By Josh Staph of Stack magazine. Link is no longer.
Hurricane Hugo battered St. Croix in 1989; most of the island was left in ruins, with its buildings demolished and infrastructure in shambles. Miraculously, Tim?s house?with a fortified foundation?withstood the powerful winds and storm surge. Anticipating violent storms, his father William used his expertise in stonework to build a house that couldn?t be knocked down. The local swimming pool, where Tim trained, wasn?t as fortunate. Filled with storm debris and needing extensive repairs, the pool lacked all functionality. Consequently, swim practices were moved to the ocean. But by the time the team reconvened, Tim had experienced another painful blow, which accelerated the demise of his swimming career. His mother Ione, who was his loudest supporter at every swim meet, lost her battle with breast cancer the day before Tim?s 14th birthday. Completely crushed, Tim never swam competitively again.
In the months following his mother?s death, Tim found a new way to express his athleticism and competitive nature while simultaneously dealing with his grief and pain. Just before Ione?s death, Tim?s sister Cheryl, who was living in Ohio, sent a basketball hoop back to St. Croix so Tim could pick up the game. Putting his masonry skills to work again, Tim?s father anchored the hoop in a strong cement base, predicting that nothing could ever knock it down. Before ending his water game, Tim did nothing more than heave a couple of playful shots up at the unfamiliar rim. Little did he know that he was laying the groundwork for his future career.
When Tim?s mother passed, Cheryl and her husband Ricky Lowery, who had been the starting point guard for Capital University, moved back to St. Croix to be with the rest of the Duncans. Ricky took the court with Tim and began teaching him the skills of the game. At about six feet, Tim was tall for his age, and Ricky guessed that he?d grow another four or five inches. With this estimate in mind, Ricky taught Tim the nuances of the perimeter game. Tim discovered a passion for the sport, and before long he was a complete player?able to dribble, pass, finish off the break and shoot from the outside, especially the pull-up jumper off the glass.
The next fall, as a 14-year-old freshman, Tim tried out for and made St. Dunstan Episcopal High School?s varsity team. Initially, his approach to the game was pretty nonchalant?just a way to have fun and get over the loss of his mom?but that quickly changed. Over the next three seasons, Tim grew nine inches and began dominating the entire Caribbean. The perimeter skills Ricky taught him, combined with his new tall frame, made Tim an unstoppable threat, which the Virgin Islands had never before seen.
When he was 16, something happened to show Tim that his talent was rare everywhere, not just on the small islands. A group of NBA stars flew down to St. Croix for some rest and relaxation, and one day they decided to play some hoops with the locals. The recently drafted Alonzo Mourning matched up against Tim. The two big men battled back and forth in front of a group of spectators. When all was said and done, the teenager had played the NBA star to a draw. Word of this island teenager with amazing skills soon reached the U.S. mainland, and colleges came calling. Nevertheless, unlike most seven-foot high school players who had proven they could hang with an NBA player, Tim?s phone wasn?t buzzing off the hook.
While U.S. blue chips were out proving themselves to college coaches in AAU games and summer league tournaments and camps, Tim relied on coaches coming to him. The University of Hartford, University of Delaware and Providence College all sent coaches down to scout Tim in person, and all three offered him a full ride on the spot. Wake Forest, the only large school to show interest in Tim, sent head coach Dave Odom. Instead of watching Tim play an organized game inside a gym, Odom witnessed him playing pick-up ball on an outdoor court. Although Odom was nervous about the informal set-up, Tim?s game was convincing enough for Odom to offer him a scholarship.
