The Fab Four chose private

LeBron grew up in Akron and was technically zoned for Buchtel High School, the same public school many of his AAU teammates were headed to. But he, Sian Cotton, Dru Joyce III, and Willie McGee — known on the AAU circuit as the “Fab Four” — wanted to stay together. They chose St. Vincent–St. Mary because it would let all four enroll, and because Dru Joyce II was already going to coach there.

The decision was controversial in Akron’s mostly Black public-school community: a star Black athlete leaving for a predominantly white private school. James later said the criticism never landed because the four of them had decided as a unit, not as recruits.

Three state titles and a national TV deal

St. V’s won Ohio Division III state championships in LeBron’s freshman, sophomore, and senior years. The team finished his junior year 23–4 after losing the title game; his senior year they reclaimed it. By his junior year, James was already on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the headline “The Chosen One.”

ESPN broadcast multiple St. Vincent–St. Mary games nationally during LeBron’s senior year, an unprecedented arrangement for a high school program. The school played a national schedule on the road, including games in Los Angeles, Greensboro, and Trenton.

From SVSM to the No. 1 pick

The Cleveland Cavaliers selected LeBron with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, ten months after his senior year ended. He skipped college entirely. The 2003 NBA Draft, anchored by James, also produced Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade — three more Hall of Famers.

St. Vincent–St. Mary still operates as a Catholic prep school in west Akron. The James Family LeBron James I Promise School, a public 3rd-8th grade school he founded in Akron, opened in 2018 as a separate institution.

Background facts cross-referenced with the Wikipedia article on LeBron James and Pro-Football-Reference / Basketball-Reference public records. Lead image via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).