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Childhood Ann Iverson was born in 1960. 15 years later Allen Ezail Iverson was born in Hampton Virginia, June 7, 1975. He was raised by his mom Ann Iverson and Allen didn't hear from his real father, Allen Broughton until 1997 when he was sentenced to 9 years in jail for stabbing his girlfriend. Growing up for a.i wasn't easy. The Iversons' were very poor and it was more often then not that their house didn't have heat, water or lights. Sewage pipes under their apartment often exploded and they had to live with the stench of sewage. When he was little, both of a.i's uncles wanted him named after them, so his mom decided to call him Bubba Chuck. When he started coming out with all the "answers" on the court, he gained the nickname, The Answer. Michael Freeman is the only father type man he has known. Michael worked in Newport harbor until 1988 when he had an accident. He could no longer work and tried drugs as a solution. He was convicted and sentenced to 22 months in prison and another 23 months for violation of his paroles. When a.i went to visit Freeman at Newport News Correctional Facilities [the same prison he was incarcerated at] the shoes on Mike's feet were so damaged that Allen took the shoes off his feet and gave them to Freeman. Iverson went home that day barefoot. After Freeman's accident, Ann also began working at the harbor, but it still wasn't enough. In 1991 Ieisha was born and from the very beginning she had serious health problems. Ann had to work overtime by selling her body to pay for the doctor bills. During his teenage life, Allen often stayed with friends or coaches. Several times, he even stayed at a community shelter. Growing up, Allen didn't like basketball. He thought it was a soft sport and was more concentrated on football. To this day, Allen still calls football his #1 sport. Even though Allen didn't want to play ball, one day when he came home from school [he was 9 years old] his mom had signed him up for little league bball practice. At first he didn't want to go, but when he saw some of his football friends there, he decided to stay. So, from the age of 9, Allen Iverson has been ballin'. High School At Bethel High School in Hampton, a.i received awards for both football and basketball. He was named Virginia AAA his jr. year. Allen led Bethel High to a state title for football and basketball. In his senior year, a.i was incarcerated and missed out the rest of his senior year; including senior prom. His Arrest It's February 14; Valentine's day. Allen Iverson walks into a bowling alley with some of his friends to celebrate the football championship. Then, a racial dispute starts a brawl in one of the corners of the alley. It was over before you know it. Out of the 5o people there that night, only four [blacks] were arrested. Allen being one of them. Although Iverson claims he ran away when the fights began, he was still sent to trial. At the trial, 2 white people testified that he broke a chair on a white girl's head. Allen couldn't believe anyone would say that about him. "If you're gonna say I broke a damn chair one someone's head, at least say I did it to some guy. Don't say I broke the damn chair on a girl's head!" Even though a camera that recorded the incident didn't record Iverson, he was still sentenced to 5 years in jail. [He only did 4 months] The Governor of Virginia at that time was a black man. The first black in Virginia to serve in office. He agreed to let a.i out only if he would not play basketball until he got a high school diploma and Allen agreed. While in jail, Allen missed a scholarship to play ball for Kentucky University. He got up every morning at 5:30 to shoot hoops and try to make his dream come true. He also studied hard everyday to get his diploma. After he got out of jail, Allen went to a learning center in Hampton where he met Sue Lambiot. Allen went to her house 5 days a week, for 6 hours so he could get his diploma. It was worse then jail. When Allen was getting his diploma, Ann went to visit Coach Thompson of Georgetown University and asked if he would like to take Allen under his wing. She wanted him to be not only a coach, but also a father to a.i. That's what Allen needed the most, and that's what Coach Thompson gave him. A couple weeks after Allen got out of jail, Thompson came to visit Allen at the center. He loved a.i's talent [like all of you reading this] and granted him a full scholarship to Georgetown University. Many people wondered why Thompson would bother giving this little trouble make a full ride, but that's not what Thompson saw. He saw a young man who made mistakes in his life, but had unbelievable talent and potential. Allen wasn't sure about leaving his family behind and the day he left for Georgetown, he cried as he waved goodbye. College Allen Iverson loved Georgetown. There he majored in art and received many basketball awards. Although art might be a surprise, it shouldn't be. Allen is a gifted artist and very good at it. In one apartment he drew a big moral of MJ on the door, and wanted to take it when they moved, but the landlord wouldn't let him. At Georgetown Allen was named Defensive Player of the year, All American Status, and he was the Hoya's all time scorer [averaging 26.6 ppg] When he went back home and visited, their living situation had gotten worse and worse. That was when a.i knew he had to go pro. At this time, a.i also had a daughter, Tiaura and he needed to feed her, his long time girlfriend, himself and his family. Turning Pro After two great years with the Georgetown Hoyas and Coach Thompson, A.I turned pro. Philly was the only NBA city a.i had ever visited and he loved the place. In June 1996 Allen Ezail Iverson was selected by the Philadelphia 76'ers as their #1 pick. A couple days after the draft, Iverson signed a deal worth 3.9 million dollars. He also signed a 1o year 5o million dollar deal with Reebok and a lifetime deal with Sega. That summer, Allen played in Japan with other college superstars and received a silver medal. That summer he also played with NBA stars such as Alonzo Mourning. During his first season as a Sixer, a.i had a terrific season. He was November Rookie of the Month, All Star Rookie Game MVP, April 13 Rookie of the Week, April Rookie of the Month, MVP of Philadelphia 76'ers, Rookie of the year, and All Rookie 1st team. In the midst of superstars, a.i shone bright in his rookie season. An the shining didn't stop there. Getting Arrested... again? The summer his rookie season ended, Iverson got arrested once again. He was letting his friend drive his Mercedes with him in the passenger seat and a friend in the back seat. His friend was driving his Bentley at 9o mph in a 65 zone. Allen was charged with possession of gun and Marijuana. He went to jail that night in Richmond, Virginia and had to call his sister Brandy to come bail him out. Allen received 3 years probation and 1oo hours of community service. Second Season as pro Going into his second season, Iverson was suspended from the first game. Although Iverson had another spectacular season, his team did poorly and dragged him down, which did not enable him to be picked for the All-Star game. During this time, Allen had another child by his girlfriend Tawanna Turner. The had a baby boy and named him Allen Iverson Jr. aka Deuce. |
Facts Name : Allen Ezail
Iverson Success 2oo3 [May 7] ~ Named to All-NBA Second Team 2oo3 [April 17] ~ Named to Senior National Team 2oo2 [Dec 12-19] ~ Named as Eastern Conference Player of the Week 2oo2 [May 1] ~ Named to All-NBA team 2oo1 [Jan 22-34] ~ Player of the week for 2 weeks 2oo1 ~ Player of the week 2oo1 ~ Eastern Conference Champion 2oo1 ~ Scoring Title 2oo1 ~ Allstar MVP 2001 [Jan] ~ NBA player of the month 2oo1 [Feb 13-19] ~ NBA player of the week 2oo1 [Jan 1-8] ~ NBA player of the week
2ooo ~ All NBA second team 2ooo ~ NBA Allstar 2ooo ~ 6th in MVP voting 2ooo ~ 2nd in Scoring
1999 ~ Playoffs Scoring Leader 1999 ~ All NBA first team 1999 ~ Best Guard in NBA 1999 ~ 4th in MVP voting 1999 ~ NBA Scoring Leader 1999 [Feb] ~ NBA player of the month
1997-98 ~ finished 29th in the All-NBA balloting 1997-98 ~ Philadelphia 76ers MVP 1998 [Jan 18-24] ~ NBA player of the week
1996-97 ~ All-Rookie 1st team 1996-97 ~ Rookie of the Year 1996-97 ~ Philadelphia 76ers MVP 1997 [Apr] ~ Rookie of the Month 1997 [Apr 13-19] ~ NBA player of the week 1997 ~ All Star Rookie game MVP 1996 [Nov] ~ Rookie of the month
1996 ~ 1st overall pick in the 96 NBA draft 1995-96 ~ Ass. Press First-Team All American 1995-96 ~ Big East Tournament 1st team 1995-96 ~ Big East Defensive Player of the year
1994-95 ~ Big East Defensive Player of the year 1994-95 ~ Big East Rookie of the year
1993 ~ Virginia State Player of the year in basketball [state champions] 1993 ~ Virginia State Player of the year in football [state champions] |
