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Full name:
Allen Ezail Iverson Born: 06/07/75 in Hampton, VA Height: 6-0 Weight: 165 Ibs High School: Bethel High College: Georgetown'96 Jersey #: 3 NBA Team: Philadelphia 76'ers |
| Background Allen grew up in the projects as the son of a 15-year old single mother. Their house in Hampton, Virginia lay on top of the city's sewers. Whenever they burst, the floor would be coated with sewage. Iverson's biological father who stayed in Connecticut (where the family lived before Allen was born), never played any role in his life, and earlier this year, pledged guilty to stabbing a former girlfriend. Mom Ann had a hard time making ends meet, and the house was often without water or electricity because of unpaid bills. "She did whatever she had to do," Allen explains, while refusing to elaborate on that cryptic statement. Growing up, Iverson was often responsible for taking care of his younger sisters Brandy (born 1979) and Iiesha (1991), which was especially difficult with the toddler, who suffered frequent seizures. Mounting medical bills pushed the family further in debt. Ann's boyfriend, Allen's de facto father, Michael Freeman has been in and out of jail all of his life. After a car accident got him unemployed once again in 1991, desperate for money Freeman was caught and convicted for drug possesion with intent to distribute. Iverson used to blame the man who taught him how to play basketball and pushed him to excel at it. Today he's proud of Freeman. "He never robbed nobody," said Allen. "He was just tryin' to feed his family. It would kill him to come from jail and find out how his family was living. One time he came home and just sat down and cried." Today he's serving time in the same Virginia jail where Allen was sent in 1993.
Iverson's mom early saw Allen's basketball skills as a ticket to get out of the projects and live a normal life. She encouraged Allen to keep playing the game he loved so much.. Every time his mother saw him to lose heart she told him "go till the end every time u see the chance". Despite his rather short and slim body, Allen was never afraid of challenging bigger guys on the court. At first, when Iverson started playing ball he was about 9-10 years old. He never wanted to play ball-he thought it was too soft. One day, his mum waited for Allen to come home from school - she had bought a pair of Jordan sneakers. "You're going to basketball practice today", she said. Iverson cried and didn't want to go, but his mom made him go. Finally at the court, Allen met some of his football-teammates and enjoyed the new game. Iverson recalls from his childhood:"Coming home, no lights, no food, sometimes no water. Then when there was water, no hot water. Living in a house where the sewer was busted under the house and having to watch my sister walk around in her socks all day because the floor was wet from the sewage. The smell was making my sister sick." Many NBA players grew up in broken homes and tough neighbourhoods and were driven to play basketball with one hope: escape the ghetto. Few had it as bad as him, though. Being young Iverson had two role models. His mom and Tony Clark. Info taken from XXL basketball© and SLAM© |
