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http://www.cleveland.com/..._different_lebron_j.html
UPDATED: 7:15 p.m.
Patty Burdon / Special to The Plain Dealer
In trying to figure out why the surprise of LeBron James' departure was so acute, Terry Pluto came up with one reason: Superstars whom you first meet as high school freshmen (above) seldom keep the same view of the world.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Sometimes I see exactly what I want to see.
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I don't see what is ... I see what I want reality to be.
That's why I believed LeBron James would sign an extension to remain with the Cavaliers.
I was looking at a 25-year-old LeBron James as if he were the James of Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary -- rather than the calculating James who signed with the Miami Heat. I ignored the James who refused to say more than hello to new Cavs coach Byron Scott, who spent more than an hour waiting for James at the MVP's basketball camp early in the week.
The James of my mind played for the same two coaches from the fourth grade through high school -- Dru Joyce II and Lee Cotton. It was the same James who turned down chances to transfer to major basketball prep schools across the country, insisting he could stay in Akron and turn the Irish into the No. 1 team in the country.
That happened in James' senior year. I always thought his goal was to stay home and do the same for the Cavs.
I first interviewed James after his freshman year, when he became a sensation on the summer basketball circuit at the famed 5-Star Camp. He told me how he would stick with his friends -- Dru Joyce III, Sian Cotton and Willie McGee. He said, "Nothing would break us up. Not girls. Not basketball. Nothing."
James indeed remained loyal to them -- and others on his high school team. I had a freeze-frame vision of the James who appeared in the terrific documentary, "More Than A Game," the story of his high school team. I knew his mother. I know the projects where James lived at different times. I even know people had their hair done by Freda James, his grandmother who died when James was 3 years old.
By the time he reached the NBA, James changed, but I didn't want to admit it. I took solace in the fact that he still went to local high school and college games, to watch friends play. I found it hard to believe he'd leave that behind.
But every year, there were more business types selling James on the idea of being a global icon. He tuned out former coach Mike Brown, and I ignored it.
It was easy to point out how James stayed out of trouble with the law, how he never skipped practice or was late for buses or flights. He usually said the right things at his surprisingly mature press conferences for someone so young.
There was a sense of relief when James signed the three-year extension heading into the 2006-07 season. I should have seen how James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were all putting themselves in position to possibly bolt their respective teams three years later.
Northeast Ohio has been looking for a local pro sports hero since Bernie Kosar was cut by the Browns in 1993. I wanted James to fill that void. He won two MVP awards, the Cavs won more games in the last five seasons with him than any other era.
When James was distracted and distant in this season's playoffs, I wrote it off to his aching elbow -- despite even more marketing types around him, more talk of his coming free agency. Now, it seems he was plotting his exit.
It was hard to believe James had the gall to go on national television and dump on his hometown, as he did in his self-absorbed ESPN special. Or how he didn't call the Cavs with his decision at all. Nor did his agent, or business partner Maverick Carter. It was Richie Paul, a member of his posse, who delivered the bad news to the Cavs once the ESPN special went on the air.
I forgot it was Dru Joyce III who decided to attend St. Vincent-St. Mary rather than Akron Buchtel, and how James and the other followed. The pint-sized point guard was the leader of the Irish, not James.
Even in the NBA, James talked as if he wanted to be the leader, but had trouble with the role. Now, it seems Wade is the new Joyce III in James' life. He was the power behind bringing James and Bosh (a nice guy, but not a leader) to Miami.
Another influence on James is Wes Wesley -- a mysterious deal maker. Wesley wanted James out of Cleveland. Then Carter told Jonathan Abrams of The New York Times that Wesley was out of the inner circle: "All the Wes rumors are untrue and he will not be at the meetings [with NBA teams]. Wes has nothing to do with where he goes."
Guess who was at James' side in Miami? World Wide Wes was back.
The James Gang fooled so many. I should have seen it coming.
