When LF jr blocked his shot - Berkeley High vs Oakland Tech.
About a week later we ended up sitting behind him at the movies. When I pointed him out to Mrs LF she jokingly starts giving him a bad time for keeping Berkeley out of the Nor Cals. He's all 'yes ma'am and no ma'am'. Seemed like a really nice kid, which is in keeping with everything I've read about him.
It's a shame his injuries kept him from reaching his full potential.
I actually have another favorite. Oakland Tech vs DeLaSalle at St Marys. Leon on a breakaway dunks despite some DSL player virtually trying to tackle him. Looks around and smiles as if to say, "Oh was someone there?"
I flew up to Cal and took my 5 year old son to indoctrinate him in to all things Blue and Gold, against 'Zona. Before the Game, we were walking around the new Haas Pavilion and I was trying to describe what Harmon Gym was like back in the day.
All of a sudden, a door busts open and Leon comes flying out. (The team was already on the floor taking warm-up shots....) Anyway, this huge man-child runs over my kid and almost knocks him onto Bancroft.
Leon stops, picks up my boy and says, 'Sorry, Man, enjoy the game' and disappears down the hall. Wish I had a camera with me.
Here is Leon at the HOF Induction thanking Ben Braun and telling a funny story about a timeout he took because he wasn't getting the ball often enough.
Not even close. Powe shoving it right down Kobe and the Lakers' throats.
I could not agree more. That game included a pre-planned half-time tribute to him and all that he had to overcome. It was almost supernatural how it came together for him in that one Championship Series game.
Not even close. Powe shoving it right down Kobe and the Lakers' throats.
That game created some major internal conflicts for me. On the one hand, I've been a Lakers fan since I began watching NBA basketball (with my dad) at age 5. On the other hand, I am Cal alumnus who proudly follows Cal alumni in the NBA and wants them to shine. As a result, I was simultaneously crushed and happy.
This is also why I am upset that Jaylen Brown wound up on the Celtics (along with Jabari Bird*). I'm a huge fan of Jaylen (not just because of his oncourt play) and want to see him excel and succeed. But why did he have to be draftes by the damned Celtics?
*I hope he gets some help and gets another shot in the NBA after his legal problems are resolved.
My all-time favorite Powe performance was in the semi-finals of the 2006 Pac-10 Tournament in Los Angeles, where Leon scored a then Pac-10 tournament record 41 points to lead Cal to a 91-87 double-OT victory over Oregon, and send Cal to the championship game against UCLA. Powe shot 14-17 from the field in that game (and 13-18 from the FT line). Cal had initially fallen behind 32-16 to start the game, and trailed by 7 points with 2:45 to play, but came back to force Overtime. Leon also hit the bucket to tie the game for Cal at the end of the first OT and send the game to double OT.
It was a great performance, and was the record for points scored in a Pac-10 tournament game until Klay Thompson scored 43 points in a game for WSU in the 2011 tournament.
If I am recalling correctly, it is that game my good friend BarringtonBear stormed out of Staples and into the rain when we got down early. Couldn't get back in. So he became even more furious.
I believe he ultimately returned to Staples via a scalped ticket.
