nine percent的八卦，PTT、DCARD、PINTEREST和Yahoo名人娛樂都在討論

RONALDO - Biểu tượng của sự KHÔNG NGỪNG NỖ LỰC
Thomas A. Edison đã từng nói: "Thiên tài chỉ có 1% là cảm hứng, còn 99% là nhờ cố gắng" (Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety nine percent perspiration). Điều này hoàn toàn chính xác với Cristiano Ronaldo – chàng cầu thủ 33 tuổi vừa trở thành người đầu tiên lập cú hattrick tại World Cup 2018. Bị coi là đang ở phía bên kia sườn dốc sự nghiệp. Nhưng một lần nữa Ronaldo chứng minh rằng anh có thể chiến thắng cả tuổi tác của mình,
- Xuất thân từ gia đình nghèo cùng vốn văn hóa ít ỏi cậu bé trẻ Ronaldo từng trò cười cho bạn bè
Tại giai đoạn thiếu niên, CR7 trải qua rất nhiều thăng trầm khi bị chèn ép bởi các đối thủ, đồng đội tại những học viện bóng đá hay những câu lạc bộ.
Tuy nhiên, do phải tự lập từ bé khi gia đình không có điều kiện, CR7 luôn gạt đi nước mắt và đứng lên chiến đấu. Cuối mỗi buổi tập, khi bạn bè đã về hết, cậu luôn ở lại chăm chỉ luyện tập những kỹ thuật mới. Chính nhờ sự kiên trì và ước mơ này đã giúp Ronaldo tiến xa trên con đường sự nghiệp sau này.
Vào năm 14 tuổi, CR7 thuyết phục gia đình để được tập trung theo con đường bóng đá sau khi đã có thời gian tham gia các câu lạc bộ trẻ và được đánh giá cao về tài năng. Do không có tiền đi lại nên chàng thiếu niên này đã phải tự thân rời nhà một mình, lang thang đi lên thành phố để tham gia huấn luyện tại câu lạc bộ. Trớ trêu thay, CR7 gặp vấn đề về nhịp tim năm 15 tuổi và bị chẩn đoán nhiều khả năng phải bỏ dở giấc mơ đá bóng.
Bất chấp điều đó, CR7 vẫn quyết thực hiện cuộc giải phẫu tim và quay trở lại luyện tập chỉ vài ngày sau.
Đến năm 17 tuổi, CR7 ký hợp đồng với Sporting Lisbon rồi chuyển qua Manchester United và rồi Real Madrid. Kể từ đó đến nay, CR7 đã ghi được 500 bàn thắng cấp câu lạc bộ và đã từng đưa đội tuyển Bồ Đào Nha vô địch Euro 2016.
Người cha của Ronaldo bị tổn thương vì chiến tranh và nghiện rượu nặng. Mẹ anh từ có ý định phá thai khi mang thai Ronaldo vì gia đình quá nghèo. Cha anh qua đời năm CR7 19 tuổi trong khi mẹ anh phải đi giặt đồ thuê để nuôi cả nhà.
Thậm chí năm 14 tuổi, Ronaldo đã ném cả cái ghế vào thầy giáo vì ông có những lời lẽ xúc phạm gia đình anh.
Đối với CR7, khó khăn hay sự nghèo khó không phải cái cơ ngăn cản anh đến thành công, đó chỉ là bước đệm cần thiết để bản thân trui rèn thêm cho ước mơ sau này.
- Không ngừng khổ luyện dù bốn lần đoạt Quả Bóng Vàng
Ở tuổi 33, Ronaldo bước vào mùa giải mới với nhiều nghi ngờ, đặc biệt là tuổi tác và thể lực. Tuy nhiên anh vẫn tự tin tuyên bố: "Bạn chỉ có thể đếm trên đầu ngón tay những cầu thủ còn duy trì được phong độ đỉnh cao khi ở độ tuổi của tôi. Tôi nghĩ mình có thể chơi sáu, bảy... hay 10 năm nữa”.
Ronaldo luôn chăm chỉ và khổ luyện để chứng minh cho tất cả thấy đó không phải là lời nói suông. Là tuyển thủ có tinh thần thép, anh luôn nghiêm ngặt với bản thân, từ thói quen ăn uống cho đến việc duy trì cường độ tập luyện. Có giai đoạn phát tướng, CR7 lập tức thực hiện chế độ ép cân xuống còn 78kg. Những bước chạy của anh sau đó cũng trở nên thanh thoát hơn.
Thói quen tập luyện của Cristiano Ronaldo là nhằm không ngừng hoàn thiện bản thân. Ronaldo là hình mẫu cho một cầu thủ luôn nỗ lực tột cùng để đạt được mục tiêu của mình. Sir Alex Ferguson thậm chí đã phải cấm anh tập quá nhiều trước mỗi trận đấu của Man United. Tại Sporting Lisbon, Ronaldo lẻn vào phòng tập thể dục sau giờ đào tạo cùng đội bóng. CR7 có thể đã đạt được sự hoàn hảo về hình thể của mình, nhưng quan trọng hơn, anh đạt được sự hoàn hảo trên sân chính là nhờ quyết tâm tuyệt đối.
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Tại các CLB Ronaldo từng thi đấu, anh là cầu thủ ra sân tập sớm nhất và về muộn nhất. Mỗi ngày CR7 đều dành từ ba đến bốn tiếng để luyện thể lực. Sau mỗi trận đấu, anh duy trì các bài phục hồi thể lực trong vòng một tiếng.
Tuyển thủ Bồ Đào Nha cho rằng, nếu muốn học hỏi, hãy học từ những người giỏi nhất. Từ tâm niệm đó, anh chưa bao giờ ngừng mãi dũa, rèn luyện tài năng cũng như kỹ thuật... để tiến bộ mỗi ngày và chinh phục những nấc thang mới.
- Chọn đứng trên dư luận
Là ngôi sao bóng đá hàng đầu thế giới, CR7 không thoát khỏi quy tắc “lắm tài nhiều tật”. Anh từng nhiều lần bị phát hiện qua lại với các cô đào nóng bỏng, thậm chí còn hoài nghi là…gay. Bất chấp dư luận bủa vây, sau mỗi mùa giải căng thẳng, Ronaldo vẫn dành thời gian cùng gia đình nô đùa trên du thuyền, chăm sóc con trai Cristiano Jr như một ông bố khéo léo.
Chính tinh thần thép được trui rèn từ những ngày lăn lộn trên sân cỏ với vô số áp lực đã dạy cho CR7 bài học kiên định, biết bỏ ngoài tai mọi đồn thổi. Anh luôn tâm niệm: không ai khác ngoài bản thân hiểu mình có gì và cần gì, điều gì khiến mình vui vẻ thật sự, không phải vấn đề gì của dư luận cũng khiến mình mất thời gian để tâm và đính chính.
Có giai đoạn CR7 còn chịu áp lực vì chấn thương và phong độ giảm sút. Từ chuyện bị HLV Rafa Benitez gạt khỏi vị trí trung tâm tại Real, đến việc thất bại trước Lionel Messi trong cuộc đua Quả Bóng Vàng 2015. Thời điểm đó, hàng trăm nghìn bình luận chĩa mũi nhọn vào siêu sao Bồ Đào Nha cho rằng anh sắp hết thời.
Sau mọi biến cố, hiện tại CR7 vẫn tạo nên những kỳ tích mới và vững vàng với niềm đam mê bóng đá.
- Luôn tin tưởng vào bản thân
Ronaldo cho biết luôn bị ám ảnh phải ở vị trí số một. Nhưng đó không phải là ước vọng viển vông, bởi hơn ai hết Ronaldo chưa từng đánh mất niềm tin vào bản thân. Từ một chú bé nhà quê, CR7 vùi đầu tập luyện, vượt qua mọi giới hạn để chứng minh mình sinh ra để trở thành người giỏi nhất.
Một trong những điều tuyển thủ mang áo số bảy tự hào là niềm tin. Anh chia sẻ: “Trong những thời khắc khó khăn tưởng như suy sụp nhất, tôi không bao giờ cho phép bản thân gục ngã và đánh mất niềm tin. Tôi học cách tin mình và tin tưởng người khác”. Lắng nghe bản thân là yếu tố giúp CR7 tỏa sáng.
Cristiano Ronaldo thực sự là một biểu tượng của sự nỗ lực thời đại mới!

Nguồn: Sưu tầm

548天的時間過得真快，感覺比賽時四個月還在昨天…這一年半依然有很多沒來得及一起做的事，這些來不及回顧的珍貴回憶，都會是我這18個月日子裏一段永遠 「限定的記憶」。

九個人經歷了很多難忘的瞬間，有汗水和眼淚，有時候會無助，但我記得是肩並肩一起向前衝的時刻。永遠忘不了互相鼓勵和支持，也永遠忘不了大家一起笑著的面容，真心謝謝你們！

10/6是NINE PERCENT畢業日，我相信並不是結束，曾經身邊有兄弟陪伴，我感受到一種支持力量，做什麼都有你們為我加油。

現在，我們要以新的身份各自出發，繼續追逐夢想，無論在哪裡，我們永遠是最好的兄弟，真心的朋友！我們一起努力加油，期待以後相聚的時刻，我會想念你們。

謝謝所有一直照顧支持我們的前輩、老師和所有工作人員。沒有你們，也不會有今天的我，大家辛苦了！

謝謝一路支持我的農糖們，謝謝你們在身旁陪著我一起走，我會繼續用心學習努力，做更好的作品，不負大家的期望！
等待廣州，為你綻放

桃浦路1003號，永遠住著的 陳立農！

自己一個人的時候，總會想起一起打拼的美好回憶～～（歐爺）

【🌟追星消息都在星光雲APP👉https://goo.gl/DxAfcG】

#昨日青空　Nine Percent International　#尤長靖

📌 請開啟 CC 字幕觀看歌詞
🎧 線上收聽 + 實體專輯購買 : https://eric.lnk.to/WWWY
🔔 訂閱頻道 : https://sonymusic.pse.is/ericyoutube

拿起一塊塊積木，搭建一個夢想世界
閉上眼睛，和周興哲躲進大人的音樂城堡
找到心中被遺忘的，《小時候的我們》

亞洲創作天王 Eric 周興哲
NO.5 概念創作 Digital Album《小時候的我們》

周興哲首度擔綱專輯 A&R 製作人角色
A&R、詞、曲、編曲、製作，全方位音樂能量再進化
一年發表二十首全新創作歌曲、兩張專輯，驚人產量持續打造周興哲音樂神話
2020/01/07 《小時候的我們》
獻給每個不願長大的靈魂

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■遠赴洛杉磯拍攝 / 生動詮釋《小時候的我們》
■天王天團御用導演團隊 Hi-Organic 重金打造夢想與現實間的掙扎

《小時候的我們》是 Eric 在眾人對他下一首破億歌曲的期盼下，反而停止創作一段時間之後，靜心坐在鋼琴前，彈奏出的腦子裡的第一個旋律，直覺唱出了「小時候的我們」這段詞句，當下腦中浮現著好多第一次：第一次感動、第一次失敗、第一次克服困難、第一次寫下一首歌、第一次實現夢想，才發現只要閉上眼睛，那個小時候的我們，永遠都在心裡等著和你對話。整首歌不走以往周式情歌的高音，而是用朗朗上口的旋律與歌詞，寫下心中最直接的心情與感動。以獨特電子碎拍節奏加上一貫細膩的鋼琴彈奏，搭配許多充滿空間感的電氣音色，營造出一股樸質又現代的奇特衝突，看似簡單的編曲與旋律中，有著許多周興哲對音樂的巧思與創意。

聽著旋律回到小時候、11 歲的周興哲，當時跟著表弟一起到美國波士頓讀書，成為小小留學生，並受到到台美兩地的文化交織薰陶，找到了對音樂的熱情與夢想，雖然一路經歷了很多挫折，比如曾生了一場非常嚴重的病，讓他好幾天喉嚨無法發出聲音，當時絕望地想是否一輩子都沒辦法再唱歌了，也曾想著是否就要這樣放棄夢想，這個特別的經歷也讓 Eric 對於音樂之路更加執著，而這個執念也成了《小時候的我們》MV 劇情原點。

這次邀請到了天王天團御用導演團隊 Hi-Organic 一同飛往美國洛杉磯，從一個抱有音樂夢想留學生的故事，講述著實現夢想的一路上所遇到的付出、挫折、掙扎和努力，這些動人的過程，在終於實現音樂夢想的周興哲眼中，都像最初閃閃發光的感動一般，讓他在演出時情感特別投入。眼尖的觀眾可能會發現，MV 開頭周興哲帶上台的那份樂譜，正是想這位留學生想放棄夢想時丟進垃圾桶中的那份樂譜，這樣獨特的連結，更讓聽眾感受到周興哲對夢想的溫柔和執著，那份悸動心情，就像 MV 中經過了無數困難與掙扎後的留學生一樣，只有經歷過的人才能明白其中的苦澀和感動。

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亞洲創作天王周興哲
一年內接連發行《終於了解自由》&《小時候的我們》
展現驚人創作能量、展開一場真摯的音樂旅程

■難的不是長大，難的是找回那顆單純快樂的心
出道僅 5 年的時間，周興哲以 3 張專輯與 1 張數位 EP，拿下近百個數位音樂平台的冠軍； YouTube 頻道總點閱率超過 6 億，平均一年創下 1.2 億的驚人點擊數，並以《怎麼了》MV寫下2019年熱門冠軍 MV，同年《你，好不好》亞洲巡迴演唱會，在台北、高雄與新加坡達成連續4場秒殺紀錄！已被媒體譽為「亞洲創作天王」的周興哲，無疑以他的音樂魅力席捲了全亞洲。面對這麼巨大的成功和關注，年僅 25 歲的他，私底下卻仍是那個愛逗人笑、熱愛音樂、持續創作的大男孩。

「現在的我，就是我的小時候！」說到專輯概念，周興哲笑著這麼說：「每個人長大的過程很重要，因為這成就了現在的我們。《小時候的我們》這張專輯想回到每個人童年中最單純、最直率的時刻，有些感受會隨著年紀慢慢成長、慢慢變成熟，有時候會讓人忘了那第一次的感動，而這張專輯就是想帶聽眾找回那第一次的感動！就像第一次談戀愛、第一次失敗、第一次寫下一首歌，我想要讓音樂自己說話，回到那樣的感動。」

聊到小時候的自己，周興哲回憶起國中在美國唸書住校時，常在晚上九點熄燈時間過後，半夜一點跟朋友們偷偷約好到客廳煮泡麵來吃，還不小心被抓到；國中快畢業時，學校下起了暴雨，Eric 看到草地上的大凹洞灌滿雨水，竟然跟朋友帶著沐浴乳跑去凹洞裡洗澡，最後全校畢業生都跟著一起只穿內褲在洞裡跳水、翻跟斗；此外，當時學校常舉辦才藝表演，九年級的他與同學用雙鋼琴對彈演出周杰倫的歌曲，結果大受歡迎，下台後還被學姊親了一下臉頰；也想起很多在宿舍和朋友熄燈後一起吃東西、玩遊戲的快樂時光。這些在成長歲月中的青春、和朋友一起度過的點點滴滴，都成為「小時候的我們」專輯最真誠、最直接的靈感！

也因如此，本次不再從上百首 demo 中以商業角度挑選歌曲，而是回到最直率的心情進行創作。當時好一陣子沒有寫歌的 Eric，坐在鋼琴前面突然想起這份最單純的感動，於是自然寫出了主歌的旋律，哼唱出了《小時候的我們》的直覺概念。整張專輯有別於以往飆高音的周式情歌走勢，以更多中低音符的旋律組成，意外展現他另一種獨特的中音唱腔。《小時候的我們》專輯很多音樂創作都以直覺作為起頭，另一波主打歌曲《受夠》，也是周興哲在看完電影《後來的我們》後大受感動，在深夜直接坐到鋼琴前，用當時的感受彈下了開頭的旋律，寫下了這一首充滿情感、掙扎、傷痕跟愛的這首深情歌曲。

除了在音樂創作上採用有別於以往的作法外，《小時候的我們》專輯也是周興哲第一次親自擔綱 A&R 製作的角色，定位整張專輯的概念與形象，從詞、曲、編曲、製作全面參與，其中也有很多符合專輯精神的「第一次」，除了首次挑戰 A&R 的角色外，還第一次挑戰了嘻哈的唱法、第一次嘗試創作全中文歌詞…等，這些在音樂上持續的嘗試與突破，都充分展現了Eric在音樂上不設限的野心。

而繼 2019 年 12 月 24 日發行升級版的《終於了解自由 Deluxe Edition》數位專輯，這次更打破華語樂壇新紀錄，在僅僅十幾天的時間內，再度於 2020 年 1 月 7 日發行全新創作專輯《小時候的我們》，達成一年內發表了二十首全新的音樂作品！其中還包含全平台冠軍曲《怎麼了》，加上他持續有許多寫給其他歌手的重量級作品不斷被發表，例如 A-Lin、王博文(小白)、NINE PERCENT / 林彥俊、伍嘉成(小伍)、張陽陽…等歌手，近期也與受鄧紫棋邀請一同合唱新歌《別勉強》，如此超高產量的詞曲創作與超高質量的音樂製作，在現今的華語樂壇並不是一件容易的事，讓人不禁讚嘆周興哲在音樂上的高度的才華與天份，而更難得的是，在他的堅強實力與不斷努力下，周興哲永遠抱著一顆最純粹、最真誠，最熱愛音樂的心，讓他回到第一次寫歌的感動，不斷帶給聽眾不一樣的創作。在持續進化的同時，也不忘回頭看待初心，才終於寫下了這張充滿感動的專輯《小時候的我們》。

・Song Lyrics・
詞：Eric周興哲／吳易緯
曲：Eric周興哲

在你遺忘的 小時候 我在等著
調色盤裝滿了 宇宙的顏色 單純狂熱
哭是直覺的 笑是發自真心的
喜歡就擁抱著 沒有複雜的 嫉妒猜測

這些年 遍體鱗傷 你 不想認輸了
委屈求全 妥協 不得不做的選擇
最後得到什麼

從哪一天開始 不後悔 跟愛的人爭執
勢不兩立地對峙 這樣子
承諾還有誰堅持

「願望 停止 開始」

你追隨的 渴望的 握在手裡了
怎麼會 失去了 小時候的快樂 為什麼
你付出的 失去的 都成為你了
要永遠 相信著 小時候的我們 勇敢著

在你遺忘的 小時候 我在等著
調色盤裝滿了 宇宙的顏色 單純狂熱
哭是直覺的 笑是發自真心的
喜歡就擁抱著 沒有複雜的 嫉妒猜測

這些年 沒有黯淡 你 眼神的光澤
還有嚮往 就為自己任性地選擇
成為獨一無二的

還來得及開始 去追回 愛的人的消逝
哪怕變成最固執 這樣子
承諾值得更堅持

「願望 重新 開始」
你追隨的 渴望的 握在手裡了

怎麼會 失去了 小時候的快樂 為什麼
你付出的 失去的 都成為你了
要永遠 相信著 小時候的我們 勇敢著

------------------------------------------------------

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Allen Iverson's eighth career 40-point game had a nice little unexpected bonus -- a victory for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Iverson scored 41 points, upstaging Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, as the 76ers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, 105-90, for their fourth win in five games.

In two-plus seasons, Iverson had seven previous games with 40 or more points and the 76ers lost them all. On February 12, the NBA scoring leader had a league season-high 46 points in a 98-94 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

"When I score 40 points, we've lost," Iverson said. "Tonight, we won, and I guess I finally got the monkey off my back. I didn't know what I had until I came out of the game at the end and looked up at the scoreboard. I saw what I had and said, `I hope it doesn't come back to haunt me.'"

Working primarily against Philadelphia native Bryant, Iverson shot 17-of-36 from the field. He scored between nine and 12 points in every period and added a season-high 10 assists and five rebounds.

"I wanted to get off to a good start," Iverson said. "Some earlier shots were going off the rim, then all of a sudden, my shots began to drop. My teammates began to get the ball to me, they did a good job as always of getting me the ball in the right spot, and I was able to make the big shots at the end."

"The little kid was phenomenal," Sixers coach Larry Brown said. "I had to take him out at the beginning just to calm him down because he was really wired. Yeah, he took a lot of shots, but for the most part, his selection was good."

With 55 seconds left, he exited to a thunderous ovation and a chant of "Beat LA" from the First Union Center crowd that recalled the rivalry between these teams from a generation ago.

O'Neal and Bryant scored 23 points each for the Lakers, who fell to 1-3 on their six-game road trip. Los Angeles has lost its last three meetings with Philadelphia, with Iverson averaging 34.3 points. The 76ers had not beaten the Lakers three straight times since the 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons, when the teams met in consecutive NBA Finals.

"This team has come a long way," Brown said. "I hope we can keep a level head, where they can expect to play well against the good teams, as well as playing well against teams with records worse than theirs."

Lakers forward Dennis Rodman missed his fourth straight game due to an excused absence for personal reasons. With the mercurial Rodman in the lineup, Los Angeles is 9-0. Without him, it is just 8-9.

"We'll welcome him with open arms when he comes back," Lakers coach Kurt Rambis said. "But I have no idea when he's coming back."

"He's obviously a factor," O'Neal said. "He has personal problems, whatever that means, nobody really knows. I don't think about it. I know the organization will do what they have to do."

O'Neal was saddled by foul trouble, eventually fouling out with just four rebounds midway through the final period. He also missed 5-of-12 free throws and committed five turnovers.

Iverson thoroughly outplayed O'Neal and Bryant in the third quarter, when the Sixers took control. After a 3-pointer by Glen Rice -- his first basket of the game -- gave the Lakers a 56-54 lead, Iverson made a jumper and 3-pointer and set up two baskets during a 12-2 burst that gave Philadelphia a 66-58 lead with 5:50 remaining.

Iverson buried a 22-footer to trigger a 6-0 spurt. Tyrone Hill and Aaron Mckie made free throws before Iverson fed Theo Ratliff for a dunk and a 74-62 bulge with 2:02 left in the period.

"For the most part, we did what we wanted to do," Lakers coach Kurt Rambis said. "We forced him (Iverson) to take a lot of outside shots. Unfortunately for us, he made a lot of them."

"Coach Brown noticed that we didn't defend the pick-and-roll very well, so he let Allen run the pick-and-roll and they did a very good job of setting screens and getting him open," Bryant said.

O'Neal and Bryant combined for no baskets in the third quarter as the Lakers shot just 17 percent (3-of-18). Iverson scored 11 in the period, which ended with Philadelphia holding a 76-67 lead.

Iverson had a jumper and 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter before a 3-pointer by Rice and a dunk by Robert Horry pulled Los Angeles within 83-77 with 9:44 to go. Iverson made a pair of free throws and a technical foul shot on O'Neal. Matt Geiger hit a jumper and two free throws off O'Neal's fifth foul as the Sixers rebuilt the lead to 90-77 with 6:33 left.

For those who were there at McDonough Gymnasium on August 4, 1994, few will forget the arrival of a 6-0 freshman guard who needed no introduction. The rumors of Allen Iverson's arrival to the Kenner Summer League were true, and by game's end, Iverson had scored 40 points. By the Sunday afternoon final, before an overflow crowd inside the gym and a crowd of those outside who could not get in, Iverson finished a combined 99 point effort in three days against some of the best collegiate talent in the city. This, of course, from a player that had not played organized basketball in over a year.

The Allen Iverson years had begun.

A brief profile can't do justice to tell the story of one of the greatest pure athletes ever to attend Georgetown, a man without peer in his talent over two years at the collegiate level. Just a year before his Kenner debut, few would have imagined Allen Iverson ever playing college basketball.

Iverson was not only a 31 point a game guard for Bethel HS, but a football player of tremendous skill. As a quarterback and defensive back his sophomore season, he produced nearly 1,600 yards offense and 13 INT's. By his junior year, he accounted for 2,204 yards, 21 touchdowns by rush or interception, and 14 touchdown passes. In a region which has produced NFL quarterbacks such as Michael Vick and Aaron Brooks, there are those who will still say "Bubbachuck" Iverson was better than both of them. Schools such as Arkansas, Kentucky, Duke, and three dozen other top programs across two sports were vying for perhaps the greatest two-sport star the Tidewater had ever produced.

When he led Bethel to the state title, someone asked what it was like to win the title. "I'm going to get one in basketball now," which he did. In late February, 1993, en route to the state title he had promised, Iverson was one of a large group of Bethel teammates at a Hampton bowling alley when a fight broke out between students from rival schools trading racial insults. Three people were hurt in the aftermath. Despite conflicting testimony from eyewitnesses and no clear evidence linking him to the crime, Iverson was one of four black students arrested.

Racial tensions were heightened when the prosecutors passed on a misdemeanor assault charge and charged Iverson with three counts of felony "maiming by mob", which carried a 20 year prison sentence. Despite video evidence which did not place Iverson in the crowd at the time of the fight, he was convicted in a racially charged case.

The 20 year sentence was later reduced to five, and Iverson was granted clemency by Gov. Douglas Wilder three months later, sending Iverson to a detention program at an alternative high school. (The original charges were thrown out by the Virginia court of appeals in 1995.)

In the spring of 1994, with Iverson still in detention, his mother approached John Thompson with a plea to help her son get to college and start a new chapter of his life. Though Thompson had passed on a number of troubled players in the past, he offered Iverson a scholarship in April of that season, contingent upon his completion of high school and his legal release, which was granted 48 hours before his Kenner debut.

By his debut in a Georgetown uniform in November 1994, Iverson had been the subject of intense national media attention. In the Hoyas' annual exhibition with Fort Hood, Iverson scored 36 points, five assists, and three steals in 23 minutes. Local columnists were in awe.

"Hang his number up in the rafters," wrote Tom Knott of the Washington Times. "He's better than most of the point guards in the NBA right now."

"I saw Lew Alcindor, Austin Carr, Moses Malone, Alonzo Mourning, Albert King, Ralph Sampson and Patrick Ewing play in high school," said the Post's Thomas Boswell. "Now, I have two memories on my first impression top shelf. The man who became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Allen Iverson."

Iverson opened the 1994-95 season in Memphis, TN in a 97-79 loss to defending NCAA champion Arkansas, scoring 19 points. Six days later, he scored 31 in a nationally televised game with DePaul, followed by 30 four days later against Providence, leading the team in scoring 22 times that season. His only game under double figures for the season (and his career) was a game where he played only ten minutes in a loss at Villanova, a game Georgetown coach John Thompson threatened to forfeit when a group of Villanova students paraded through the Spectrum in black and white-striped prison garb, with a sign comparing Iverson to O.J. Simpson.

"You accept certain ribbing, but there is a line," Thompson said after the game. "I can condone any Christian university sitting and watching that happen...If that happens [again], I going to walk. It that simple." Such fan behavior was not seen thereafter.

Later in the season, with President Bill Clinton in attendance, Iverson scored 26 as the Hoyas routed Villanova, 77-52. He followed it up with 21 to beat Syracuse, 28 versus St. John's, 31 in a Big East tournament opener with Miami (a game that saw Iverson outscore the entire Hurricane team at the end of the first half), and 27 versus Connecticut in the semis. In the NCAA regional, he scored 24 in the loss, but held Jeff McInnis to 1 for 8 shooting. By season's end, Allen Iverson had been named Big East Player of the Week nine times, Rookie of the Year, a second team all-conference selection, and honorable mention All-America recipient. Having led the Hoyas in points and steals en route to the school's first NCAA regional appearance since 1989, Iverson was already a star. By 1996, he would become nothing less than a sensation.

The leaser of a talented team that featured four future NBA stars, Allen Iverson dominated the 1995-96 season as no Hoya has done before or since. Adept at the crossover dribble that became his NBA trademark, lightning quick to the basket, and able to score on opponents at will, Iverson was largely unstoppable. Even more impressive was an effort to improve his shooting touch, for despite averaging 20.4 points as a freshman in 1994-95 (2nd all time for a Georgetown rookie), Iverson only shot 39 percent from the field, 23 percent from three, and 19 percent from three in Big East play. For his sophomore season, his field shooting increased to 48 percent, his three point mark to 36 percent. The results were striking.

In the pre-season NIT versus Temple, Iverson shot 50 percent for 24 points and a career high 10 rebounds. After a 23 point effort against Georgia Tech, he scored a career high 40 against Arizona, one of two 40+ point games that season. In Big East play, Iverson could ring up points with ease, such as the game where he scored 21 points in only 20 minutes against Rutgers.

In the final three months of the season, Iverson led the team in 21 of the team's 25 games: 40 against Seton Hall, 39 against St. John's, 34 against Providence. He scored 30 in a wild win over Memphis, and followed it up two nights later with 26 in an upset of #3 Connecticut. For the game, Iverson totalled 26 points, 8 steals, and 6 assists, including a soaring dunk past Ray Allen and the Huskies. It was the highest ranked team any Georgetown team had defeated since 1988. His best performance of the season might have been a 37 point, 8 rebound, and three steal effort against #6 ranked Villanova, playing only 27 minutes. The 106-68 win represents the sixth largest margin of victory and the largest margin ever by a Georgetown team against a top 10 opponent.

Iverson was capable of an off game; unfortunately, two came at particularly inopportune times for the Hoyas' hopes for a national title. Entering the 1996 Big East Final with a #1 seed on the line, Iverson shot 4 for 15 and the Hoyas lost by one, 76-75. As a result of the loss, Georgetown was seeded #2 behind top ranked UMass, and in the regional final between the two teams Iverson struggled with a 6 for 21 effort in the loss. For the season, though, his statistics were astonishing: his 926 points broke the then-record by 124 points. He set new single season marks in field goals, field goal attempts, three pointers, three point attempts, steals, minutes, and scoring average (25.0), the latter of which ranked 7th in the nation that season. The Big East's defensive player of the year, he was named a consensus All-American amidst numerous other awards.

If he could somehow have stayed four years, Iverson undoubtedly would have shredded the Georgetown record books. But whatever hopes existed for Iverson to resist the lure of the NBA were short lived, particularly with the news that one of his sisters had fallen ill. Seeing the opportunity to take care of his family's medical needs, Iverson announced for the NBA draft soon after the end of his sophomore season, becoming the first Georgetown player in the Thompson era to do so. The compact that had bound so many great Hoya players to a four year commitment--from Ewing to Williams, Mourning to Mutombo--had now been broken.

The first pick in the 1996 NBA draft, Iverson signed a $3.9 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers and a ten year, $50 million deal with Reebok. His effort on the court is well known and respected, but for all the media portrayals of Iverson as the anti-hero, an icon of a "Hip Hop Nation" that ran counter to the NBA's carefully constructed marketing image, or as a symbol of all that is allegedly wrong in professional basketball, he remains remarkably well-grounded.

Married for six years and the father of two, Iverson is fiercely loyal to his teammates and to his childhood friends. He considered it an honor to play for the U.S. Olympic team in 2004 when other NBA stars passed on the offer, and maintains a number of charity events to benefit his local community. In comparison to his NBA career, his years at Georgetown were largely free of the intense media and personal scrutiny, providing at least two years where he could grow as a person as well as a basketball player.

His arrival and exit at Georgetown is still a source of debate in some circles, but his performance on the court is not. Allen Iverson found a home, even briefly, at the Hilltop, and remains one of its brightest stars. "In my heart, I know I'm a basketball player," Iverson said following his 2006 NBA trade, "being that I know I can play with the best of them."

From that first Kenner League game on 1994, no one has doubted it since.