LeBron James was surrounded by a gym full of "Next" -- the next Jason Williams, the next Tim Duncan, the next Tracy McGrady, the next Dugan Fife (yikes!) -- and he couldn't care less.

He was much too consumed checking out the kid in red shorts -- the one dribbling behind his back, between his legs, off his own knees, and banking in blind, reverse layups. It was a display worthy of those Nike commercials. Or Sesame Street. The kid in red shorts was six, maybe seven!

James had to smile. Here he was, the wonderkid at the ABCD camp, the guy everyone was talking up as the first junior to declare for the NBA draft, and he was being upstaged. By a child. How very ... ironic.

No worries though. The kid in the red shorts won't be heard from again for another 10 years. James, however, is Next. And he is First. And he is Now.

LeBron James.

You got that?

No? OK, one more time then.

LeBron James.

Say the name aloud. Learn how to spell it. Commit it to memory. Drop it in your next conversation. And get used to it, because between now and next year's NBA draft, you're gonna hear it approximately 1,100,000 times. LeBron James.

Here's your background check: LeBron's a 6'7" junior guard from Akron, Ohio. Last year, he was the first sophomore ever named Mr. Basketball in Ohio and the only underclassman named to USA Today's first team. He dominated last month's USA Basketball festival, and he dominated this week's ABCD camp.

Oh, and this: He might declare for the NBA draft next year. And if he doesn't, well, he should, because he projects to be the third player taken after Duke's Jason Williams and China's Yao Ming. He is, depending on what expert you talk to, more advanced at the same age than Tracy McGrady, Kobe Bryant and Stephon Marbury. He is the most talented high school player going, regardless of class-including would-be NBA lottery picks Amare Stoudemire, Lenny Cooke and Shavlik Randolph. And as one demented colleague put it, he's got more game, right now, than half the NBA's starting guards.

Whoa. That last statement, ridiculous, I know, the grand prize winner in this year's great hyperbole-slinging contest. (Last year's winning entry: "Eddy Curry, Baby Shaq.") Or is it?

LeBron recently balled in Chicago with Michael Finley. He didn't dominate, but he held his own. With an NBA All-Star. In the stands was Michael Jordan, who looked on, according to LeBron's mother, approvingly. An approving look from MJ is not a worthless endorsement, to be sure.

Should he? Can a player so young handle playing in the NBA? Hmm. LeBron's mom still calls him "My Baby" and says he has lots of growing to do, physically and mentally. So what? I've never understood the contention that the NBA is the world's harshest reality check. More than the real world? Or college, even? Explain.

Could he? Could he really do it? LeBron wants to very, very badly. His mom says he's been dreaming about the NBA since he was three, and he has a burning desire to to be the first -- The First One to leave high school early for the pros, a trailblazer like Kevin Garnett before him. That means he's got to load up on classes and graduate early (the NBA's got that pesky rule forbidding non-graduates from its draft), and/or pass the GED.

Sure, that's a hefty task. Sure, a lot can happen in the next 11 months. Sure, he's just a kid. A 16-year-old kid.

But if ever there was a player to be The First, this is the one. Him, or the kid in red shorts. Damn.

***

NBA Draft 2002: Top 5

After talking to a few NBA scouts, college coaches and my demented colleague, Darryl Howerton, here's my decidedly non-expert Top 5:

1a. Yao Ming, China: Duh.

1b. Jason Williams, Duke: Duh.

3. LeBron James, HS junior: Now you know.

4. DaJuan Wagner, Memphis: Would have been the first point guard taken in this year's draft. Unless ...

5. Chris Duhon, Duke: Rumor has it, one NBA team tried to get him word they'd take him in the lottery if he came out.

Plus, a few other names to consider:

Amare Stoudemire, Shavlik Randolph, Lenny Cooke, HS seniors: Is there precedent for this? Oh, right ...

Caron Butler, UConn: Compared, favorably, to Paul Pierce.

Darius Rice, Miami: Tanked at the USA Team Trials, but a very nice guy, and an expert chess player to boot. Cool.

Mike Dunleavy Jr., Carlos Boozer, Dahntay Jones, Duke: Every last damn Dookie is gonna get drafted in the first round next year. Well, maybe not Nick Horvath.

Dane Fife: E-mail your best Fife brothers joke, win a spot in next week's mailbag.

The Kid in Red Shorts: I'm kidding, kinda.

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From the Mailbag: Pooh to that

I enjoy getting letters. Even those that question my manhood. But if there's one criticism I can't stand, it's this: "You never played the game, so who are you to dog so-and-so." This is so dumb. True, I've never played the game. I also don't have a medical degree, but if a doctor tries to stick a chainsaw in my eardrum, I'm gonna pipe up, and I'd hope you'd do the same. Know what I mean?

Anyhow, on this issue of worst baseball stadium, I received more votes than I count (and I can't count pretty high, at least to three digits). My estimation of the top five vote-getters: 1) Tropicana; 2) Veterans; 3) Shea (agreed!); 4) Stade Olympique; 5) Fenway (really). Onto your venom ...

How could you leave Derek Bell off your All-Scrub team? He reminds Pirates fans of the good ol' days -- overpriced old farts getting paid too much. Oh, how we long for the 1985 drug trials. How we miss the stellar play and endless hustle of George Hendrik, Dale Berra and Dave Parker ...
-Michael Kline

Well, Kent Tekulve was way cool, wasn't he?

Cal Ripken, legendary out-machine at 3B? That's completely inappropriate. Maybe we should have an All-Scrub sportswriters team. You would definitely be on it. Hell, I nominate you as captain.
-Mike

That's very kind, sir, but I believe Mike Lupica has already been elected captain.

It's so gratifying to see that Tony Womack is finally getting the press he deserves. The guy is an embarrassment. He thinks he's Babe Ruth and monotonously hits lazy flies.
-Bob McIntosh

Here's a better comparison: Lou Brock. Yes, I'm trying to insult Lou Brock. Did it work?

Where does the All-Scrub Team play, you ask? That's an easy one: Put them in the giant concrete puke-bowl that is Veterans Stadium. And let their stench ride on the hot wind, over the stadium carpet, up the mountainous concrete slopes and under the noses of the delusional Philly Phaithful.
-Kevin Lee

Damn ...

Your All-Scrub team needs to reside in Coors Field, of course! Think of the possibilities! Vinny Castilla and Dante Bichette were actually good hitters there. Maybe Rey Ordonez could go for 71 in Coors.
-David Wagner

71 what? 71 balls hit out of the infield?

To the guy moving from Michigan to Los Angeles: You get used to the traffic. The air isn't nearly as bad as it was 15 or 20 years ago. However, Ed Begley Jr. is pretty damn irritating.
-Tim Judge

You get the final word on that.

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The Summer Replacement is a senior reporter for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail your suggestions and scorn to scott.burton@espnmag.com.