Before LeBron James, the most-hyped high schooler was a tall, lanky, freak-athlete from the Dominican Republic terrorizing the gyms of New York City named Felipe Lopez. Lopez, the first high school basketball player featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, is a throwback to the heights of New York City hoops and hype... and where that hype can get to be overwhelming.
Lopez rose to stardom, and eventually became a legend, in a city that at the time also hosted Stephon Marbury, Rafer “Skip to my Lou” Alston, God Shammgod, and more.
At Rice High School, Lopez raised the school’s national profile level on arrival in 1990.