Spree’s hard-core attitude - SPORTING CHANCE by Joaquin M. Henson

National Basketball Association (NBA) star Latrell Sprewell is an enigma. Mike Wise and Frank Isola, in their book Just Ballin’, described the New York Knicks guard as the anti-thesis of a team player. He’s individualistic and extremely unpredictable. Spree stands out in a crowd. He braids his hair into corn rows, has a perpetual scowl on his face, and resembles a thug fresh from a back alley mauling.

But there’s something about Spree that makes him special. He may not be a role model. If you’re a father, you wouldn’t like your daughter to marry someone like him. There’s no question he has skills and the talent to play the game – his stats in the NBA prove it. Spree’s in his ninth NBA season and boasts a career average of close to 20 points a game.

What sets Spree apart from the others is his hard-core attitude. He brings the playground flair to the table. The way he moves, the way he dunks, the way he trash-talks. Spree’s a perfect fit for New York.

In case you’ve forgotten, Spree’s the "free radical" who choked coach P.J. Carlesimo and threatened to kill him during a flare-up at a Golden State practice in 1997. The incident led to Sprewell’s suspension for 64 games and his trade to New York.

That’s not all. A few months after the Carlesimo encounter, Sprewell nearly killed a Filipino couple on a San Francisco freeway. He was pushing 90 miles an hour in his $126,000 Mercedes Benz, weaving in and out of traffic like a Manila taxi driver, when tragedy struck. The Benz hit a Toyota Corolla which flipped over on impact. In the car were Arnulfo Perlas, a mechanic from an East Bay suburb, and a friend Irma Feliciano who were both headed to church that fateful morning.

Spree didn’t bother to help Perlas or Feliciano out of their car and sat on a curb waiting for police to show up. He later pleaded no contest to reckless driving and was sentenced to 90 days in jail which he served under electronic home detention in Milwaukee. Perlas went to court. Sprewell reportedly offered a settlement of over

$1 million. The talk was Perlas got greedy and pursued a case, thinking he would get a bundle. In the end, Perlas was awarded only $104,940 in damages – he should’ve accepted Spree’s offer.

Spree’s childhood was rough – that explains his behavior. His parents never married. His father Latoska Fields made it a habit to beat up Spree’s mother Pamela. When Spree was six, Fields left home and took his son with him. In 1986, Fields was jailed for marijuana possession with intent to distribute and Spree went to live with his mother.

Spree was 17 when he became a father. He now has five children – Aquilla, 12, Sher, 11, Page, 10, Latrell II, 5 and Billy, 1 – by three different women.

Since his transfer to New York, a reformed Spree has been on fire. In 1999, he led the Knicks to the NBA Finals against San Antonio. New York lost in five but Spree gave the Spurs some scary moments. In the clincher, Spree erupted for 35 points and could’ve won it for the Knicks if only he converted his 12-foot baseline jumper at the buzzer – the Spurs won, 78-77.

Spree is New York’s real-life anti-hero – no frills, no fancy accouterments. He makes no excuses of what he is, plays hard and never backs down from a matchup. Film director and Madison Square Garden habitue Spike Lee watches Knicks games in a replica Spree No. 8 jersey. That’s why when Converse released Spree after the Carlesimo incident – his image, after all, was tarnished, a Pennsylvania-based shoe and apparel company whose marketing strategy centers around a trash-talk attitude quickly knocked on his door.

AND 1 was formed in 1993 to cater to the hip-hop market of 11 to 17-year-old basketball junkies. Its first products were "in your face" trash-talk T-shirts (brandishing such slogans as "Your game and your girl, they’re hard to look at" and "Respect the game, leave the court"). The company later expanded to shoes and other apparel.

Wise and Isola said AND 1 considered NBA malcontents as misunderstood artists. "The unsavory pasts of some of their clients fit right into the marketing scheme," noted the writers. "Pump up the player whom every parent detested and what do you get? A bunch of rebellious teenagers buying Sprewell apparel."

Seth Berger and Jay Coen Gilbert established AND 1 "to package urban street culture for profit." Berger explained, "AND 1 and Sprewell come from the same place. Our roots are at the playground level, where ballplayers talk smack and have the game to back it up. With his charisma, his attitude and his All-Star game, Latrell is a natural for our brand."

Aside from Spree, other AND 1 endorsers are Golden State’s Larry Hughes, Utah’s Donyell Marshall, Orlando’s Darrell Armstrong, and Sacramento’s Chris Webber. In the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), Alaska's Rodney (The Slasher) Santos is AND 1’s chief pitchman.

Basketball is AND 1’s only line – that makes it different from the competition because it’s exclusively dedicated to hoops. AND 1’s local distributor Relzbach Ventures has brought in a complete line of basketball shoes, shirts, tees, pants, shooting shirts, nylon warm-ups, team uniforms, licensed collegiate gear and accessories. Relzbach’s principals are former PBA player Chito Loyzaga, Alaska assistant coach Dicky Bachmann and his brother Bobby.

Relzbach insists AND 1’s product aren’t intended for kids interested in making a fashion statement – they’re for serious players with the attitude to embarrass the opposition game after game.

Early next year, Relzbach is introducing AND 1’s first Sprewell signature model, the Mad Game Mid, in the Philippine market at about P5,000 a pair. It took a few years before AND 1 got Spree’s approval to produce the shoe to his specifications. The wait will be over soon.

Bob Zozobrado of Ideaz Plus, Relzbach’s publicist, said Spree’s shoe will revolutionize the game. The Mad Game Mid features the so-called Harmonix technology which incorporates four patented technical elements to create the optimal levels of stability, support, cushioning, and energy required for serious players. There are domed geometric "springs" to cushion the heel, polyurethane foam to support the padding under the heel, cone-shaped airbags to create a heel cradle, and a stability frame for foot protection.

"The shoe is built to endure the playground’s mad games and allows greater freedom for players to do their crazy moves," said Zozobrado.

Will AND 1 make you a better basketball player? Ask Spree. I bet he’ll say it’s the attitude that’s important.