DRIVING
A LESSON HOME
Former NBA star Dawkins tells
pupils to stay in school
Sunday, December 04, 2005 • BY MIKE FRASSINELLI •
Star-Ledger Staff
When the teacher is nearly 7 feet tall
and 300 pounds and has so much power that he shattered
basketball backboards with dunks, students will pay
attention.
Elementary school pupils at the Green
Street School in Phillipsburg got a lesson Friday from
professor Darryl Dawkins on the importance of going to
school.
The former New Jersey Nets and
Philadelphia 76ers center recalled a fateful childhood
incident in Florida in which he and friends played hooky,
only to watch a buddy drown in a lake. Dawkins said he never
missed a day in seven years after that.
The talk by Dawkins with students in
grades 3 to 5 also touched on the importance of following
dreams. It was coordinated by teacher Sandra Morrisette and
school alumnus Bill Staples, who now teaches in nearby
Bethlehem, Pa., organizes a scholarship program and tells
pupils it is more productive to "feel sorry for" than fight
bullies.
As a youngster, Staples had incentive to
get good grades. He met Dawkins at a 76ers gamen and the big
center nicknamed "Chocolate Thunder" promised him a present
if returned with a good report card. Staples brought his
report card the next time, and Dawkins gave him an
autographed pair of his size 14 sneakers.
Staples trotted out the big sneaks on
Friday in front of agape Green Street School
students.
Standing in front of intimidated students
who came to about waist level, Dawkins, 48, quickly disarmed
them with funny stories about his trash-talking grandmother
and his mom who stood 6-foot-1 and was "the dirtiest player
I ever played against."
When young Darryl protested his mother's
hard fouls on him, Harriette Dawkins replied: "Shut up. I
don't see no referees."
Darryl Dawkins learned some lessons from
the mom, who is now 74 and still shoots with her
grandchildren.
"Nobody is going to give you anything.
She taught us to fight for everything we've got," said
Dawkins, who recently became head coach of the Newark
Express minor league basketball team.
Another strong woman in his life,
grandmother Amanda Jones, kept Dawkins grounded after he
became one of the first National Basketball Association
players to go straight from high school to the pros -- long
before Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
He went to visit the grandmother in his
fancy new car with a pocketful of cash. But before he
outgrew his Big-and-Tall store britches, grandma reminded
him that he was still human and asked if he was going to
church. Darryl Dawkins eventually built a church and sent
most of his 10 siblings to college.
Grandma Amanda also set him straight
after he played hooky with seven other guys at school. The
best swimmer in the bunch drowned in a lake.
"You guys played hooky together -- you've
got to tell his mother what happened," Jones told the
reluctant boys.
The mother's wails could be heard two
blocks away. "The sound of that lady still rings today,"
Dawkins said.
A question-and-answer session followed
Dawkins' talk. For the fun- loving former player who was
flakier than a week-old croissant, nicknamed his dunks and
claimed he was an alien from the planet "Lovetron," the
session was nothing but net.
"Can you dunk?" (He didn't mention the
two broken backboards, but promised to return to show his
skills against teachers at the end of the school year if the
students got good grades.)
"Did you ever beat your mom in
basketball?" (Not until he was 14).
"Who was your toughest competition?" (Bob
Lanier, who was 7 feet tall, left-handed, wore a size 22
shoe and had a lazy eye. ("I think he pushed a button and
his rear end got bigger, and I couldn't get around
him.")
Mike Frassinelli covers Warren County. He may be reached
at mfras sinelli@starledger.com or (908) 475-1218.
© 2005 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
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