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Metta Sandiford-Artest: How valuable he was to the Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

I remember when Metta Sandiford-Artest, then known as Ron Artest had come out of high school. His name was everywhere you looked when it came to college basketball. He and I have a few things in common. First off, he grew up about 25 minutes from where I did in Queens, New York. We both went to St. John’s University and then he played for my all-time favorite team… the Los Angeles Lakers.

Sure he could score. We knew that way back in high school but what we didn’t know was just how tenacious of a defender he was as well as an overall player.