CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER TWO Sometime between the ages of twelve and sixteen, boys go through a growth spurt. Their shoulders broaden, their feet get bigger, their arms and legs lengthen, and they add weight and muscle to their frames. By the time they reach their late teens, they start looking less like boys and more like men.
A person’s height—like hair color, eye color, and body shape—depends a lot on genetics. A boy whose family tree has many tall people is usually above average in height. Typically, a boy won’t grow that much taller than the others in his family.
Of course, there are always exceptions.
Between eighth grade and freshman year of high school, Dwight had grown from five feet ten to just over six feet tall—and he wasn’t done growing. During his freshman year, he stretched to a towering six feet, nine inches tall, a full five inches taller than his father!
Some boys would find it difficult to adjust, physically and mentally, to such a sudden and dramatic change in their bodies. Dwight seemed to take it in stride. He stayed active, which helped him remain in control of how his body moved. His friends and his family, his devotion to his religion, and his determination to give whatever he did his best effort helped him wade through the murkiest waters of adolescence.
Dwight hadn’t hit the peak of his growth spurt at the start of his freshman season. So his coach, Courtney Brooks, made him a point guard for the Southwest Atlanta Christian Warriors.
That position suited Dwight just fine. He had long admired a famous NBA guard, Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers. “I used to watch Magic all the time,” Dwight once said, referring to a series of instructional videos Johnson made called Magic Fundamentals. “I did what he did on the tapes, all his dribbling moves…. I always wanted to be like Magic.”
Thanks in large part to Dwight’s skills, the SACA Warriors had a winning season that year. Unfortunately, his summer team wouldn’t benefit from those same skills. In June, Dwight broke his leg and was forced to sit out summer ball, as well as two basketball camps he’d planned on attending.
Such a long layoff can leave a player rusty. Luckily, when Dwight returned to the court for his sophomore year, it was as if he’d never been sidelined. He now stood at six feet, nine inches tall. His height was such a great advantage that Coach Brooks moved Dwight to the forward position.
Dwight wasn’t upset with the move. “I knew I wouldn’t play point guard anymore,” he said, “because I was bigger than everyone else.”
Still, Dwight continued to hone his ball-handling and play-making skills while working even harder to strengthen his rebounding and blocking abilities. He practiced his shooting, too. He was naturally left-handed, but after breaking his left wrist in eighth grade, he taught himself to shoot righty. Now, he could easily alternate with his right and left hands. He also practiced dodging around defenders to make a shot. If real players weren’t available, Dwight just pictured an opponent standing between himself and the basket.
In short, Dwight was building himself into every coach’s dream—a versatile player who could “read” the court and make things happen. He took inspiration from the game’s best players, a list that included Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, and his personal favorite, Kevin Garnett.
Garnett’s aggressive style of play attracted the sophomore. So did the path he had taken to the NBA. Garnett had chosen to skip college and jump right into the league out of high school.
Dwight began to wonder if he could follow that same path. His sophomore year stats of 16.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 6 blocks per game were certainly on par with other top high school players in the nation. But unlike those players, there was no guarantee that Dwight would ever be noticed by any basketball scout, college or professional. That’s because most scouts simply hadn’t heard of SACA and therefore, had no reason to visit it.
No reason, that is, until the following year. That’s when Dwight Howard burst onto the scene and took their breath away.