Becoming HIM | The Hakeem Marion Story

[The JZA]

Bro was the plug

Good luck with this one my dude

The Wire: Carolinas Series

We gots work to do

[The JZA]

[Agent]

Penn State. We up.

[chosenone58]

Just got back from a mini vacation, but I can’t wait to get into this my dude!!!!

EDIT: Loved the intro. Kellerman is already hating.

[The JZA]

Penn State. We up.

#WeAre (pun intended)

Just got back from a mini vacation, but I can’t wait to get into this my dude!!!!

EDIT: Loved the intro. Kellerman is already hating.

Glad the homie enjoying that vacay.

Preciate it fam, Had to dig back to Noah's stomping grounds and find some inspirations

We can't have that cinderella story, a little contro & adversaries don't hurt nobody

[The JZA]

2K8 - Ready
Roster - Ready
Schedule - Ready
Graphics - Progressing
Chapter - Not ready, but got some bullet points to haste the writing

Nearly there before this takes off

[The JZA]

Chapter VI: Road To The 12th

Summer of 2021 was hot, in more ways than one. I'm not that big of a fan of the summer heat with all this hair mounted on my head, but I wasn't cutting it for no reason. We was just going to have to make due. Nevertheless, the countdown to moving onto Penn State campus was ticking, and it was already July. The whole business with my cousin, Michael, and upkeeping the social media buzz kept us busy for the most part. A few highlights over the June got us a ticket into a big event that was going down. Joel Embiid was throwing a 4th of July weekend festive at the famous Cherashore Park in Philly, and I, yours truly, was invited to participate in the celebrity game. Michael and I lost our marbles just over the fact that we got invited, which was dope. With the momentum we had going, there wasn't any room for shaky legs and cold feet, so without a doubt, we was up in there like nobody's business to make a statement. Especially with doubters like Max Kellerman running rampant on the internet. But I understood the game, it was his job to do so, and it was mine to shut them up.

I knew the event at Cherashore Park was going to have a good turnout, but it was bigger than I imagined. It had to be at least a thousand people there, or so it seem like. Joel Embiid was of course there. Ben Simmons pulled up, Anthony Davis pulled up. The legend him-self, Allen Iverson was in the building spectating along with Kevin Hart as the MCs. Meek Mill and Lil Uzi Vert came out to perform. The spot was lit man, first time I've ever seen a turnout like that. Plus all the hotties were out, damn near with little to nothing to the imagination, so I had to be on my best behavior on the court. As per usual, I did my thing out there, but not too much. I didn't want to give up the whole bag before heading to college. I needed my game to be seen on a bigger stage, but I gave them some razzle dazzle, pulled a few flashy moves out the bag. I definitely wanted to turn heads and get them excited for what's to come from me. I just had only wish we got the win, but Embiid's team would take it home. The night was a huge success for everyone. So much love was in the place for the stars, heck, I even got the pleasure to take pictures and sign a few T-shirts of my own. It was a night to never forget...

With just a couple weeks left to my-self, my intentions were to wind down, get my stuff ready, and just spend some family time. But my Uncle had other plans. With him and his wife working for a chemical company, his job often had him on the road. This time, he was heading to Canada and wanted me to ride along. I thought it was cool, never been to Canada, so why not? My passport stayed ready, so we was out heading to Toronto. During our two-day stay in Toronto, Uncle Paulie gave me a tour of the city. It was just as good as any other tour area you can imaging to be, but we all knew the real Toronto was in the trenches of the culture there. Which led me to do some landmark research and I found myself at the HoopDome in Downsview. There was arguably no way I wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to ball out in Canada on my first visit there. Luckily, Unc wanted to see me in action up close since he missed out on the showdown with Embiid. The moment I walked in, people recognized me and gave an ovation of awe. After pleasantries with the people there, we got down to business. No celebrities, no NBA stars, just raw talent on the hardwood. I was in my element. I turned up for 13 points and 5 assists in the first game, and 16 points, 3 boards, and 4 assists in the second. Overall, a decent show out, I wasn't trying to overplay my hand, still had a lot more in the bag. I think I made a real strong impression there. One of the spectators there, a woman, who was Tik Tok'ing the game was rooting for me the whole time, calling for me to get the ball. I've never heard anyone go so hard for me in the stands, but it was love. All I could do was just smug and keep focus, cause my ego fed off it, relishing in it...

But all things that summer had to come to an end. The summer continued, but my time in Sugar Notch had came to a close, temporarily. August came swiftly and my time to move onto campus had came. Before I could set out to leave, Uncle Paulie had one gift he said he wanted to give me in exchange for his Cadillac back. I wasn't too keen making my first trip to college on foot I joked to him, but he had something in stored for me I couldn't even think about. We're downtown a couple hours later and we pulled up to the warehouse he uses for his business. I couldn't think of any reason why I needed to be here, looking type sketchy, like a drug bust was going down. He had me wait outside as he went in alone. About 10 minutes later, I hear a roar coming from within, and a minute later, Uncle Paulie pops out with another car. I was colored impressed by it. A 2007 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, tricked out with a body kit, turbofan rims, coated in iridescent blue. I knew my Uncle was a stunt before he got married, but I didn't know he kept up that life. He's always complaining about how he doesn't have money, but yet he had 13 kids, a house in Miami, a house in Jersey, a house in Pennsylvania that's a quarter-mill. Not to mention all these cars and bikes he purchased over the years. He was the true definition of a stunt. But nothing hit me more than the next words that came out his mouth: "This was my baby brother's, your father's. Take care of it for him". I had nothing to say, I couldn't say a thing. I was overwhelmed, yet heartbroken. My father's car... It was like staring at a relic left behind on earth through time.

I had finally arrived to campus, Penn State. After taking it all in, meeting a few people from the welcoming committee, my Uncle helped me with my things going into dorm. Auntie Angela promised she'll come to as many home games she can, while Michael will do the same soon as he gets himself a set of wheels. With temporary goodbyes taken cared of, I put all my focus into Penn State. Registrations, orientations, school column press, media for the team, my stay was as busy as it got as the calendar flipped through to November. College basketball was back, Penn State was lit for it. They had high hopes for something big as they haven't done anything significant since 2011, making a appearance in the NCAA tournament. This year, we had Seth Lundy and Jalen Pickett leading the way. The buzz about them that they were NBA-bound, be it first or second. If that held true, it'll be big for Penn State, as they'll be the first two Penn State graduates to get drafted. But little did they know, they also had me. Now, I wasn't too comfortable with being the 6th man on the team, but it's my first year here, I had to play along, besides, this was Seth and Jalen's team. They were two guys easy to get along with, especially with them knowing more about me than I knew of them, but they were down to earth and helped ease me into the system. Everything was set in order. Roster was built out, rotations were set, minutes were given, all that good stuff. Midnight Madness came and gone, the season was primed. I just had to wait seven more days to let them know who the real was in charge, and I was "him"...

[The JZA]

[The JZA]

[Agent]

Time to show out at Penn St