The Making of a Legend

I just read an article in the Houston Chronicle called, "The Making of a Legend". It is part of a week long series of articles about Hakeem Olajuwan that has run in the paper in honor of the basketball star's induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame tonight. I have know some of the story of the career of Olajuwan at the University of Houston and the Houston Rockets, but this account by sportswriter Fran Blinebury is a tribute as well as an account of an hightly unlikely story.

Hakeem grew up in Lagos, Nigeria. He was a soccer and team handball player. At age seventeen a basketball caoch took notice of the seven foot tall youngster and persuaded him to give basketball a try. He had only played for three months when he was encouraged to got to the United States to play basketball in college. His arrival in Houston and his mentoring by UH Coach Guy Lewis is now mythical in proportions. If you want to get a good look at the story, read the article on the front page of the sports section of today's Houston Chronicle. You can find it at chron.com.

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