Allen Iverson to stay in school because he could earn more money,
particularly from endorsement contracts, after another year of TV exposure.
But in that meeting and in another in his office on upper Wisconsin Avenue,
Falk said he heard some compelling reasons why Iverson should turn pro. "Allen
told me his mother's living conditions were deplorable," Falk said. "There
was a sewage problem in her house. Sewage was seeping through the floor
and Allen said there was a stench that was just unimaginable. "The
condition of younger sister Iiesha also had worsened; she had just
suffered another seizure. "His sister needed a brain specialist," Falk
said. Meanwhile, Freeman had been paroled and was unemployed. "Allen
Iverson didn't feel that staying in school was a viable option," Falk
said. Thompson said outside influences also were competing for Iverson's
attention this spring. Agents were on the prowl, and "you had people
running around trying to get him involved in rapping," Thompson said.
Iverson had spent some evenings in a studio, recording a rap song, which
he played for teammates. Thompson said he told Iverson, "You are a
basketball player. You're not going to make your living rapping. "As for
the agents, Falk was the odds-on favorite to represent Iverson. Shortly
after Georgetown's season ended, Falk arranged for Iverson to have a
private phone conversation with his childhood hero. "Michael told me he
had heard a lot of good things about me,"
Allen Iverson said, "and he said he was going to have to tighten up
his game for me. Which was definitely a joke. I just laughed. But
everything he said to me made me feel good. "On April 30, Iverson signed a
contract with Falk. The next afternoon, with his mother, Thompson and Falk
by his side, Iverson announced he was turning pro. A Georgetown official
said
Allen Iverson withdrew from the university the same day. With two
months to go before the draft, Iverson asked a bank for a line of credit,
which was granted on the basis of his seven figure earning potential.
Iverson then hired a specialist for Iiesha and discussed with Falk the
possibility of moving his entire family to the NBA city where he soon will
reside.
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Other Allen Iverson 's biographies:
123People.net: Complete biography and picture gallery for Iverson
BBallOne.com:
Offers an extensive biography for Allen Iverson
Allen Iverson's biography: Detailed Iverson's biography
AskMen.com:
Biography and extra info about Allen Iverson
Allen
Iverson Live: Biography and highlights in Allen's career |
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