Union Soldier
Page 2 "Worst high-jumper I’ve ever seen," Webb says. "No flexibility; the worst. We still laugh about it today." Coach Webb first met DeShawn Stevenson when the quiet, immature kid sat in the second row of the seventh-grade English and World Literature class Webb taught in Fresno, CA. After DeShawn’s unsuccessful attempt to become the next Carl Lewis, Webb went on to coach D-Steve in hoops through the baller’s junior year of high school before accepting a position as an assistant at the University of Wyoming. "I knew he wasn’t going to be a track star, but I could tell he was something special with a basketball in his hands," Webb says. "His mentality, his on-court demeanor – even at that age. I remember thinking at that time that he had a chance to be the best ever." The best ever? Probably not. But when you average 30.4 points, 9.7 boards and 6.2 dimes during your senior campaign on the way to making every All-American team, you can afford to pop off a little. Don’t forget, D-Steve was the eighth-grader who took a pass off the glass and threw down on the top of three dudes’ heads before looking at his coach and smilin’, cause he knew he was legit. He dropped 39 on a Virginia team last summer while runnin’ for AAU’s EBO. DeShawn will leave Washington Union High with 2,456 career points and 722 career assists. Somehow, the memories of a failed track career appear more and more humorous when you run game like that. ***
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