Great story, great family. What an odyssey! Thanks for posting.
AlaskaWildcat (has no choice but to) like this.
Amazing, you read my mind.
For those who might miss heading to the link, here is an excerpt that prefaces the "Alaska story" in the article:
"The story of their relationship started in September of 1997 in a place that not many that revolve so heavily around the game of basketball do: Anchorage, Alaska.
Gerald had starred there on the court in college when attending the University of Alaska-Anchorage, and had returned after a lengthy and successful career playing professionally overseas and established a life with his wife (and Isiah’s mother) Yolanda as a successful businessman in the corporate communications industry and a part-time basketball coach. With Gerald being a former player and current coach, and with he and Yolanda having already added a basketball player to the family in Isiah’s older sister, a young Isiah was almost literally born into a basketball world.
.....
Gerald decided to help Isiah by making their aforementioned household as much of a basketball resource on its own as it could be. This meant drawing on his connections throughout the Alaska basketball network, and bringing some pretty influential figures into Isiah’s life as mentors.
“I knew [Anchorage natives] Mario Chalmers and Trajan Langdon very well, having coached both of them” says Gerald. “For Isiah, who was so passionate about the game right from the start, I tried to bring Mario and Trajan around as much as possible. Not only were they guys that had had a ton of success in high school and beyond in college and the pros, but they were also people that Isiah could see play growing up learn from, and emulate in the situation we were in.” "
As noted on my congratulatory thread from earlier this week after Isiah set a new scoring record, reportedly "The Alaska Kid" maintains his ties to the state through extended family here and his own family's return visits to the state.