It’s not that Leonard and Cheryl Allen didn’t think much of their son’s chances in the world of basketball. Leonard, after all, had been solid big man for San Diego State, was even drafted by the Mavs. It’s just that they wanted more for him than hoops. He didn’t play AAU ball like most pros, wasn’t obsessed with his prospects until late in his high school career. He was just a kid, rather than a prospect.
Instead, as Kelly Whiteside writes in Monday’s New York Times, Allen played in church leagues and the community rec center. He got into computers, built one (which he still uses.