who is going to keep Larry Brown from talking if he wants to talk?”

Certainly not James. “Coach has already given me another two or three inches on my jump shot,” the big guy says with an unmistakable trace of awe in his voice. “I have a naturally soft touch so, throughout my career, I never worried about which was my plant foot when I was shooting. I just paid no attention to it, period. Well, the other day Coach watches me shoot, stops me like four times in a row, and says ‘No! Big guy, I’m going to be on you hard all year because you are very talented and because you are a key to this team. You’re shooting it all wrong -- do it THIS way, plant with your drive foot and don’t walk with the ball, run with the ball. I promise you, you’ll increase both your range and accuracy.”

“I mean, I’m 7-1 and the coach is telling me to DRIBBLE,” James raises his basso profundo in open amazement. ”I never had that. This has never, ever happened to me before. It’s going to be my sixth year in the NBA and everything I’ve known about basketball is being re-formed and re-shaped. Excited? I’m telling you, I’m in hoop heaven.”

“I’m a sponge,” smiles James. “Just call me a big, bulky, 7-1 sponge. The sky’s the limit for me with Larry Brown.”