June 23, 2008

David Biderman
Rivals High

The basketball games between brothers Dalante Hoover and La'Shard Anderson were anything but sibling love-fests.

Anderson knew his younger brother, now a nationally ranked eighth-grade basketball player at San Diego's Francis Parker High School, eventually could be something special on the court. Coaches and spectators have been fawning over Hoover's size, skill and basketball IQ for years. But Anderson, who'll be a sophomore guard at Boise State next season, also knew that basketball savvy alone usually disappears if it isn't complemented by mental and physical toughness.

"I'd rough him up a little bit ? all in good fun, of course," Anderson said of his countless pick-up games with Hoover. "In between the bumps, I'd teach him some moves. We'd work on shots and I'd teach him that he had to be tough, let him know that he won't always have things go his way."

Consider it a lesson learned. Hoover, 13, a 5-foot-8, 155-pound point guard, will join the varsity basketball team at Francis Parker ? which has won 47 games in the past two years ? next season and is expected to start immediately. His travel team, Dream Vision Basketball, won the 14-and-under division in the 72-team field at the Houston Kingwood Classic in Texas. His team will play in the 2008 Main Event competition in Las Vegas in July.

In addition to the "quickness, IQ and overall passion he plays with," Francis Parker coach Jim Tomey said, "Dalante just has more power, pound-for-pound, than anyone I've ever seen at that age."

Asked if Anderson's bruising lessons paid off, "they must've," Tomey said. "I really don't remember someone being able to handle himself like Dalante does."

And Tomey has seen quite a few good ones. He coached the University of San Diego High team ? one of which featured Luke Walton ? to a 210-73 record, seven section titles and one state championship from 1989-99. He was an assistant for the San Diego State men's team for three seasons and the women's head coach for another three.

But Tomey says he's never seen a player comparable to Hoover. In conversations with Tomey about Hoover, the operative word is "joy."

"He plays with such joy," Tomey said. "He has a joy to learn. ? He's a joy to coach. ? It's going to be a joy to have someone like that on the team."

There will, of course, be pressure, too. Hoover has been nationally ranked by various recruiting services since he was in the fifth grade. He has been attending phenom camps and AAU tournaments throughout middle school. The kids in school don't stare, but there are a handful of second glances. The pressure used to make Hoover uncomfortable.

"When I first started getting ranked, it was weird to be on all those lists," Hoover said. "But my family has helped me out with it. They keep me calm. My mom always says that rankings don't make your game, so I just go out and play and do my thing."

Hoover's parents, Olanda and Jerome, keep him more grounded than carpet. Both have high school basketball experience and each helps Dalante with practice and travel. They know that "practice makes perfect" isn't just some overused clich?

As for discipline ? well, Jerome actually is Master Sgt. Jerome Hoover of the U.S. Marines. He is on tour in Iraq until the end of this month.

"My whole family keeps me motivated," Hoover said. "I know I'll be compared to my brother a lot, so I have that. My mom kind of got me in to basketball in the first place. And if I'm just sitting around, my dad will ask me to play and we'll go outside for a couple of hours."

Still, Tomey knows that even the best parental guidance can be trumped by the hordes of attention and expectations piled on by overzealous friends and followers. And while Hoover is talented, he never has played in a high school basketball game, is years from getting his driver's license and is years from being able to legally go to an "R"-rated movie.

Hoover said he needs to concentrate the most on improving his jump shot, but Tomey knows that's hardly the top priority.

"Kids like him get told how great they are at such a young age," Tomey said, "that sometimes you can't even coach them when they get older. As good as Dalante is, he's got a long way to go. Fortunately, it seems like his family does a good job keeping him leveled."

The base of the family stability is the battle between the brothers. Hoover has sisters ? Sparkle and Fragrance Anderson ? who play ball, too, but the competition between Hoover and La'Shard is the bedrock of the sibling bonding. They talk on the phone daily, see each other on the weekends, constantly swap advice ? and they always compete.

"I know he just wants me to get better," Hoover said. "When we were way younger, it would be a battle just to see who got up the stairs the fastest. I think that'll help me out in the future."