I\u2019ve noticed that the only monthly archive page from this blog that gets a decent amount of attention from Google customers is January, 2004. During that month, I talked a bit about a kid back in my high school class who ![](\"http:\/\/www.jimgworld.com\/beta\/lesyrbk.jpg\")
had a chance to become a pro basketball player. That kid was Leslie Cason. Les was a tall, lanky guy who made a great center, propelling our high school basketball team to an undefeated season and a regional championship during my senior year. <\/p>\n
Unfortunately, Les did not have a disciplined personality and could not capitalize on the various sports scholarships that were offered to him. He eventually dropped out of college and finally wound up on the streets of Manhattan selling drugs. He finally died of AIDS in 1997<\/a>. His story still attracts attention from sports fans, probably because of the role that Dick Vitale<\/a>, the former high school basketball coach-turned-ESPN college sportscaster, played in Les\u2019s life.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t have much to add to Les\u2019s story. Back in school, Les was a celebrated jock and I was mostly an anti-social nerd (mea culpa, but it’s really hard to be a sociable nerd!). To say the least, we ran in different circles. But I do remember having Les in my senior English class. In fact, he sat one row over from me. Les was a likable fellow; he never joined in with the other jocks who found me an easy target for bullying [but I got through it, and it might have even made me stronger; I’m not sure that I could have survived working in a law enforcement office later in life had I not learned how to get roughed up a little]. <\/p>\n But Les wasn\u2019t much of a scholar either, and given his rising fame, he saw little need to concern himself with stuff like geometry, Shakespeare and American history. <\/p>\n I have some proof that I sat next to the semi-famous Leslie Cason in high school. There\u2019s a tiny picture in the ERHS 71 yearbook taken in my English class during a test. I scanned it and did my best with Photoshop to make some sense out of it. The red arrow points to Les, and the blue arrow is for me. Yes, I know this isn\u2019t solid proof; it has the same quality level as a purported UFO shot. As with the X-Files, it only makes sense if you want to believe.<\/p>\n Too bad that it didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/www.jimgworld.com\/beta\/lesnme.jpg\")
But if you do believe me, you can see that I was approaching the test like a true eternal student, pouring out the words with all my heart and soul (and much of my brain, hopefully). As to Les . . . well, he looks to be holding up the test page, wondering what to do. I suppose that he eventually did write something, that it wasn\u2019t all that good, and that it didn\u2019t matter. Our English teacher, Mr. Luterzo (who looked a bit like James Karen, i.e. Mr. Pathmark<\/a>), knew that he had to play a game (school politics) as much as Les had to play his game. The school basketball team needed Leslie Cason and the basketball colleges wanted him. It would all work out, he and Coach Vitale thought.<\/p>\n