“I gave myself the idea years ago when I saw [the Bulls’] Dennis Rodman throw his jersey into the stands and everyone screamed for it. I said to myself, If I make the NBA, I want to do that. That would be my legacy. When I played for Golden State [in 2001-02 and ‘02-03], I couldn’t afford the jerseys [they cost about $200 each], so I threw my shoes.”

Montgomery County schools should hope Gilbert Arenas doesn’t lose his shooting stroke any time soon; The Washington Wizard’s superstar, along with Wizard’s owner Abe Pollin, have pledged to donate $100 to a Washington area school for every point Arenas scores in a home game this season, providing local schools with funding for necessities such as computers, athletic equipment and after-school funding.

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At the end of Gilbert’s freshman season, the varsity coach said to Gilbert, “You’ll never play on the varsity team.” Arenas had made junior varisty as a freshman at Birmingham High School in Los Angeles and though he didn’t play much, he showed lots of potential and produced in the limited minutes he got.

After hearing those words, Gilbertology started to evolve. Determined to prove the coach wrong, Gilbert woke up each morning at 6 AM to work on his skills and play pickup games all day and often times until the night. It was not too uncommon that Arenas didni’t get home until after midnight.

The following year, Gilbert transferred to Grant High in Van Nuys and became a starter his first year. He always looked forward to the two games a year against his former school and the varsity coach. Gilbert was a high school star but no one thought he could take it to the next level. It was something he would hear throughout his career.

“I like when somebody says something negative about me because I can put it back in their face”

“Man, I couldn’t get it. I stood outside no hours and got nothing. That’s when you sit in your room and try to use your celebrityism. I didn’t get nothing. I knew I should have called and said I was D-Wade. “Um, hello, this is D-Wade … This is LeBron … Can I come over there and get one of them?” Then I would have had one.”

Gilbertology can first be traced back to Gilbert’s early life and his unorthodox upbringing. Raised by a single father since he was 3, Gilbert discovered a love for basketball at an early age. When Gilbert was only 8 years old, Arenas and his father drove from Florida to California with only $50 and no place to stay where they would live 3 nights living out of a beat up Mazda RX-7 and McDonald’s while Gilbert Arenas Sr. looked for employment. Gilbert Arenas Sr. bounced from job to job and worked odd hours to make due. He would leave in the middle of the night for a night job and little Gilbert Arenas would follow right behind him. While his dad was working, Arenas would go to a local park working on his basketball game.

Watching his father’s work ethic, he knew that if he wanted something in life he had to work for it. It was at the playground where he polished and worked on his game. Gilbert Arenas had dreams and aspirations of playing in the NBA. Growing up and watching legends like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird dominate the sport at their peak, he knew one day he would be there as well. In the next lesson, we will take a look and try and shed some light on the eclectic nature of the NBA’s most unique superstar as we look at Gilbert Arenas and his high school basketball career.