M y friends. My parents. My friends’ parents. That’s how I used to get around town when I was in high school. Sometimes I even took the bus.

Then, when I was 16, I got my sister’s 1985 Oldsmobile Cutlass Cierra, which she inherited from my grandma. Just to let you know how ragged this car was, we put $1,300 into fixing it up after my sister hit a deer, and when it came time to get a new car, we were only able to sell it for $800.

Sunday night I turned on ESPN to learn that high school basketball phenom LeBron James is cruising around Ohio in a brand new silver and platinum Hummer.

Some sources are saying that it was legitimately purchased by James’ mother with a loan from her bank.

Other people are raising a lot of questions about where it may have really come from, suggesting an agent, or “booster,” but I don’t think anybody could be that dumb.

In the wake of the Fab Five recruiting scandal, which won’t be wrapped up until after the NBA season, James probably is smart enough to know to not take any money from recruiters. If he did, he stands to lose his amateur status and would not be allowed to finish his high school career.

Not that that would be such a bad thing. Every time James steps on the court, he takes the risk of costing himself millions of dollars in NBA salary and endorsement deals.

It has already been rumored that he stands to sign the biggest shoe endorsement deal we have ever seen.

All it takes is landing wrong while coming down from a between-the-legs dunk.

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t wish the kid any harm, but that would be funny.

All this hype for a 6-foot-8 guy that scores 20-some points per game against a bunch of kids that won’t go any farther than playing intramural ball at their local college, like me. Ask any NBA player how many points he scored per game in high school, and you’re bound to get a similar answer from most.

I will give James credit: He played against a team with three Division 1-A prospects, and played well, but how many high school teams have that much talent?

Once James gets into the NBA, he is going to be an average-sized wingman that doesn’t play any defense. Granted, he will probably develop into a great player in a couple of years based on his physical ability, but everyone is going to expect him to dominate the league right away.

We’ve all seen what good things can happen when you draft a high school player. Some of the top players in the league have no college experience. Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady and Kevin Garnett are undoubtedly the cream of the crop in the NBA.

Besides not having any college experience, there is another thing these three have in common — the fact that none of them became significant contributors until they rode the pine for at least two years. They also played with other top players while learning the NBA game. Kobe had Shaq, Garnett had Stephon Marbury and T-Mac had his cousin, Vince Carter.

Chances are James is going to stay in Cleveland and play for his hometown Cavaliers. There is also the possibility of playing in Denver or Miami, the other bottom-feeders in the NBA right now. Tell me who else will be there to help James along the way, to help lead one of these teams and to teach him.

The one good thing out of all the attention James is receiving is the fact that he is going to be ready for the attention to his every move.

Remember how upset Michael Jordan would get when the media was digging into his personal business, especially the whole gambling scandal back before his first retirement?

Now James is already falling victim to being in the public eye. This is going to build some character and hopefully teach him to keep his act together because every time he screws up, everyone is going to see and hear about it.

Just by watching James play, you can see that he already thinks he is God’s gift to hoops. I hope he enjoys the ride while it lasts, and I hope he really does succeed.

But I also believe he is in for a rude awakening because while all of the hype says that he may be the best player to ever step on the court, it has also set him up to be the biggest disappointment.

Rick Kerr is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Des Moines.