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of Education gig . In the early Chicago years , young lawyer Obama , law professor Barack and Community organizer BO kept a basketball in his brief case . IACB took a trip down memory lane and spoke to some Chicago hoopers about their memories of getting it in with # 44 . The general consensus was that while B Hussein didn ' t have the sweetest game , but all agreed that the lefty slasher is a part of our nation of hoopers . The scouting report reads that Barack was a reliable finisher , and a tough competitor that played with the same smarts he displayed the last 8 years while in the highest office in the land . There are also stories of Obama being a bit of a flow breaker that would argue calls and advocate for the occasional phantom foul when over-matched - but that ' s a different story for a different time . Did you think IACB would diss the Prez on his G-day ? No way we are here to salute a hooper , plus we need some of those Presidential checks when they start flowing .
STREET TALES
Ballin ' with Barack
Mike " Lil Mike " Nance
MN :
My buddy Derrick Vann ( DV ) was the one that brought this story back to my conscious . I had just finished my freshman year in college and my coach from a JUCO I was heading to had called me earlier in the day and reminded me not play street ball as us guys in Chicago liked to do . He said any injury could forfeit my scholarship . I promised coach I wouldn ' t get hurt and being the ball junky I was I kept on playing at every park I could and i n every tournament I could . One of the good runs in Hyde Park , the neighborhood I am from , was at Shoe Smith Park on Sundays . It would be a lot of the older guys in the neighborhood that could really play . The E Wilks , The Spellers , David Howl - guys that could really play and guys that were older than them many around Obama ' s age . Those guys had a nice run up there and the younger guys like me were trying to gauge ourselves against those guys and move up to the next level . Back then I was in great shape , competitive and for anyone that knows me , hot headed . In the back of my mind I ' m knowing that I ' m not supposed to be out here playing . At the time I ' m 6 ' 1 thin and wiry , so as it would turn out Obama and I ended up matching up . I didn ' t know who Obama was at the time but I ' d see him at the park playing from time to time and I knew how we played . He ' d always be in his yellow U of C T-shirt and he stood out because he played hard nosed Harvard type defense - like all up in his man . We weren ' t used to that on the playground . The way we played - it was all about trying to get your offense off - not too many people were out there playing D . So as he ' s guarding me - I remember not even having the ball and he is face guarding me with the Box in 1 . He has both of his arms around me not letting me go no where . I ' m trying to do my thing , but I could barely get the ball because he has me in the box . I ' m like " dammm man the ball is way over there , what you sticking me like that for ? We don ' t play defense like that up here ." So I got a little agitated - back then I had a little crew , Andrew Thigpen , Curtis Jasper , DV , Melo D and all them . I saw them stand up from the sideline like " OK lil Mike is getting hot headed ". So they came over to surround Obama and asked me like " what ' s up - you straight Mike ?". I told them " yeah I ' m straight , but this man is sticking me like it ' s a box in 1 out here ". Obama sees the play and he calmly says " look I ' m not trying to cause any trouble out here - it ' s just the way I play ". He broke me down with that . It was very diplomatic and presi-
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