The new generation takes over

With the bravado that comes with youth and talent, five stellar athletes representing a new generation of supertalents have moved to the center of the national sports dialogue. Two--basketball player LeBron James and sprinter Allyson Felix--are continuing a history of domination by Blacks in their respective sports. Two others--the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year, softball player Natasha Watley, and bike racer Rahsaan Bahati--are pioneers. The fifth and youngest, tennis player Donald Young Jr., has stirred echoes of the late great Arthur Ashe, the first and last African-American male to win a Grand Slam event. The new generation they represent is not waiting for tomorrow. They are banging on the door today.

LEBRON JAMES

Perhaps the most popular No.23 to never play an NBA game, LeBron James secured a multiyear endorsement deal with Nike reportedly worth $90 million. The 18-year-old Akron, Ohio, native's selection as the No. 1 overall NBA draft pick was a mere formality, and his three-year, $12.96 million contract has fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers and basketball fans, in general, waiting to see if he can live up to the hype. The most heralded high school player since Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), James, observers say, has the skills of a guard, the body of a forward, a court awareness that belies his youth, and that immeasurable star potential. He is the great hope of basketball; the player league officials hope will bring fans, and funds, back to the sport.

NATASHA WATLEY

The softball phenom was recently named Collegiate Woman athlete of the Year after helping her team, the UCLA Bruins, to its 10th NCAA Championship. The senior shortstop from Irvine, Calif., bats left, throws right, and has played softball since she was 5 years old. And she is excelling in a sport that traditionally has very few women of color. Watley, who spent the first two weeks of her life on a respirator and overcame childhood asthma, already won a world championship with the U.S.A. Softball team last year, and was MVP of that tournament. Her goal is to make the Olympic team that will seek a third-straight gold medal in Greece next summer.

RAHSAAN BAHATI

Not since Marshall W. (Major) Taylor dominated the racing circuit at the turn of the century has an African-American bicyclist garnered as much attention as Rahsaan Bahati. The 21-year-old Los Angeles resident is a sprint specialist and rides for Team Saturn, the top men's team in the country, and he is already a three-time champion. The only competitive African-American in pro cycling, Bahati has been riding since 1996. The Indiana University junior says his short-term goals are to win national and world championships and make the Olympic team in 2004. He also wants to ride in the grueling Tour de France by the time he's 25 years old. In a sport where most cyclists don't reach their prime until their late 20s, that's a realistic goal. Bahati says his long-term goal is to get more Blacks involved in bike racing. "I just have to keep training and racing well," says Bahati, during a phone interview before a training ride in College Station, Texas. "The more I race well, the more publicity I get and the more African-Americans learn about cycling."

ALLYSON FELIX

At 17 years old, Allyson Felix is a long way from the backyard races she used to run against her older brother, Wes, and is considered by many to be next great female sprinter. Felix, who didn't start running competitively until her freshman year in high school, is the world junior record holder at 200 meters and ran the fastest women's time at that distance this year. Her ultimate goal is to make it to the Olympics. She already is scheduled to run at the World Championships this year. "I like to compete, and I just thrive off that," Felix says during a phone interview from Los Angeles. And with Marion Jones at home with her newborn baby, the field has suddenly opened up. Felix has a tough decision to make this fall--enroll at the University of Southern California, or skip college and turn pro, earning endorsements and the right to train with America's top sprinters. Either way, she'll continue to run. ALLYSON

DONALD YOUNG JR.

From the time he was old enough to remember, Chicagoan Donald Young has been around tennis. He first picked up a racket at age 2 and has been playing the game ever since. Under the direction and coaching of his parents, Donald Sr. and Ilona, who run Tennis in Motion, a non- profit academy in Chicago, Young is ranked No. 1 nationally in his age group and has steadily bested older boys during national and international tournaments. The high school freshman "hits" for about six hours a day, which he agrees requires a lot of discipline. But he believes all the hard work and strong support from his parents will help him reach his goal. "I want to be a professional player and the No. 1 player in the world" says the budding star. "That's what I've wanted my whole life."

COPYRIGHT 2003 Johnson Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group