Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1176276
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 26, 2019 17 "I loved those gold helmets," Iver- son added. Instead, a widely publicized off- the-court altercation resulted in Iverson spending time in prison. De- spite being granted clemency by the Governor and the conviction later being overturned, Iverson had to leave Bethel and finish his prep ca- reer at Richard Milburn High School, a school for at-risk students, and he did not play football or basketball his senior year. Georgetown, of course, still saw enough of him to offer a basketball scholarship. Now Owusu-Koramoah is taking the opportunity to live out Iverson's goal of playing at Notre Dame and like Iverson, is con- sidered a top-tier athlete. Owusu-Koramoah scoffs at the juxtaposition. "I wouldn't compare my- self to him at all," he said. "I don't even know if our names should be in the same sentence." But men who saw them both play disagree. Craig Brehon is in his 25th year as the head basketball coach at Bethel. His first year with the program was Iverson's senior year. While the 11-time NBA All-Star was unable to play that season, Brehon knows Iverson and his game well. "What set Allen apart when he was in high school, you could sense that he was going to be a professional athlete," Bre- hon said. "He was small in stature, skinny legs, but he had tremendous heart. You can have skill but if you're not strong and you don't have heart, you don't compete, you're not going to be very good. "That's where Jeremiah, to me, is on the same level as Allen in football. He's got tremendous heart. He doesn't back down from anyone." ✦ Through five games, Owusu-Koramoah led the Fighting Irish in total stops (30) and was third in tackles for loss (4.5). PHOTO BY MIKE MILLER