GAMECOCKBOY
06-28-2006, 10:52 PM
thestate.com
By KENT BABB
kbabb@thestate.com
FILE/THE STATE
What the experts say
Spear | Before Balkman, another ex-Gamecock was an NBA underdog
Five things to watch
Previous No. 1 selections
Second round order
Who's No. 1?
Mock draft by Paul Strelow
It was just another day in the heavy rain when an oversized boy leaked from the pack, kicked a soccer ball with his size 14s and won a one-on-one matchup against a stunned goalkeeper.
Maybe it was the boy’s long legs that gave him the edge against the other 15-year-olds.
Or perhaps it was his speed that allowed him to pull away from defenders.
No, it had to be his footwork that helped his team win a local championship.
Regardless of how he did it, Renaldo Balkman, all 6 feet, 4 inches of him, was the hero.
“We’re sitting there, and all of a sudden, here comes Renaldo,” Nancy Jorge, Balkman’s mother, said of her son’s big moment on the soccer pitch. “That’s the way he plays everything. He won’t be the best player, but out of nowhere, everybody will say, ‘Where did that come from?’”
Where did Balkman come from? Good question. Some USC basketball fans might argue that Balkman, now a 6-foot-8 power forward in search of an NBA future, is an enigma. His demeanor attracts the spotlight, even if he occasionally has crumbled within it. Balkman, believe it or not, was the Gamecocks’ most reserved player, one whose personality puzzled both coaches and media members.
There also is Balkman’s unusual appearance, which includes a mop of dreadlocks the Tampa, Fla., native has more trouble controlling than his short temper.
But forget the hair and forgive the mood swings. Look deeper. Look past the brawny 21-year-old who led the Gamecocks to last season’s National Invitation Tournament championship. Ignore the gambler who left USC after three seasons to take his chances in tonight’s NBA draft.
Look into the past, 19 years ago. Watch his mother hold him down while she bolts braces onto both his legs, from hip to feet, while Renaldo screams for the pain to stop.
Watch Jorge wilt under her son’s tears and tear off the leg braces, then watch as Balkman’s sister flies past him in a foot race — and laughs as Renaldo’s knees clang together, sending the boy to the ground.
“There were a lot of days that I was like, ‘No, I can’t do this,’” Jorge says. “It seemed like forever. All we could do was sit with him and let him cry it out.”
Jorge said Balkman grew to about 50 pounds by his second birthday, and X-rays revealed the weight had forced his leg bones to grow inward. Balkman wore the braces for about a year, until his bones learned to grow properly.
Doctors told Balkman’s mother she should expect her son to have a big appetite to fuel his growing body; Jorge had fair warning that her son would be a large man.
Balkman underwent a four-inch growth spurt in his early teens, and he was his soccer team’s tallest player. But Balkman’s growth created a problem: At 14 years old, his feet required size-14 shoes, which Jorge and Balkman’s father, Michael Balkman, ordered from California. The expensive ordeal factored into Balkman’s decision to give up soccer.
Balkman now wears size-17 sneakers — shoes worthy of giant leap of faith he makes tonight.
Jorge acknowledges that Balkman’s early entry into the NBA draft was a gamble, one that she attempted to talk him out of. But she also realizes her son has grown more than ever during the past two years — only this time it’s his personality, not his bones, that has matured.
Balkman counseled his mother when she lost her job 18 months ago, and he has spent the past few months preparing for the arrival of his first child, a son due in August. Jorge believes Balkman left USC early not because of poor grades or because he grew tired of college basketball; instead, she said, her son “was ready to go to work.”
Balkman will not receive a guaranteed contract unless he is drafted in the first round, which is a long shot. But one thing is certain: Should he emerge from the pack to shatter expectations and break down barriers, it won’t be the first time.
Reach Babb at (803) 771-8357.
By KENT BABB
kbabb@thestate.com
FILE/THE STATE
What the experts say
Spear | Before Balkman, another ex-Gamecock was an NBA underdog
Five things to watch
Previous No. 1 selections
Second round order
Who's No. 1?
Mock draft by Paul Strelow
It was just another day in the heavy rain when an oversized boy leaked from the pack, kicked a soccer ball with his size 14s and won a one-on-one matchup against a stunned goalkeeper.
Maybe it was the boy’s long legs that gave him the edge against the other 15-year-olds.
Or perhaps it was his speed that allowed him to pull away from defenders.
No, it had to be his footwork that helped his team win a local championship.
Regardless of how he did it, Renaldo Balkman, all 6 feet, 4 inches of him, was the hero.
“We’re sitting there, and all of a sudden, here comes Renaldo,” Nancy Jorge, Balkman’s mother, said of her son’s big moment on the soccer pitch. “That’s the way he plays everything. He won’t be the best player, but out of nowhere, everybody will say, ‘Where did that come from?’”
Where did Balkman come from? Good question. Some USC basketball fans might argue that Balkman, now a 6-foot-8 power forward in search of an NBA future, is an enigma. His demeanor attracts the spotlight, even if he occasionally has crumbled within it. Balkman, believe it or not, was the Gamecocks’ most reserved player, one whose personality puzzled both coaches and media members.
There also is Balkman’s unusual appearance, which includes a mop of dreadlocks the Tampa, Fla., native has more trouble controlling than his short temper.
But forget the hair and forgive the mood swings. Look deeper. Look past the brawny 21-year-old who led the Gamecocks to last season’s National Invitation Tournament championship. Ignore the gambler who left USC after three seasons to take his chances in tonight’s NBA draft.
Look into the past, 19 years ago. Watch his mother hold him down while she bolts braces onto both his legs, from hip to feet, while Renaldo screams for the pain to stop.
Watch Jorge wilt under her son’s tears and tear off the leg braces, then watch as Balkman’s sister flies past him in a foot race — and laughs as Renaldo’s knees clang together, sending the boy to the ground.
“There were a lot of days that I was like, ‘No, I can’t do this,’” Jorge says. “It seemed like forever. All we could do was sit with him and let him cry it out.”
Jorge said Balkman grew to about 50 pounds by his second birthday, and X-rays revealed the weight had forced his leg bones to grow inward. Balkman wore the braces for about a year, until his bones learned to grow properly.
Doctors told Balkman’s mother she should expect her son to have a big appetite to fuel his growing body; Jorge had fair warning that her son would be a large man.
Balkman underwent a four-inch growth spurt in his early teens, and he was his soccer team’s tallest player. But Balkman’s growth created a problem: At 14 years old, his feet required size-14 shoes, which Jorge and Balkman’s father, Michael Balkman, ordered from California. The expensive ordeal factored into Balkman’s decision to give up soccer.
Balkman now wears size-17 sneakers — shoes worthy of giant leap of faith he makes tonight.
Jorge acknowledges that Balkman’s early entry into the NBA draft was a gamble, one that she attempted to talk him out of. But she also realizes her son has grown more than ever during the past two years — only this time it’s his personality, not his bones, that has matured.
Balkman counseled his mother when she lost her job 18 months ago, and he has spent the past few months preparing for the arrival of his first child, a son due in August. Jorge believes Balkman left USC early not because of poor grades or because he grew tired of college basketball; instead, she said, her son “was ready to go to work.”
Balkman will not receive a guaranteed contract unless he is drafted in the first round, which is a long shot. But one thing is certain: Should he emerge from the pack to shatter expectations and break down barriers, it won’t be the first time.
Reach Babb at (803) 771-8357.